Oct. 10, 2007

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Frank Shorter, one of America's greatest distance runners and the 1972 Olympic Marathon gold medalist, will speak on the Furman University campus Friday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. in Timmons Arena.

Tickets are $16, which includes dinner. Proceeds from the program will go to the university's Blue Shoes Track Scholarship program, which supports all men's and women's cross-country and track and field athletes.

As part of the Blue Shoes festivities, the 35th annual Furman Cross Country Invitational Meet will take place Saturday, Oct. 13, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Furman Golf Course. The meet will feature 20 men's and 20 women's college teams, as well as more than 45 high school teams. The public is invited to attend.

In addition to Shorter's speech, Friday's event will feature footage from Shorter's gold medal performance in Munich. The event will also include video of Alan Webb's sub-four-minute mile at the Blue Shoes Invitational meet this past spring.

Shorter won the silver medal in the marathon at the 1976 Olympics, and was both the marathon and 10,000-meter gold medalist at the 1971 Pan American Games. A graduate of Yale University, he was also a five-time national 10,000-meter champion and four-time national cross-country champion. He received the 1972 Sullivan Award as the outstanding American amateur athlete and is a member of the U.S. Olympic and U.S. Track and Field hall of fames.

Shorter currently owns his own sportswear company and works as a sports commentator for NBC-TV.

To reserve tickets or receive more information, call Furman's Paladin Club office at 864-294-3565.