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NBC CONNECTICUT SPORTS REPORTER NAMED GRAND MARSHAL FOR 5K

October 19, 2012

Costumes encouraged for Halloween-themed 5K

HARTFORD, Conn. – The National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter, has named Dianna Russini, NBC Connecticut sports and news reporter, grand marshal for Run MS, a Spooktacular 5K. The 5K will be held Saturday, Oct. 27, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.

Russini began her television career in college at George Mason University, writing for a local New Jersey high school sports website and covering the sidelines for both men and women’s college basketball games for Comcast Sportsnet in Washington, D.C.

After college, she started her local news television career at News 12 Hudson Valley in New York as a general assignment reporter. She quickly began breaking stories and won several awards, including a New York Press Award for her piece on the rigorous training of the Orange County, N.Y., SWAT Team.

Russini soon moved on and was named bureau chief and reporter at NBC’s flagship, WNBC, in Manhattan. After covering news for several years, she had the opportunity to cover sports stories with WNBC’s Bruce Beck. From that day on, the former Division 1 women’s soccer player knew her passion was in covering sports full-time and decided to leave the Tri-State area and head out west to Seattle to work as a sports reporter, host and color commentator for Comcast Sportsnet Northwest, covering the Seattle Mariners, Portland Blazers, Washington Huskies and Tacoma Rainiers.

Russini eventually returned home to New Jersey and anchored sports for News 12 Long Island before joining NBC Connecticut. Russini resides in West Hartford.

The Halloween-themed 5K within the stadium grounds will feature a DJ, trick-or-treating at all booths and vendors, official timing and scoring with cash prizes for winners, and more.

Costumes are encouraged. Prizes will also be awarded for the scariest, funniest, and cutest costumes. All proceeds from Run MS, a Spooktacular 5K, will assist those in Connecticut who live with multiple sclerosis in their quest for a cure.

More than 6,000 Connecticut residents are affected by multiple sclerosis, a potentially debilitating disease affecting the central nervous system. The cause is unknown and there is currently no cure for MS. Symptoms can include, among other things, numbness in the limbs, difficulties with vision and speech, stiffness, loss of mobility and, in some more severe cases, total paralysis. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot be predicted.

Registration is just $30 after Oct. 1 and day-of registration will be $35. Additional fundraising is encouraged.

Registration the day of the event begins at 8 a.m. The run starts at 9 a.m.

For more information on Run MS, a Spooktacular 5K, visit www.ctfightsMS.com or search for the event on Facebook.

10/9/12

About the Connecticut-Rhode Island Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society

The Connecticut Chapter strives to provide knowledge and assistance to help people with MS and their families maintain the highest possible quality of life. These goals are achieved through vital national and local programs.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are leading to better understanding and moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.

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