THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606220266
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 97 lines
Jean Toner never considered herself a runner, but at 7:14 tonight thousands - maybe millions, depending on broadcasts - will cheer as she pounds the pavement.
``Oh man, I am so excited!'' the Hatteras Island clinical social worker said Friday before leaving her Frisco home for Wake Forest, where she'll help carry the U.S. Olympic torch.
Toner, 45, is one of at least two people from northeastern North Carolina who've been selected to keep the symbolic flame flowing through the state.
Tom Alexander of Sunbury is the other.
``The closest the torch is coming to this part of the state is Richmond and Raleigh, so this is an opportunity for me, by participating, to bring the relay closer to home,'' said Alexander, a Gates County native.
Alexander, 48, will escort four torchbearers through downtown Charlotte from 10:18 to 10:42 p.m. Monday.
He'll provide moral support and a helping hand should the torch be dropped. That's already happened once or twice along its 84-day, 15,000-mile trek.
A recreational runner who jogs up to six days and 27 miles weekly, Alexander's anxiety about the relay has shifted in the past week.
First he was nervous about not knowing when or where he'd run. At one time, the rumor was in Richmond, around midday.
So Alexander, who normally runs in the early morning, started putting in some afternoon jaunts to acclimate to the heat.
Now that he knows it's Charlotte and well after the sun sets, he's got another worry.
``The anxious part now is if I'm gonna get somebody that's gonna run a 5-minute pace,'' the Gates County native said.
``I could be running next to a very excited 10-year-old kid or a Special Olympian or a celebrity. Who knows?''
He won't know who his running companions are until they meet shortly before the start of his leg, he said.
Toner, on the other hand, has a shorter distance to cover - one kilometer, or 0.62 miles. That's the maximum allowed by a torchbearer and, for the Outer Banks woman, that's enough.
``I work out and I ski and water ski, but I've never been a runner. So I started running, and I can run a mile now,'' she said, her voice full of enthusiasm.
``I figure, if I can run a mile without a problem, I can run a kilometer.''
There are three types of torchbearers and escorts involved in the relay, which began in Los Angeles and is meandering through the country before reaching Atlanta next month.
Some are community heroes and leaders, like Toner, who were selected by local United Way agencies. Others are corporate-sponsored or former Olympians.
Each runner is given an official uniform - T-shirt, shorts and white socks. Except for logos on athletic shoes, which the runners provide, no other company logos or brand names can be worn.
The torch they'll carry, or assist in carrying, weighs 3 1/2 pounds and is a replica of the ancient Greek torch, which reappeared in the modern Olympic Games in 1928 in Amsterdam. A torch relay has been held since the 1936 Games in Berlin.
Toner was nominated by the Hatteras postmistress, Linda Brody.
A native of Texas, Toner has lived on Hatteras Island for 10 years and is the president of the local Kiwanis Club, which focuses on youth.
Two years ago Toner also started the non-profit Cape Hatteras Teen Association Inc., which provides activities to keep youngsters from becoming involved with crime and drug abuse.
Toner has a private practice in Frisco that serves adolescents, families and adults.
``Mine is a typical Outer Banks story - I married a surfer,'' she said, laughing, of her husband, Joe. ``It took him about five years to talk me into moving, but he was successful.''
Alexander was chosen to participate in the relay by Houston-based Texaco, which is providing the fuel to keep the torch lit.
Alexander is vice president of Eastern Fuels Inc., in Ahoskie, which distributes Texaco oil. He was approached about six months ago by a district manager who had heard Alexander was a runner.
Married and fhe father of two grown sons, he took up running in 1982, mainly to maintain his health. Area footraces soon followed.
Although he's backed off from frequent racing, Alexander still enters a run now and then, such as the Nags Head Woods 5K on Mother's Day.
While all torchbearers are American, their escorts hail from 80 different countries.
The relay, Alexander said, is as much a celebration of America as it is the world's most famous athletic event, which this summer is expected to draw more counties and athletes than any of the Games before.
Toner agrees.
``What has gone through my head so far in this process is overwhelming gratitude to be part of this,'' she said.
``From what I understand, this is the centennial (of the modern Games), and I just feel like I am a part of history. It's the biggest honor that I've ever had in my life.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot
Jean Toner of Frisco will run about one kilometer carrying the
Olympic torch tonight in Wake Forest. Another regional resident,
Tom Alexander of Sunbury, will escort torchbearers Monday.
KEYWORDS: OLYMPIC TORCH by CNB