Former soap star has guilt-free prescription for Super Sunday in Morristown

If you’re one of those people who feels pangs about all that beer and guacamole on Super Bowl Sunday, Chris Russo has a sure-fire remedy.

It’s called the Super Sunday 4 Miler, a Morristown road race on Feb. 5.

“Everyone feels guilty about going to house parties with their Doritos and beer. Now, you can also get some exercise,” said Chris, who doubles as co-director of the Superhero Half Marathon, which celebrates its third year this spring.

The Super Sunday 4 Miler will start at 11:30 am on Maple Avenue and meander through Morris Township, returning to a bar on DeHart Street featuring…beer!

Barring any wrong turns, you should be at your barstool hours before the Giants square off against the Patriots.

Registration is $30 ($35 on race day). The first 500 runners receive long-sleeved, wicking tech shirts. Prizes will be awarded in several categories, and runners can earn 500 race points from USA Track & Field. A special Polar Bear prize awaits the entrant wearing the least clothing. (Sorry, no nudity.)

If Chris, 32, looks familiar, there are several reasons.

All My Children, the late TV soap opera, is one of them. Okay, maybe it’s a stretch to call Chris a star…. he appeared a handful of times, portraying a waiter at a yacht club. Buy hey, that’s pretty cool.

“I had my own dressing room,” the Cedar Knolls native said with a grin.

Chris dusted off his thespian skills last summer at the MorristownGreen.com Film Festival, where he starred as the Green Thumb, a litter-fighting superhero in The Last Ride of Sustainable Man.

Before the Green Thumb, Chris dabbled in Little Green Men. His UFO hoax made headlines and landed the Morris Plains resident and a co-conspirator in municipal court.

Chris also tried some modeling after his days at Gettysburg College, where he was a sprinter and long jumper on the track team. He did fashion shoots for Playboy and appeared in Wired layouts.

MODEL RUNNER: Please click icon below for captions

“He is outgoing, with a lot of charm and charisma,” said his partner at Superhero Events LLC, Heather Gardiner, 33, of the Morristown Running Company on South Street. “I do more of the behind-the-scenes stuff… we complement each other well.”

The 4 Miler is a tad longer than standard 5K races–just long enough for casual runners to burn off some serious calories before the big kickoff, according to Chris and Heather, who met on a Running Company group jog.

They will serve as race directors for the Randolph triathlon later this year. And their Superhero Half Marathon on May 20 could be one for the record books: They aim to cram more caped crusaders onto Ginty Field in Morris Township than have been assembled anywhere before. The movie Megamind set the mark with more than 1,500 superheroes in one place, said Chris, who sells pharmaceuticals for Pfizer in between racing gigs.

Superheroes do good deeds, of course, and Chris and Heather have performed a few by now. Their half-marathons have raised more than $12,000 for charity. This spring’s race will benefit the local Meals on Wheels program and the American Cancer Society, Chris said.

Heroic efforts will be made to complete next month’s 4 Miler regardless of wintry weather. If local police decide conditions are unsafe, however, runners’ fees will be applied towards next year’s event.