The Milton Academy senior is not a conventional runner who knows how to pace himself. His mentality, as he puts it, is “run as hard as you can until you can’t run anymore.’’

The Milton resident proved his theory to be effective during a two-day stretch last spring. On May 15, Russell and his teammates on the track and field team competed at the New England Prep Division 1 Track & Field Championships at Deerfield Academy. Russell finished fourth in the 3,000-meter run and sixth in the 1,500-meter, pacing the Mustangs to a 10th-place finish.

That night Russell attended the prom and was out with friends until the early morning hours. With limited sleep and wearing those wool socks and tie-dye shorts, he woke up in time to compete in the Katie Lynch Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon and Purple Shoes Challenge in Newton.

The grueling 13.1-mile course posed no problem for Russell; he finished first out of 385 runners, setting a new course record with a time of one hour, 15 minutes and 13 seconds, besting the old record by just under nine minutes.

“When I go out and run, I can go and run for 10 to 15 miles and not remember it because I’m in the zone,’’ Russell said. “It feels good; it doesn’t feel like hard work.’’

Russell was in the zone this fall for the Milton Academy cross-country team, winning all 10 of his races in the Independent School League, as well as league and New England Prep championships. He was named the Independent School League MVP.

He then set his sights on the Footlocker Northeast Regional championship last Saturday, a 5K race at Sunken Meadow Park in New York featuring 200 of the top runners in the region. A top-10 finish would have qualified Russell for Saturday’s national meet in San Diego. But a disappointing 46th-place finish ended that hope.

“What those kids have that I don’t have is track speed,’’ he said. “I’ve never trained specifically to run a fast mile. Even though I’m not at the national level, I believe I’m on the cusp of that. I have a lot of faith in my improvement.’’

Considering his rapid ascension through the ranks of the sport, Russell has every right to be confident.

Upon entering Milton Academy as a freshman, Russell always believed he would play hockey after skating at the youth level for 10 years. Taking after his mother Heidi, an accomplished runner at Dartmouth College and frequent Ironman race competitor, he also ran cross-country in the fall. Given his penchant for working until the point of exhaustion, Russell became iron-deficient due to the constant activity and spent much of his sophomore season recovering.

Realizing his future resided in running, Russell quit hockey after his sophomore year and dedicated himself to preserving his health and becoming a cross-country champion. His coach at Milton Academy, Scott Bosworth, helped build confidence in the young runner, which Russell said has helped him succeed.

“He’s just an unreal guy, like a father figure for me,’’ Russell said. “It’s so much more than a running relationship with me for him, because he’s helped me out mentally and personally more than physically.’’

His physical regimen was developed under the tutelage of the renowned Fred Treseler, a coach for Emerging Elites who trains distance runners. A former standout at Providence College with 30-plus years experience as a coach at the high school and college level, Treseler has helped numerous athletes make the transition from other sports, such as soccer and hockey, to running.

Treseler, who considers Russell to be a “throwback to the ’70s,’’ said he has worked with his protégé for the past three years to teach him how to run properly.

“The challenge has been to change his hockey mentality to a running mentality, because it’s not the same,’’ Treseler said. “He’s used to hopping over the boards and going all-out on a shift, then resting on the bench, but you can’t do that in running. I don’t want him to lose his spirit for running; I just want him to develop some patience. It takes at least two years to make the adaptation to running; I tell him that all the time.’’

Russell admits that without the proper guidance he probably would have run himself into the ground.

“If it wasn’t for my two coaches I’d be running 110 miles a week every week, but they’ve been controlling me,’’ he said. “I am a high-mileage guy.’’

Because Milton Academy does not field a winter track and field team, Russell has run with Emerging Elites the past two winters and will do so again this winter. Since training with Treseler, Russell has posted improvements in his 5K, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1,500-meter, and 3,000-meter times. He is determined to vie for early All-American honors during the indoor season (running for Emerging Elites).

Like his mother, Russell is bound for Dartmouth College, where he will run for head coach Barry Harwick. He said he sees himself as a professional runner or triathlete after school and will continue to work toward making that dream a reality.

For all his dedication to the sport, Russell believes running is simply what he was meant to do.

“Running is just what has come easy to me. I find it relaxes me and I do better when my mind is working less. I feel free, really. It’s great.’’

Patrick McHugh can be reached at pmchugh@globe.com.