DES MOINES (Iowa) – June 21, 2018 – The hot and humid weather inside Drake Stadium did not stop HOKA ONE ONE NAZ Elite athlete Stephanie Bruce from showing why she is one of the best the United States has to offer. Producing the highest championship finish of her track career, Bruce placed third in the women’s 10,000 meter run at the USATF Outdoor Championships.
From the gun, Bruce tucked into the pack behind Olympians Molly Huddle and Marielle Hall, executing flawless tactics and never falling back further than fifth position. As Huddle pressed on the pace, Bruce was relentless. She responded to every move never letting the gap open between her and the leader. With 600 meters to run, Bruce moved into third and never looked back crossing the line in 32:05.05, just six seconds off her personal best.
It has been a tremendous two weeks for the women of HOKA NAZ Elite, as teammate Kellyn Taylor claimed gold at last weekend’s Grandma’s Marathon running the seventh fastest time ever by an American woman.
“I feel like if I can slowly start creeping up on people that win will come one day and I want tell people to stay in the sport. I’ve had two kids and a lot of people don’t know who I was before and that’s okay… I’m just trying to make the second half of my career better and show that distance running isn’t over night. It takes a long time and if you stay in it, you can reach where you want to go,” Bruce told the media following her race.
In his 16th consecutive USATF Outdoor Championship start, Ben Bruce finished 14th in the men’s 10,000 meter field. It has been a season of return for Bruce as he regains his form from a stress injury that sidelined him for the early part of 2018.
“Steph ran with such belief in herself out there. It was fun to see her looking forward to the last few laps. That’s what champions do,” Coach Ben Rosario said. “Ben came to this meet a little banged up but nothing was going to stop him from running. I was proud of how hard he competed.”
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ABOUT HOKA NAZ ELITE
HOKA Northern Arizona Elite is a professional sports organization whose mission is to recruit, develop and produce distance runners to compete at the very highest level of international athletics and operate as a successful business by building a global fan base for the team and its athletes through comprehensive and ongoing marketing efforts on a local, national and international level.
Kyle Levermore
Brand Management, HOKA NAZ Elite
[email protected]