Crossing Country and Globe, Ben Bruce Takes USATF 5 km Masters Title
ATLANTA -- February 25, 2023 -- Just a week ago, Ben Bruce won a pair of silver medals at
the World Masters Athletics Cross Country Championships - in the mixed relay
and the men's 6 km.
On Saturday, the last-minute entry showed some of that
cross-country strength when he ran away from the field at the USATF Master's 5
km Championships in Atlanta, punching the finish tape as he broke the course
record with a 15:07 victory - almost a minute ahead of his closest competitor.
It's his second USATF masters title, after winning the
cross-country championships earlier this year.
"At this age, I'm just enjoying it," said Bruce, who before
turning 40 in September represented the U.S. at four World Athletics
Championships (in track, cross country and the half marathon) and competed at
17 consecutive USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships from 2003-2019. "You
get out and you just get after it and run really hard and see where you
finish."
Winning the women's title was 43-year-old Jennifer Pesce, of
Shamong, N.J., in 17:49.
"I knew I could run under 18 minutes, so I just went for it;
I decided to go out hard and just hang on. If that wasn't enough to win, so be
it," said Pesce, who was a top New Jersey high school runner for Toms River
North but quit running in college. Since undergoing two surgeries for a torn
labrum in each hip over the past couple of years, Pesce has been on the
comeback trail and didn't resume running after her second surgery until last
September 1.
Finishing as runner-up for the women was Amber Morrison of
Bellingham, Washington (17:57), with third place going to Jill Braley of
Atlanta (18:09). All three women ran under the previous course record.
Hoping to break 15 minutes, Bruce also took the race out
from the starter's horn, looking back just once, about 100 meters in, to see if
anyone was coming with him. They weren't.
That's not to say he had an easy time of it.
"I know coming to Atlanta it's 'Atlanta flat,' but for a
race course it's really hard because the friendly miles are on the way out,"
said Bruce, assistant coach of HOKA NAZ Elite in Flagstaff, Arizona, and
husband of professional runner Stephanie Bruce, who placed sixth at the 2020
U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon at the same finish line. "That's OK. Not
all race courses have to be fast. Sometimes it's good to have a hilly course
that challenges people more than the pancake-flat courses."
By far the most-popular athlete in the masters field was the
one who finished last: 98-year-old Betty Lindberg, winning another age-group
national title. Last year, she set a world record for her age group; this year,
her time of 58:47 made her the fastest woman in the field when results are
adjusted based on an age-grading formula.
Surrounded by fans seeking selfies as she made her way to a
water table, she said with her trademark smile: "I'm a year older and a year
slower!" Later, at the masters awards ceremony, Lindberg received a prolonged
standing ovation from her fellow competitors, chanting "Bet-ty! Bet-ty!"
Led by Pesce's overall win, Garden State Track Club took the
women's team title, with Atlanta Track Club taking the title for the men.
Winning the Publix Atlanta 5K, run concurrently with the
masters race, was 20-year-old Alex Daniels of Cullowhee, N.C., in 16:37 for the
men and Jessica Ridley, 30, of Peachtree City, Georgia, for the women.
