Women’s Track and Field Assistant Coach Samantha Bluske ran in the 10K at the USA Track and Field Championships June 21 in Des Moines, Iowa. Running under her sponsor “rabbit,” Bluske crossed the line in 33:48.11, taking 13th place.
“The plan from the beginning was to race from the back,” Bluske said. “It’s a bit humid here, so I figured if I race smart, went out controlled, then tried to race pretty hard in the last 5k, I could catch a few people and hopefully finish a little above my seed. I feel like I carried that out pretty well. I kind of got stuck in no-man’s land, but overall I’m happy with the way everything went.”
Bluske
“I’m used to going to meets or competitions completely alone with no teammates, so it was pretty cool to experience my first US Championships with her, with this being her first as well,” Bluske said.
“Hopefully, it helped make her a little more comfortable feeling like she wasn’t alone here. She kind of had a teammate, and it’s nice to have that team feel out here supporting each other. It’s nice because she didn’t have to go out and do any of her pre-meet runs alone or anything like that. We were able to do it together. Hopefully, it made her a little more comfortable. I know it helped me for sure.”
Bluske said she’s taking a break from competing for a while so she can shift gears and focus on “personal stuff, like trying to survive a wedding.” She’s scheduled to marry her fianceé in a month.
