605 Race Crew Member: Bruce Pollard

Bruce Pollard grew up just outside of Mt. Vernon, South Dakota and has been part of the Race Crew for three years now. He heard about it from friends while going to the 605 Running Company’s weekly group runs. He was curious and it’s part of his personality to not want to be left out of things, so he applied, got in, and has been enjoying it ever since. 
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Bruce never did organized running. In high school he was busy farming and later he was in the military and did plenty of running there. After the military, he didn’t do any running for years. Later in 2012, a college buddy asked Bruce to run the Turkey Trot 10k in Worthington, MN and he said sure, despite not even knowing what a 10k was at the time. According to Bruce, he about died during that 10k. He had no experience in racing and wasn’t ready to go that fast, but it wasn’t enough to deter him from running.

So a few years later another friend said he was going to run the Sioux Falls Half Marathon and Bruce asked if he could do it with him. His friend said of course and Bruce has been running them ever since. Nowadays he runs up to seven of them in a year.

Every runner runs for a different reason. So why does Bruce like to run? It keeps him in condition. He likes to stay in shape even at 58 years old and running is his way of doing just that. Bruce remarked that running probably saved him, becoming an avenue away from bad habits. Additionally, he travels a lot and one of his favorite ways to experience a new place is by going on a 5-8 mile run on a trail that he’s never been on.
 
The best race Bruce ever had was the Fargo Half Marathon in the fall of 2021 where he ran a lifetime PR time. It was a fun race. He felt amazing afterwards, not trashed as would often happen, going to show how his hard work paid off.

Bruce’s favorite part of being on the Race Crew is the friendship that they all share between one another as they help each other and push each other to be better. He loves being a part of the Race Crew, volunteering at St. Francis House, participating in Saturday morning group runs (he’d come to more if he lived closer and wasn’t so busy), volunteering for other things for 605 Running Company, and doing everything he can to be involved.

Bruce’s advice to other runners out there: “Keep it real, man.”

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​This blog submitted by 605 Running Company Tier II Team Member: Morgan Sauer

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