Stephanie Pruitt Wins Women's Race At Route 66 10K Run, Bunker Hill Native Enjoys Close-Knit Running Community  

EDWARDSVILLE - Stephanie Pruitt was the women's winner in the Route 66 10K Run road race on June 10 through the streets of downtown Edwardsville, coming in with a time of 43:21, beating her time from last year and winning the second leg of the Goshen Triple Crown series.

Pruitt, 31, enjoyed very ideal conditions for the race, along with the other runners, on a coolish day where temperatures were in the low-to-mid 60s, low humidity and a good cloud cover that hid the sun very well. It was a very good race for all involved.

"I'm feeling good," Pruitt said in an interview held shortly after she crossed the finish line. "It was a lot cooler this year than last year, so that was nice. And the course is always beautiful and they do a great job of putting this race on."

In fact, race organizers had said that the weather conditions were the best in the race's 17-year history, which was a big feather in everyone's cap.

"Yeah, absolutely," Pruitt said. "A little cooler and wasn't too sunny the whole time and so, that was nice."

Pruitt had a simple strategy going into the race, which she held to successfully.

"Just to run as hard as I could," Pruitt said, "and try to beat my time from last year."

Which she did successfully, having run 44:08 to finish eighth overall in the women's standings in 2022. And Pruitt also has a simple reason for getting involved in running in the first place.

"I just was always in sports in school," said Pruitt, who graduated from Bunker Hill High in 2010, "and decided to continue recreational running for college and afterward."

Pruitt has been running for the last 13 years after graduating from high school and enjoys running in the Goshen series, looking forward to the Covered Bridge run in Glen Carbon on June 17. Her motivation to continue in running is also a simple one, indeed.

"I just love it," Pruitt said. "It makes me feel good and gets me outdoors and it's always good to get some sunshine."

As far as the Covered Bridge run goes, she's looking forward to running in it.

"I doubt I'll win that one," Pruitt said with a smile and laugh. "But I'm looking forward to running it.

It's always fun to run with a very close-knit community of runners in the area as well.

"Absolutely, absolutely," Pruitt said. "We have a really good group of runners here. Thank you to everyone who put the race on today. It was great."

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