Lindsey and Courtney Bruns have run cross-country with each other since they were 14 years old.

But last season, they didn’t.

This year, the twins will be reunited at Iowa.

The sisters recorded first-place finishes and earned records throughout their years at West Branch High, Iowa head coach Layne Anderson said.

Their high-school careers took Courtney Bruns to Iowa and Lindsey Bruns to Nebraska-Omaha. But it turned out the Hawkeyes were the better fit for Lindsey Bruns, and she transferred this fall to Iowa.

“Although I am sure I would have been happy if I continued to stay at Omaha, I felt that Iowa was the better choice for me at the time,” she said.

As for the original Hawkeye, she is glad to have her sister back on the course with her.

“I love the team and all the girls, but it is really nice to have Lindsey there, too,” Courtney Bruns said.

With both Bruns now under Anderson’s supervision, he is excited to work with them.

“We are eager to work with Lindsey as she transitions into our program,” he said. “Courtney did not race a lot last year, so we are excited to get her into the lineup consistently and see what performance goals are attainable this fall.”

The goals that are on the sisters’ minds is to show enough improvement during the season to earn spots in the Big Ten meet in November. They hope to achieve this with the motivation they get from each other while training.

“Both are very hard workers and also very diligent about the lifestyle required to develop into Big Ten and NCAA runners,” Anderson said.

He hopes the sisters see a healthy level of development with the focus of not only making the travel squad but also moving up the ranks in the program. Despite the same goals, the runners feel no bitter competition on the course.

“When we are racing, we definitely get a little more competitive and aggressive, but it just helps us push one another to go faster,” Lindsey Bruns said. “When the race is over, we are proud of each other because we want each other to do well.”

Because they live together, coaches and teammates can see the great respect and love for one another on and off the course.

With Lindsey back in Iowa, she now has the fun of racing that she said she was missing in Omaha.

“I love racing with my sister again,” she said. “Without her, I forgot why I really enjoyed running.”

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