She missed NXN in the fall. By March, she was winning national titles.

Braelyn Combe is a senior at Santiago High School in Corona, California, and the latest athlete to join TRE's Festival of Miles series. Right now she's the most dangerous prep distance runner in the country. Not because she's the fastest out of the gate, because she knows exactly when to move.

At the 2026 Nike Indoor Nationals, Combe ran the first 800 meters of the championship mile slowly, deliberately, and patiently. Then she ran the back half in 2:12.7, closing out Ellery Lincoln and crossing in 4:38.18, the third-fastest mile in NIN history, behind only Jane Hedengren and Katie Rainsberger.

She was a nationally ranked runner who never made Nike Cross Nationals, but she used it as fuel. In February, she broke the 10-minute barrier in the 3,200m. In March, she doubled at The TEN—one of the top professional distance meets in the world—winning the 800m in 2:04.52 and the 1,600m in 4:40.01 in a single night.

In the fall, she heads to Arkansas. She's just getting started.

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