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Advnture
Advnture
Julia Clarke

Ultra runner Ruth Croft signs with Amazfit ahead of UTMB bid: “I’ve spent years understanding what athletes truly need from their sports watches"

Ruth Croft checks her Amazfit watch in the Alps.

In what looks like the latest move to secure its place among the top GPS watch brands, Amazfit has signed trail running star Ruth Croft to its roster of athletes.

The New Zealand runner is heading back to the UTMB finals next week for her second attempt at the legendary 100-mile race after coming second in her 2024 debut, and she'll have an Amazfit watch strapped to her wrist when she arrives in Chamonix.

Croft took first place at Western States in 2022 and has already won the Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB 100k race this year. Among her many achievements, she also ran the length of Greenland's 125-mile Arctic Circle Trail in 2022.

The 36-year-old previously worked for Garmin, and Amazfit says she will be working with its Research and Development team to contribute to the creation of new products and the refinement of existing ones "to help deliver the most advanced, athlete-focused sports watches on the market."

“I’m equally excited about representing Amazfit on the global stage and getting hands-on with the product development process,” says the ultra runner, who's also training to be a naturopath.

“I’ve spent years understanding what athletes truly need from their sports watches, and I look forward to bringing that knowledge to help Amazfit establish itself as the reference point for innovation and quality in the category.”

The 36-year-old previously worked for Garmin, and Amazfit says she will be working with its Research and Development team to contribute to the creation of new products (Image credit: Amazfit)

The announcement is a strong indication that Amazfit intends to stake out a place in the world of elite athletes, and follows news that American trail runner Rod Farvard has also joined the Chinese wearables brand.

Both runners will be competing at the 100-mile distance in next week's UTMB finals. Find out who else is running, and how to watch this iconic event in our article on the 2025 starting list.

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