What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

The protagonist is a young adult/ teenager who likes to run, he wants to be a good runner, but he doesn't join a club, he just runs by himself.
He often imagines a girlfriend, but he never sees a face. At some point in the book he meets a girl (whose name is Laura, if I remember correctly). And Laura is very different from how he imagined his girlfriend, but he falls in love with her. Then the book is about their relationship and their ups and downs.

I read the book around 1994-1998, it must have been published in the 80s or the 90s.
If I remember correctly the book is set in the United States, but I can’t give any more information. There’s frequent mention of a runner named Zola Budd. I read the book in German back then, but I think it was a translation from English.
If I remember correctly the protagonist’s name was Brice or something similar and the name of the girl was Laura.

I hope someone can help me find the book.

The Girl of His Dreams

Toward morning, he dreamed about Zola Budd. They were training together, both of them running barefoot, bare shoulder to bare shoulder, her stride matching his stride, step for step, so smooth they hardly touched the ground. The two of them flowing on and on, their heels rising and falling, light as Ping-Pong balls.

It was translated into German as Das Mädchen seiner Träume.

I am stunned.
Thank you very much.

You're very welcome, glad to help out!