An Explosive Run to the Top
Photo Credit: Wild Child Images
Photo Credit: Saucony
Utahn Grayson Murphy Dominates on Trails and Roads By Connie Lewis
If it seems like world-class runner Grayson Murphy came out of nowhere on the pro running scene, it’s because she did. Grayson grew up playing soccer and ran only for condition, until joining the Santa Clara University track and cross country teams during her sophomore year. “I experienced a very explosive rise to the top,” says Grayson, “going from being the worst on the team to the best,” and soon found that she enjoyed running. Given her relatively short time in the racing scene, Grayson has racked up some impressive wins. At her first post-collegiate race, the 2018 USATF Outdoor Championships, she finished seventh in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. In her first two professional road races — the Deseret News 10K and the Great Cow Harbor 10K in Northport, New York—she took second place. In 2019, Grayson won the World Mountain Running Championships in Argentina then a week later the XTERRA Trail Run Championship Half Marathon in Hawaii. Collegiate Career So how did she start winning competitive races so quickly? It all started in college. Grayson spent two years at Santa Clara before transferring to the University of Utah for a better program. Since she was already competing, the U couldn’t recruit her. So she contacted them, got a release from Santa Clara, and found that Utah was not only willing to make a place for her on the team, but would give her a scholarship too. By her graduation in 2018, Grayson racked up an impressive array of running accolades: All American in cross country, All American for indoor track in the 3K and 5K, and All American in outdoor track for 18«
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steeplechase. She accomplished it all while earning her degree in civil engineering—though she does it more as a hobby than a career. Returning to Utah After graduation, Grayson signed with Northern Arizona Elite (NAZ Elite), sponsored by HOKA. She moved to Flagstaff and trained there for a year until she realized she wasn’t enjoying the team or the training style. She missed running Salt Lake City’s trails and competing solely on roads. Grayson was homesick too, and decided to move back home to Utah in June 2019. “I was missing my family, my friends, and my boyfriend,” she says. Upon returning to Utah, she embraced trail running and signed up for her first off-road race. Grayson toed the line of the Cirque Series’ Brighton race in June 2019, and struggled with running at the high altitude and snowy conditions. Despite having to walk some of the course, she came in second place to Olympian Morgan Arritola. While it was challenging, Grayson loved the experience and signed up for more difficult races. Things started rolling from there, and she won the 2019 at Hobbler Creek Half Marathon, Cirque SeriesSun Valley, and the Huntsville Half Marathon. Saucony Comes Calling In August 2019 at the brutal Bridger Ridge Run trail race in Bozeman, Montana, Grayson came in second place with a time of 3 hours 41 minutes, but she and the first-place finisher broke the long-standing course record. However, it was September’s USATF Mountain Running Championships that changed her professional running fate. Grayson knew it was a risky career move to go forward with no ¦¦¦
