<< Lap 38 - Clayton Murphy | All

Kate Grace

Quick Info

PBs

Bio

Kate grew up in Los Angeles, where she ran the 800m in high school. She won the CIF State T&F Championships in both 2006 and 2007, as well as the XC D4 championships.

At Yale, Kate broke four school records in the mile and 800m, was a four-time NCAA All-American, and placed 7th and 5th in 2010 and 2011 respectively in the 800m NCAA Outdoor Championships.

After graduating, Kate joined the NYNJ Track Club, coached by Frank Gagliano, and in 2012 she signed as a professional with Oiselle, the first runner to do so. In the 2012 Olympic Trials, Kate competed in the 800m and 1500m, but didn’t end up qualifying for the final.

In 2013, she entered the USA Road Mile Championships, winning with a time of 4:43, setting a course record in the process (Grand Blue Mile course in Des Moines, IA). At the 2013 Millrose Games, Kate ran the Wanamaker Mile, placing 3rd with a 4:28, becoming the 43rd US woman to run under 4:30. At the 2013 USATF Championships, Kate raced the 800m, this time placing 4th (2:00.10).

2014 saw Kate back in the 1500m at the USATF Championships, placing 11th (4:18). Shortly thereafter, she moved to Bend, Oregon, leaving Gagliano to be coached by Lauren Fleshman.

However, she soon fought with several foot injuries (torn toe ligament) that took her out of racing for the rest of 2014 and most of 2015. During this time, she moved to Sacramento, CA, joining Drew Wartenburg’s NorCal Distance Project. This move proved beneficial, as in 2016 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Kate ran a 4:06 1500m, getting her a qualifying time for the Olympics. She placed 2nd at the New York Armory Women’s Mile Elite (4:28) after leading a large part of the race.

At the 2016 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Kate raced the 800m, surging from 6th place for the win with a new PR of 1:59.10, qualifying her for the Olympic Team. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she placed 3rd in the first round, sending her to the semifinals. There, she kicked at the end to take 3rd place again, setting a PR of 1:58.79, qualifying her by time for the finals. In the finals, she was assigned lane 1, and after being taken over by the outside runners at the cutoff, she couldn’t gain back that ground and ended up placing 8th overall in the finals (1:59.57).

At the 2017 USATF Championships, Kate raced the 1500m in 95 degree weather. This race saw a pack of about 10 runners all within a second of each other through the final lap, where Kate and Jenny pulled away in a kick towards the finish. Kate placed second, 0.62 seconds behind Jenny (4:06.95), putting her on Team USA at the upcoming 2017 London World Championships.

Doping History

None

Training and Nutrition

• At Yale, Kate ran ~30 mpw. Under Gagliano, she was up to closer to 60 mpw. “It’s almost like we’re 5K runners”

• Pre-getting out of bed mobility? (part 2)

• Tired 200s - Once a week, as a double after a fast tempo/workout, she’ll do 6x200m at the track fast - 28-29s, with 2 minutes rest. This is to practice running fast when she’s already depleted.

Anecdotes to tell your friends

• She recently did a podcast with Citius Mag (#19). Haven’t listened to it but maybe someone who has can comment.

• She knows how to meme

• When I came to New Jersey, I always had to lie [to my teammates], because I was so embarrassed. We were talking about Matt Centrowitz or someone that everyone knows. I remember nodding and then Googling these people afterward so I'd know who we were talking about.

If only she read ARTC!

Upcoming Races

2017 London World Championships

1. Anecdotes/stories you’d like to share? Thoughts on Kate in general?
   
2. What’s your average time from wake-up to hitting the pavement? Have you been working on changing that?
   
3. When was the first time you realized, “woah, I’m doing a lot of miles”?
   
4. Anything else you’d like to add?