Dawn Grunnagle

Coach Dawn Grunnagle joined the Hockaday coaching community in 2021.   She is the Assistant Cross Country Coach and Assistant Distance Track & Field Coach. Dawn Grunnagle has ten years' experience as an elementary school teacher (Good Shepherd Episcopal and Merriman Park Elementary) and has spent 23 years working with school-aged children in the Dallas area to improve their speed, agility and endurance with a focus on having correct fluid movement in their running form. In 2011, after teaching for ten years, Dawn reignited her love for racing by competing professionally and launching SpeedKIDZ Elite/APEX TC! This gave her a chance to combine two passions she loves and offered her flexibility required for training and mentoring youth in their running journey. 

Dawn Grunnagle came to Texas from Green Bay, Wisconsin on a full athletic scholarship to Texas Tech University.  She graduated Cum Laude in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Houston and went to graduate school to study business at UALR.   In college, she was a NCAA qualifier in the 1500 meters and Conference USA Indoor Mile Champion.

Dawn is a 3 x Olympic Trials Qualifier in the 1500m and marathon distance. She most recently qualified with an A Standard for the 2020 United States Olympic Marathon Team Trials racing to a time of 2:33:14 and 13th place at the Berlin Marathon.  

She also has competed in the elite professional field in 5 (Chicago Marathon, New York Marathon, Tokyo Marathon, Berlin Marathon and Boston Marathon) of the 6 Abbott World Marathon Majors over the last 4 years. 

Coach Grunnagle serves on the Dallas Marathon Board and the USATF Masters Communication Committee. 

Coach Grunnagle loves to travel and try different sushi places with her husband Harry and being a new mom to her daughter, Levi born in December 2022.  They have a Rhodesian Ridgeback, Gunnar.