Dawn Grunnagle finishing the 2013 Turkey Trot: by Andy Reine
Dawn Grunnagle, a 35-year-old East Dallas/ M Streets resident who coaches the youth running club at Merriman Park Elementary in Lake Highlands placed first overall female at Thursday’s Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot with a time of 46:24.
About 1500 women and 2100 men entered the 8-miled timed race. (Thousands more ran or walked either the 8-mile or 5k course).
Before embarking on a full-time running career with team Nike, Dawn taught third grade at Merriman Park for seven years.
Dawn recently won another big Dallas race, the Allstate 13.1 half marathon, which earned her a spot in the 13.1 Marathon Series National Championships in Miami Beach, Fla. next spring.
Though she is an accomplished athlete, Dawn ostensibly remains amicable and pragmatic. Past the finish line at the Turkey Trot she lingered, laughed and chatted casually with the incoming runners. And she still obviously loves teaching.
In addition to coaching the Merriman Park running club kids, Dawn coaches young girls from the greater Dallas area via her SpeedKIDZ Elite program.
Last week, I wrote about another female runner, Lake Highlands dentist Melisa Christian, who has won the Turkey Trot five times. Dawn now has taken the women’s title twice. Melisa did not compete in this year’s Trot.
Colby Lowe, a 23-year-old from Oklahoma, won the men’s Turkey Trot race with a time of 39:57.
