Calhoun grad runs marathon in the Olympic Trials

I really just enjoyed the experience. I think that’s kind of what marathons are all about — the environment is so special.”

Grace Moore, Calhoun High School graduate

Grace Moore, a 25-year-old runner and a Calhoun High School graduate, fulfilled a competitive dream earlier this month, taking part in the Olympic Trials women’s marathon in Orlando, Florida.

When Moore was a student at Merrick Avenue Middle School in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, she joined the track team, and continued running at Sanford H. Calhoun High School, where she also played soccer. In her sophomore year, she found more success on the cross-country squad instead, accumulating accolades like All County awards.

Her hard work in the classroom and on the track throughout high school paid off when she was recruited to run at Temple University in Philadelphia. She graduated in 2021— and her running career didn’t stop there.

After Moore began working with a running coach in New Jersey while living in Wayne, Pennsylvania, she took her running to the next level. Her times improved, and she was notching personal bests, climbing the ladder toward national and international competition day by day. All the while, she was maintaining a social life and working in the field of medical device sales as a market specialist.

“I just have always needed that balance of regular life and running,” Moore, a native of Merrick, who still lives in Pennsylvania said. “I can’t take running too seriously — it stresses me out too much.”

In school, Moore competed in distances ranging from 1,500 to 5,000 meters on the track, and 6-kilometer cross-country races. Last year she decided to give longer distances a try. She ran a 10K, and then entered her first 13.1-mile half marathon, on March 25: Project 13.1, a race in Rockland Lake State Park in Valley Cottage, New York. She not only finished fourth overall, with a time of 1 hour, 11 minutes, 53 seconds, but she qualified for this year’s Olympic Trials marathon.

As she trained, her weekly mileage increased dramatically, to over 90 miles per week. “It’s just a lot of running, eating, sleeping, working, and that was the past few months,” Moore said. “It was an adjustment, but I think my body handled it pretty well. I can definitely see marathoning as my future.”

The Olympic Trials race, on Feb. 3, was Moore’s first full 26.2-mile marathon ever.

Only 14 other women in the field were attempting to qualify for the Paris Summer Olympics having never run that distance before, having made the Trials based solely on their half-marathon times.

Moore finished 38th out of 150 runners, crossing the finish line in 2:36:23, an outstanding time for a first-time marathoner.

“I was in a really good mental state with this race,” she said. “Normally in the past, I’ve put way too much pressure on things, and that takes the fun out of it. I really just enjoyed the experience. I think that’s kind of what marathons are all about. The environment is so special.”

Moore found herself going stride for stride with the best women marathoners in the country — competitors who were once her idols.

She was cheered on by a number of friends and family members, including her father, Ray Moore.

“My dad was the one who got me into the sport at a young age,” Grace recalled. “He’s been my biggest fan throughout my career. Having him there was really special.”

What’s next for Moore? The answer is simple, she said. The 2028 Olympics.