Joseph Gray (born January 20, 1984) is an American world champion runner who competes mostly in trail, mountain and snowshoe races. He won the World Mountain Running Championships in 2016. He is the first Black American to not only make the Team USA World Mountain Running Team, but also the first Black American to win the USA National Mountain Running Championships and the World Mountain Running Championships.
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 20, 1984 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Snowshoe running Trail running Mountain running Road running Cross country | |||||||||||||||||
| Club | Club Northwest | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gray was voted the greatest male mountain runner of all time by a poll conducted by the World Mountain Running Association.[1]
Biography
editGray's initial inspiration to compete was Simon Gutierrez.[2] Gray has been a 28-time Team USA national team member.[3] He is the only African-American to be part of the U.S. Mountain Running Team at any level.[4] He is a 16-Time USA National Champion [5][6] and was the first ever national champion at the 30k trail distance.[7]
In 2012 he was the co-winner of the XTERRA Trail Run World Championships.[8] In 2018 he became a 4-Time Xterra World Trail Running Champion after winning the Championship 3 years consecutively 2016–2018.
He is the American record holder at the Mount Washington Road Race.[9] In August 2016, Gray won the Pikes Peak Ascent in a time of 2:05, the fastest climb since 1995.[10] The following month, he won the World Mountain Running Championships which were held in Sapareva Banya, Bulgaria.[11] In April 2017, Gray won the RRCA Colorado State Championship 5K Non-Road Race, held in conjunction with the Hams and Hamstrings 5K.[12]
On July 20, 2018, Joseph Gray ran the fastest known time (FKT) up Mount Antero from the bottom of FS road 277 to the top of Mount Antero in 1:23:10.[13] He used a running power meter during the attempt.[14]
Gray has the FKT on the Manitou Incline in Colorado Springs with a time of 17:45 verified with GPS.
| Gold | 2009 USA Mountain Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2011 USA 15k Trail Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2012 USA Mountain Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2012 USA 50k Ultramarathon Road Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2013 USA Mountain Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2013 USA 50k Ultramarathon Road Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2013 USA Trail Half Marathon National Champs |
| Gold | 2013 USA Cross Country National Champs (Clubs) |
| Gold | 2014 USA Mountain Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2015 Collegiate Running Assoc 10k Trail Running Champs |
| Gold | 2016 North American Continental Vertical Kilometer Champs |
| Gold | 2016 USA Mountain Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2016 USA 30k Trail Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2017 USA Mountain Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2017 USA Trail Half Marathon National Champs |
| Gold | 2018 North American Snowshoe Running Champs |
| Gold | 2018 USA Mountain Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2018 USA 30k Trail Running National Champs |
| Gold | 2018 USA Trail Half Marathon National Champs |
| Gold | 2009 NACAC Mountain Running Champs |
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| Gold | 2010 NACAC Mountain Running Champs |
| Gold | 2011 NACAC Mountain Running Champs |
| Gold | 2012 NACAC Mountain Running Champs |
| Gold | 2013 NACAC Mountain Running Champs |
| Gold | 2018 NACAC Mountain Running Champs |
| Gold | 2014 NACAC Cross Country Champs (First Athlete to win NACAC in XC and Mountain Running) |
| Gold | 2018 Pan American Cross Country Championships |
| Gold | 2015 Pan American Games Cross Country Championships (Team Medal) |
References
edit- ^ World Mountain Running Association.
- ^ "6 Questions with Joe Gray - Page 2". Trailrunnermag.com. September 10, 2014. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ Fraioli, Mario. "Joe Gray Breaks Matt Carpenter's Manitou Incline FKT". Running.competitor.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ Mock, Justin (October 10, 2014). "Joe Gray is a One-of-a-Kind Mountain Runner". Runner's World. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ "Gray, Roche crowned 30km Trail champions". BoulderRunning.com. July 31, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ "This Week In Running: August 1, 2016". Irunfar.com. August 1, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ "USATF 30K Trail Championships - Gray and Roche Victorious in Colorado Springs". Coloradorunnermag.com. July 31, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ "Historic Performances at the 2012 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship". Trailrunnermag.com. December 12, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ "Aspen: It's Not Just for Skiing". Trailrunnermag.com. July 22, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ Justin Mock, "This Week In Running: August 22, 2016", iRunFar.com.
- ^ Justin Mock, "This Week In Running: September 12, 2016", iRunFar.com.
- ^ "Hams and Hamstrings Results April 16, 2017". onlineraceresults.com. April 16, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
- ^ "Mt Antero (CO) | Fastest Known Time".
- ^ @joegeezi (July 20, 2018). "In preparation for the World Mountain Running Champs strydrunning helped me design power targets for upcoming races…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "USA National Teams". Retrieved February 20, 2019.
External links
editJoseph Gray at A Runner’s Life Podcast