With all the national and state champion girl distance runners this area has turned out, two of the USA’s current top runners come from much farther down the Empire’s list.
Much has already been written about Kim Conley rising to the top of the US ranks but now former Maria Carrillo runner Alia Gray is turning a lot of heads.
At Carrillo Gray was not even her teams’ top runner and although good could do no better than 5th in the NBL finals in 2006 at 18:45 at Spring Lake. That is a 6:09 mile pace for 3.05 miles.
Eight years later Gray is now an elite runner.
As reported her last big race was at New York City Marathon were she finished in a world class field at 16th in 2:39:43, a 6:06 mile pace for 26.2 miles, faster than she did for the 1/9th that distance in HS.

MARATHON
2:39:43 Alia Gray (Maria Carrillo ’07) NY Marathon 11/3/14
2:44:07 Julia Stamps, NY Athletic Club (Santa Rosa HS ‘96) Olympic trials, Houston 1/14/12.
HALF-MARATHON
1:12:54 Sara “Bei” Hall, Team Hall (Montgomery ‘01) Healdsburg Wine Country Half Marathon 10/25/14
1:13:34 Alia Gray (Maria Carrillo ’07) Houston Marathon 1/19/14
1:15:41 Kim Conley (Montgomery ’04) Healdsburg Wine Country Half Marathon 10/25/14
1:17:08 Julia “Stamps” Mallon, (Santa Rosa HS ‘96) AFC Half Marathon, San Diego 8/18/13
10,000 METERS
31:48.71 Kim Conley, New Balance (Montgomery ’04) at Stanford 5/4/2014
32:57.85 Alia Gray, Brooks/Hts Elite (Maria Carrillo ’07) at Stanford 5/4/2014
33:19.77 Sarah Sumpter, UC Davis (Healdsburg ’08) Stanford Invitational 4/6/2012
33:33.81 Chris Boyd, Adidas (Empire Runners ’93) in 1995
33:58.06 Sara Bei, Stanford (Montgomery ‘01) Stanford 5/17/03
5,000 METERS
15:09.57 Kim Conley, (Montgomery ’04) Prefontaine Classic 2013
15:24.74 Sara Bei, Stanford (Montgomery ‘01) at USATF 6/23/05
16:01.29 Alia Gray, Brooks/HTS Elite (Maria Carrillo ’07) 4/18/14 Mt Sac
16:08.10 Chris Boyd, Adidas (Empire Runners ’93) in 1995
16:09.83 Sarah Sumpter, Davis (Healdsburg ’08) at Stanford 3/29 13
16:29.07 Julia Stamps, Stanford (Santa Rosa HS ‘96)