Education
McGrail attended Stoughton High School, where he would establish his first competitive running spell.
McGrail attended Stoughton High School, where he would establish his first competitive running spell.
In 1977 he was the sixth fastest American in the 10,000 meters. High school and collegiate
At the 1975 National Collegiate Athletic Association DI Cross Country Championships, he finished the 6-mile course in 29:34, placing 33rd out of 268 finishers. By the time he graduated from UMass, he had earned All-American honors, recorded a personal best of 14:16.5 in the 5000 meters, and also set his school"s record in the 10,000 meter run (on track).
His UMass 10K record still stands as of 2015.
Post-collegiate
After college, McGrail pursued road racing and participated in running various long-distance events up to the marathon. In November 1988, at the Marine Corps Marathon, he finished in 16th place overall with a time of 2:29:56.
At the end of the same year he was named Runner of the Year by District of Columbia Road Runners Club.
He was subsequently recruited by UMass, where McGrail made an impact in cross country and track from his first year. As a freshman, he was UMass"s third fastest finisher and was a part of the UMass men"s squad which won the IC4A cross country championships for the first time in 31 years. In July 1988, he won the Carderock 10K run. In 1989, he was the winner of the Washington"s Birthday Marathon, in a time of 2:30:25.
