Grogan (22), burst on to the local scene last year as a key member of Hill City-University relay teams, and not only cemented her place within the club’s talented senior women’s ranks, but this year has stamped her authority both in cross-country and on the road individually.
She is a real contender for the half-marathon in the Dunedin Marathon, to be run next Sunday.
The second-year medical student tested the waters of longer distance running when she decided to run her first half-marathon in the Dunedin event last September, finishing third in the open women’s section in 1hr 26min 17sec.
She mixed it with past Otago champions Rachel Kingsford and Shireen Crumpton, who finished first and second respectively.
Not dissimilar to Crumpton in stature, Grogan said she surprised herself somewhat, with a liking for the distance, and will use the knowledge from last year’s event in her preparations.
"It was hard," she said of stepping up to the half-marathon distance last year.
"I’ve never had bigger blisters in my life."
She admitted to feeling how easy the transition from shorter distance club running to the half-marathon was for her last year in terms of recovery.
"It surprised me really, the time especially. I was aiming for a time closer to 1.30."
Grogan said doing last year’s half-marathon was part of trying to find a distance that suited her to specialise in.
"I thought longer distance was clearly something I was better at."
Grogan admits to being competitive by nature, which led her into running two years ago from a background of women’s football, a sport she still loves with a passion.
"I was generally quite fit," she said of playing football for Northern, when she arrived in Dunedin four years ago.
Football was her first choice of sport since the age of 6, but added that running had given another dimension to her fitness level.
Running, it seems, has her returning to her genetic foundations.
Her mother, Glenys Kroon, represented New Zealand in cross-country, track and road events and her father, Eddie Grogan, was a highly regarded 800m runner.
Younger sister Anneke was the 2014 New Zealand Secondary Schools 2km steeplechase champion and is
on an athletics scholarship in the United States as a promising steeplechase and middle distance runner.
"I was sort of fit but not really fit, and not where I wanted to be. And I knew from my sister running that it was a good way to get fit," she said.
She switched two years ago.
"It actually takes a lot less time. You can go for like an hour run and you’re done, whereas with football, it takes the whole day. But I do absolutely love football."
Grogan’s long-term plans at the moment focus on the half-marathon distance and mountain running.
Mountain running, as with her first half-marathon last year, also netted immediate results, as Grogan finished third in this year’s New Zealand championships in Queenstown.
"It was awesome. I loved it. I liked the distance. It kind of suits me going up the hills.
"It’s kind of tough going up the hills, but I get quite a lot of satisfaction out of it. But that’s why I run, because I find it really satisfying."
