Where Are They Now? Megan Hogan
4/30/2020 9:30:00 AM | Women's Track/Cross Country, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
GW Athletic Hall of Famer continues to add to impressive running resume
Megan Hogan added to her impressive running resume last April, crossing the Boston Marathon finish line in 2:42.00 to secure a U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying time with three minutes to spare.
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While representing GW cross country, Hogan cemented her place among the nation's distance elite as a two-time NCAA All-American before later competing professionally, but this was her first time completing a full 26.2-mile marathon.
Surrounded by a group of her closest friends in Boston's Copley Square, she was surprised at the emotion of the moment.
"Training for a marathon is a whole other ballgame," said Hogan, a 2018 GW Athletic Hall of Fame inductee who competed in the Buff and Blue from 2008-to-2010. "It's very hard. You have to be very dedicated and really sacrifice a lot for it to perform well."
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Now living in Boston, Hogan stays plenty busy with a full-time job as an interior designer and an enjoyable side gig studying to become a wine sommelier, but she still has a passion for running and she's still got goals to chase.
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Following a 2018 bike accident that limited her running for months, Hogan set her sights on the Olympic Marathon Trials. She'd qualified for the race in 2012 and 2016 by virtue of her performance in the 10K and half marathon, but she'd never actually run it.
Â
"I think when you invest in a running career early on you have these big goals," Hogan said. "For me, I've qualified for the Olympic Trials before but got hurt during training. It was like 'Well, I don't know where I'm going to be in another four years.'"
Â
Hogan's marathon plan meant following a hectic schedule for much of the past 18 months: Most days, she'd wake up at 5 a.m. to squeeze in a run or workout before heading to work at a global architecture firm where she's primarily focused on work-place design.
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Pursuing another passion, Hogan spent evenings working at a local wine shop, which meant not getting home until nearly 11 p.m. Then, she'd recharge as best as she could and do it all over again.
Â
"It was really demanding," said Hogan, who double-majored at GW in Interior Architecture and Fine Arts. "I slept a lot on the weekends, I'll just say that."
Â
Add in studying for her interior design licensure exams, and Hogan was stretched to her physical and mental limits. The chaotic final weeks leading up to her first marathon made her performance all the more special.
Â
"I had no idea how things were going to turn out," Hogan said. "I had been training hard and also studying a lot. It was hard to balance everything.
Â
"It was a very emotional moment for me to cross the finish line at Boston and get the time. And then I ended up passing all my exams, which was pretty great."
Â
After gaining more experience in a difficult run at February's Olympic Trials in Atlanta, Hogan is optimistic about the future. She had targeted this fall for another marathon, though that's uncertain with racing around the globe temporarily halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Â
What's more clear:Â Hogan's legacy at GW is secure nearly a decade after wrapping up her collegiate career.
Â
After starting out on the basketball team at D-III Mount Ida College, Hogan made the most of her three seasons as a Colonials' harrier. The New York native was a two-time A-10 champion and Student-Athlete of the Year and a three-time NCAA participant, highlighted by an eighth-place national finish in 2010 to close out a decorated run in Buff and Blue.
Â
In recognition of that excellence, Hogan was part of an eight-member class added to the GW Athletic Hall of Fame in February 2018. She said her return to Foggy Bottom for the induction ceremony brought back a flood of memories about the support and care from teammates, coaches and administrators that helped launch her career to the highest levels of distance running.
Â
"It's hard to explain the feeling," Hogan said. "I'm so grateful. There's so many people that were a part of my success at GW and the memories that I made, and it all just came together that day in such a special way."
Â
While representing GW cross country, Hogan cemented her place among the nation's distance elite as a two-time NCAA All-American before later competing professionally, but this was her first time completing a full 26.2-mile marathon.
Surrounded by a group of her closest friends in Boston's Copley Square, she was surprised at the emotion of the moment.
"Training for a marathon is a whole other ballgame," said Hogan, a 2018 GW Athletic Hall of Fame inductee who competed in the Buff and Blue from 2008-to-2010. "It's very hard. You have to be very dedicated and really sacrifice a lot for it to perform well."
Â
Now living in Boston, Hogan stays plenty busy with a full-time job as an interior designer and an enjoyable side gig studying to become a wine sommelier, but she still has a passion for running and she's still got goals to chase.
Â
Following a 2018 bike accident that limited her running for months, Hogan set her sights on the Olympic Marathon Trials. She'd qualified for the race in 2012 and 2016 by virtue of her performance in the 10K and half marathon, but she'd never actually run it.
Â
"I think when you invest in a running career early on you have these big goals," Hogan said. "For me, I've qualified for the Olympic Trials before but got hurt during training. It was like 'Well, I don't know where I'm going to be in another four years.'"
Â
Hogan's marathon plan meant following a hectic schedule for much of the past 18 months: Most days, she'd wake up at 5 a.m. to squeeze in a run or workout before heading to work at a global architecture firm where she's primarily focused on work-place design.
Â
Pursuing another passion, Hogan spent evenings working at a local wine shop, which meant not getting home until nearly 11 p.m. Then, she'd recharge as best as she could and do it all over again.
Â
"It was really demanding," said Hogan, who double-majored at GW in Interior Architecture and Fine Arts. "I slept a lot on the weekends, I'll just say that."
Â
Add in studying for her interior design licensure exams, and Hogan was stretched to her physical and mental limits. The chaotic final weeks leading up to her first marathon made her performance all the more special.
Â
"I had no idea how things were going to turn out," Hogan said. "I had been training hard and also studying a lot. It was hard to balance everything.
Â
"It was a very emotional moment for me to cross the finish line at Boston and get the time. And then I ended up passing all my exams, which was pretty great."
Â
After gaining more experience in a difficult run at February's Olympic Trials in Atlanta, Hogan is optimistic about the future. She had targeted this fall for another marathon, though that's uncertain with racing around the globe temporarily halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Â
What's more clear:Â Hogan's legacy at GW is secure nearly a decade after wrapping up her collegiate career.
Â
After starting out on the basketball team at D-III Mount Ida College, Hogan made the most of her three seasons as a Colonials' harrier. The New York native was a two-time A-10 champion and Student-Athlete of the Year and a three-time NCAA participant, highlighted by an eighth-place national finish in 2010 to close out a decorated run in Buff and Blue.
Â
In recognition of that excellence, Hogan was part of an eight-member class added to the GW Athletic Hall of Fame in February 2018. She said her return to Foggy Bottom for the induction ceremony brought back a flood of memories about the support and care from teammates, coaches and administrators that helped launch her career to the highest levels of distance running.
Â
"It's hard to explain the feeling," Hogan said. "I'm so grateful. There's so many people that were a part of my success at GW and the memories that I made, and it all just came together that day in such a special way."
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