A Family Affair

The Moulton twins share the same dream of Olympic glory
By Cecil Harris

Patrick and Casey Moulton are twins, so it should have come as no surprise that they qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon at the same event, each running a personal best while finishing the race nine seconds apart.

At the Freescale Austin Marathon this past February, Casey ran a 2:15:26—a five-minute improvement over his previous PR—and Patrick had spectators doing a double-take when he crossed the line in 2:15:35.

“As the race went on, we felt better and better,” says Casey, who set his previous PR of 2:20:19 at the 2005 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. “Our fastest mile splits came at 20 miles. We both trained to run a 2:15, even though a lot of people were telling us that time was too fast. It was like a dream come true.”

Now the Moultons, born December 12, 1982, in Pelham, NH, hope to fulfill their biggest dream—representing the USA at the Olympics in Beijing. Both will be long shots to grab one of the top three spots. However, both have drawn inspiration from Trent Briney, the long shot who surprised the running world by finishing fourth in 2:12:35 at the 2004 Trials in Birmingham, AL. (Briney has overcome years of injuries and will compete in the Trials on November 3.)

“I hope there’s another guy out there who nobody’s talking about in their predictions of who will do great at the Trials,” says Casey. “But I know that when I line up, there are going to be about 10 runners there who are in a different league. That doesn’t mean I can’t run well. If I could run a 2:15 again at the Trials, I think that would put me pretty high up there.”

Although the Moultons are twins, their preparation for the Trials could not be less similar. While Casey remains in Pelham, Patrick left in early September to join the Hansons-Brooks running team in Rochester, MI, where his teammates include Brian Sell, Clint Verran, and Briney.

“It helps a lot to be running with people better than me,” Patrick says. “It’s made a big difference because I’ve done a lot more mileage than I did before joining the team. I joined the Hansons’s program because I really admire what they do. Just having a group of guys to run with every day is a big plus. It’s good to have guys pushing me. I like the structure. I decided to go for it because I think this is really going to help me run my best at the Trials.”

Patrick works 25 hours per week at the Hansons Running stores between his daily runs. He lives with his teammates, and the rent is covered by the stores and the athletic-shoe company, Brooks.

The Hansons team came to New York on October 1 to do a simulation run on the course in Central Park. “I think it’s a good idea to look at the course and get a feel for what you’ll be running on,” Patrick says.

But as soon as Patrick praised the Hansons’s strategy of getting a sneak preview of the course, he amended the statement, perhaps a tacit acknowledgement that brother Casey, with whom he talks by phone almost every day, is unlikely to see the course beforehand. “I don’t necessarily think you’d run a bad race if you don’t run the course [in advance],” Patrick says. “Maybe if you just prepare for the hills, you’ll be fine.”

“I’ve talked with a bunch of people in the Boston Athletic Association about the Trials course,” Casey says, “and I’ll just train accordingly. I’ll make sure I’m ready for the hills. My brother takes his own direction, and I take mine.”

The Moulton twins have asserted their independence since their teenage years when they attended different high schools. Patrick became the New Hampshire high school cross country champion and got a scholarship to Providence College, from which he graduated with a degree in history. Casey did not run for his high school team or for the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, where he earned a degree in criminal justice. Instead, he became a fixture on the New England professional road race circuit.

“It’s kind of tough for me,” Casey says, “because I’m in New Hampshire and most of the best runners in New England are in the Boston area. It would be great if we had a big running team here in New Hampshire, but we don’t.”

So why didn’t Casey seek to join the Hansons team (founded by brothers Keith and Kevin Hanson in 1999) as Patrick did? “I considered it, but my brother really wanted to be in a team atmosphere. He missed what he had in college. Me, I’ve been on my own pretty much since I started running in middle school. I coach myself. In high school I stopped running and played baseball, basketball, tennis, and did karate before going back to running,” says Casey.

Perhaps we’ll find out on race day if Patrick’s team-oriented approach gives him an edge over Casey, the individualist.

“Sibling rivalry? Nah,” Casey says. “I hope he beats me. I hope he runs an awesome time. I want him to do well, and he wants me to do well.”

Adds Patrick, “I just want us both to run as hard as we can and get the most out of what we can do.”