From Track Star to U.S. Olympic Trials- Men's Marathon Qualifier :
James Carney placed second in the USA 20K Championships - how will he do in the Olympic Marathon Trials on November 3?
By Cecil Harris
Top-level runners may draw inspiration from one of their own previous performances or a performance by a competitor or childhood idol. But 30-year-old James Carney, who has overcome long odds to earn his place at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon, is inspired by what may be the greatest upset in college football history: September 1, 2007: Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32.
“A little school that got an appearance fee for the game because they were supposed to get beat,” Carney marveled about the tiny North Carolina school that upset the No. 5-ranked team in America. “But nobody told Appalachian State. Those guys didn’t roll over and die. They won! You know what an inspiration that is to me? I didn’t go to UCLA. I didn’t go to Arizona State. I went to Millersville University.”
A four-time Division II All-American at Millersville in Lancaster, PA, Carney has parlayed hard work and self-confidence into a successful career. As he prepares for the November 3 Trials race, Carney is a hero to scores of hard-working, small-college runners across the country. “I get e-mails,” he said, “from guys at Division II and Division III schools: ‘Hey, you’re giving us hope down here.’ I’m really proud of that.”
However, Carney is realistic about his status as an underdog at the Trials. He has yet to complete a marathon. In his first attempt, at Twin Cities in 2005, fatigue caused him to drop out even though he was in second place after 21 miles. With a hearty laugh, he acknowledges that his unusual pre-race meal—a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal—may have contributed to his inability to finish. He achieved the Olympic “B” standard and qualified for the Trials with an impressive time of 27:43.64 in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational on April 27.
“I consider myself the X factor,” Carney said, referring to the Trials. “You never know what you’re going to get. I’ve got some good track times coming in. I’m getting older now, and I’ve got a lot of miles on my legs, but I don’t have a lot of marathon experience, so it could go either way. I think I have a very good chance of doing well, and I’m going into the race thinking that I can make the team. If you don’t go into the race with that attitude, you’re not going to make the team.”
On September 4, the day after finishing second to Dan Browne in the USA 20K Championships in New Haven, CT, Carney surveyed the Trials course in Central Park. “A lot of guys are going to be taken by surprise if they don’t come and look at the course first,” he said. “I’m really glad that I came here after New Haven. Knowing the course is going to be a benefit. You’re going to do a lot better if you know the course. I’m a big advocate of being very aggressive. But on this course, you could really hurt yourself if you’re too aggressive. Because of the hills, you have to be careful. The course is going to be such a determining factor of who’s going to be on the team.
Carney wrestled competitively in high school in Pennsylvania, using running to improve his stamina and keep his weight down. After earning a degree in finance from Millersville and a graduate degree in logistics from Penn State, Carney ran for Team USA Monterey Bay with such athletes as Fasil Bizuneh, Ryan Bak, and Anthony Famiglietti.
When asked what has to happen for him to become the Appalachian State of the Trials, Carney said, “Some guys are going to have to have bad days. Some guys are going to have to fall apart. I’m going to have to have a great day. I’m going to have to get a little lucky. It can happen, but things are going to have to fall perfectly for me. If guys like Abdi [Abdirahman] and [Ryan] Hall go out and run a 9:20 for the first two miles and they never come back, God bless ’em. If they do that and win, they’re the better men and I’ll take my hat off to them. I’m going to need to be as strong as hell for this race and be able to keep moving longer than anybody else.”
Insufficient funding caused the team to disband. Carney now lives in Boulder, CO, where he rooms and trains with the brothers Edwardo and Jorge Torres and is coached by Brad Hudson. Eventually, he’ll put his business education to good use. But his main priority these days is to follow his Olympic dream.
“I’m a very aggressive and hard-working guy,” said Carney, who is 5-10 and 125 pounds. “I’m not a talented guy. I just work real hard. I truly believe there are a lot of guys out there who could make the Olympic Trials if they’re willing to work their asses off for seven or eight years.”
As Carney spoke in a courtyard on New York’s Upper East Side, he noted the buses passing by with billboards featuring the stars of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. He mused about seeing himself on a billboard, magazine cover, or national television show after fulfilling his Olympic dream in the media capital of the world.
Underdog or not, Carney intends to bring his “A” game on November 3.
