February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Providence, Rhode Island-based Co. Cork native is part of a select field of elite athletes competing for a $19,000 prize, including the 2004 ING New York City Marathon winner Hendrik Ramaala of South Africa, rising Australian star Craig Mottram, and leading U.S. distance runner Ryan Shay.
Carroll, who is 33, has a stellar record in New York, where he set the Central Park Half Marathon record of 1 hour, 3 minutes, and 11 seconds in 2002.
That same year he chose the city for his full marathon debut, and claimed sixth place in 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 54 seconds, just over a minute outside John Treacy’s Irish national marathon record. This past New Year’s Eve, he placed second in the four-mile Emerald Nuts Midnight Run in Central Park.
“I never need much persuasion to return to New York,” Carroll said. “It’s always good to work with the Road Runners’ guys and I love going down there and running races.
“It also fits in very well with my plans right now. I’m in a heavy building period now for, hopefully, the 10K in Helsinki (where this summer’s World
Championships will be held) and then maybe onto the New York Marathon in the Fall. So I’m not quite ready for a very fast five or ten kilometer on the track, but I’m training hard and sticking in these road races to keep me honest.”
The former Providence College track star is relishing the chance to race among the select field on May 22, particularly as it will provide a chance to atone for a below-par run against Mottram and Britain’s John Mayock — another Healthy Kidney 10K competitor — at the BUPA Great Ireland Run in Dublin last month.
“I just had a poor run over there and it just didn’t go well,” Carroll admitted, “but Mottram is flying. He’s moved to another level since last summer when he ran 12:55 for 5k and he’s going to be very hard to beat even if you’re running at 100 percent.
“He’s running so well he can mix with the best of the Africans out there. So he’s a major boost to have in the field and it will probably ensure it’s going to be a pretty fast time in Central Park.”