Indianapolis is known for its speedy race times, be they race cars or marathon running.
Morrisville’s Alex Carideo can confirm the latter from a first-hand perspective.
He competed in last month’s 26.2-mile event at the Indiana state capital and finished an eye-opening 20th overall out of more than 5,000 runners.
His time of two hours, 24 minutes was just six minutes off the qualifying time for the United States Olympic Marathon Trials.
To top it off, this was Carideo’s first marathon and he had set a lofty goal of breaking 2:25.
So the 26-year-old Carideo achieved that and now, looking far down the road, he has his eye set on the 2028 Trials to determine the three-man U.S. team which will compete in the Los Angeles Summer Games.
“Honestly, after I finished that race, I knew if I went under 2:25, I had a legitimate shot of doing that (Trials qualifier) in the next three-year cycle,” Carideo said in a telephone interview.
“My coach (Hector Matos of the Leonia, N.J. Track Club) said, no pressure, but the goal for the next three years is to make the U.S. Trials.”
Carideo has already run a 1:09 half-marathon race, so he knows the physical demand and the pace (something in the 5:15-per-minute range) to get the job done.
“It’s more possible than I ever once thought,” he said. “Especially considering this is just my first marathon. I negatively split pretty well. First half in 73 minutes, second half in 71.
“I think potentially I could have run even a little faster than I did. If I had more people around me and had the courage to go out a bit faster. . .I maybe could have cut off 30 seconds or a minute.”
He doesn’t plan to run another marathon until Chicago in October, 2025. It seems like a prudent plan to not get to that 2:18 goal too quickly.
“Indy gives me confidence for the next one that I would be able to go out a little faster,” Carideo said. “I’ll be getting even closer to that time.”
Carideo experienced great weather conditions on race day and the flat, fairly straight course certainly didn’t hurt either.
This being his first marathon, Carideo relied on his training and background research to get through the final miles of uncharted territory.
Starting off at a prudent pace was also important. Many runners go out too fast because they feel good and pay for it later.
“I always knew from the start that I was going to be a little quicker than I wanted to go out,” he said. “Right around the two-hour mark, I was looking at my watch and I just knew that if I held it to the line I could run under 2:25.
“I still felt really good all the way up until the end.”
Is the mental preparation for this sort of challenge possibly greater than the physical side of it?
“Yeah, I think the mental side is really important,” said Carideo, he averaged 93 miles of training per week for three months. “Especially when I was younger. I think when I was younger I struggled more with the mental side of it. Now I feel like I’ve grown and I have become more mentally strong.
“Also, a lot of Olympians like Sydney McLaughlin –she’s asked a lot about pressure going into the Olympics. She always says the only pressure is all in your head. The only pressure is what you create and put on yourself. So there’s no real pressure. It’s just kind of a mental thing. I didn’t put any pressure on myself even though it was my first marathon.”
Also helping in this area was his dad, Peter, who rode his bicycle along the Indy course on sidewalks and the like to provide some company.
Peter, an accomplished marathon runner himself, could not offer too much in the way of verbal support because the “coaching” rules are real tricky.
The high finish allowed Alex to join the United States high performance program, of which there are only about 150 qualifiers.
Privileges include starting right behind professional runners in long-distance races and a separate warm-up area.
Carideo’s highest mileage training week for Indianapolis was 108 and his longest individual training run was 23 miles.
He knows there could come a day when he might have to average 108 for weeks on end but one gets the feeling he will be up for the challenge.
Diet, precise training, rest cycles are all key to this sort of approach.
Over the Indy course, Carideo consumed seven energy gels, each with a load of carbohydrates. He grabbed water at 18 of the 20 hydration stations. That allowed him to reach the finish line before any sort of cramping set in.
No worries when he reached those uncharted 24th and 25th miles?
“I was focused on holding my form, holding my pace,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking like ‘I’ve never done this.’ Only two miles to go. Let’s keep it up.”
And keep going he did
He was all smiles when he reached the finish line.
“I was super happy when I crossed the line,” he said. “My right calf cramped instantly. But that was OK. I felt fine during the race and that’s all that really mattered.”
>Race calendar
>Saturday
Candy Cane 5K, 10 a.m., Langhorne. Contact: www.runsignup.com
>Sunday
Freeze-up 5K, 8 a.m., Perkasie. Contact: www.perkiomenwatershed.org
