The morning of Saturday, April 11 will probably begin like most for 87-year-old Harold Carey. He’ll rise, don athletic shoes and mentally prepare himself for a long run not far from his Evansville home. But when the sun sets on April 11, Harold Carey intends to have reached his long-awaited personal goal of completing a marathon.
The senior athlete will be one of thousands of entrants in the Southern Indiana Classic Marathon, starting and finishing at Vanderburgh 4-H Center. After months of long-distance preparation, Carey feels ready to tackle his first 26.2-mile course. His desire to run a marathon was sparked years ago.
“I ran my first half-marathon at age 75,” Carey explained. “That race was in the month of April that year, and I finished in one hour, 45 minutes. When I told my friends that I wanted to run a full marathon in December that year in Huntsville, Ala., they talked me out of it.”
” This is the year that I’m going to do it.”
The Chandler, Ind., native settled in Evansville with his family after a long career in the Air Force. He took up running at age 64, in hopes of shedding a few extra pounds.
“I’d been trying to lose weight by walking 5 miles a day, but I couldn’t lose an ounce that way,” he explained. “So, I tried running. The first time, I couldn’t get half a block without losing my breath.
“But I kept at it, and once I could run a mile, psychologically, I was able to keep going. I built up my distance from there.”
Carey’s goal is both laudable and achievable, according to Jill Gehlhausen, race director and president of the Southern Indiana Classic Marathon Road Runners Club.
“Harold has been so successful at his half-marathons that I am confident he will be able to accomplish this,” she said. “He can run a 10- to 12-minute mile pace, which is great for any age at this distance.”
Carey faithfully participates in the club’s weekly training program and keeps pace with its challenges.
“He runs every Saturday, no matter what,” Gehlhausen continued. “In January, he ran in 14-degree weather, with icicles hanging from his eyebrows.”
Along with conquering his fitness goals, Carey has much to show for his running career. He’s won numerous trophies in the Summer National Senior Games, sponsored by a branch of the USA Olympic Committee. The games are held every two years in venues across the country.
Onlookers often peg Carey to finish first in his events. Generally, he doesn’t disappoint.
He clocked his fastest time in a 5K race, finishing in 22 minutes, 9 seconds. He recounted one minor disappointment that recently took place not far from home.
“The National Senior Olympics were held in Louisville in 2007, and the 5K race course went up a steep mountain in Iroquois Park,” he explained.
“That mountain sure took a lot out of me. A guy who’d just turned 80 beat me by just a bit, so I got the silver that day.”
Through his national race exploits, Carey has built friendships with runners from far-off states and has collected more trophies than he can count. His five children, 12 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren track his progress and are proud of his prizes. Evelyn, his wife of 66 years, often jokes that she’s weary of the dust his many trophies attract.
“My trophies are all over the place, on our microwave, on windowsills, on top of the TV…” he said. “I don’t pay any attention to the trophies. I just go out and see what I can do.”
At times Carey has been under a doctor’s care for physical ailments, but he currently has a clean bill of health. His resting heart rate is 39 beats per minute; he takes no daily medications.
“All is well right now,” he said. “I subscribe to Runner’s World magazine and take vitamins. We eat nutritious food. I will stay with my training, and we’ll see how I do on April 11.”
Carey’s desired outcome for that special day is simple: “My goal is to run the marathon in six hours flat.”
Tags: running, running trophies, trophies