Old Man Carroll To Mudlark Miller All In The Running

Sun Herald

Sunday May 27, 2001

By HEATHER QUINLAN

AN ``old man", a retiree, a triathlete, a fellow with dodgy shins and a woman whose last race was in a Belgian bog that's the elite line-up today for the The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon.

Queenslander Pat Carroll, who turns 40 this year, couldn't resist another chance to race in the event he made his own in 1994 with the sizzling record time of 61min11s.

Steve Moneghetti later rated Carroll's performance as ``the most significantly underrated run on Australian soil".

Now that he's an ``old man", Carroll has forgone two training runs a day in favour of one, plus a gym session, but the competitive fire still burns in his belly.

``When [the half marathon] is over, I'll be exhausted because I'll have given it my best shot," he said.

``I still train as hard as ever but, unfortunately, my legs don't move as quickly as I'd like.

``When I was 20 it took me two days to get over a race and now it takes me almost two weeks."

Dean Cavuoto, 25, from Canberra, has the credentials to take out his first SMH Half Marathon, although he has had a frustrating series of leg injuries.

Cavuoto, a two-time Australian Half Marathon Championship winner, is competing for the first time in six months after stress fractures were diagnosed in both tibias.

In all he has had eight stress fractures in his shins.

With a personal best of 63min38s for the 21.1km distance, Cavuoto is among a group of men, including David Evans from Sydney and Victorian Craig Semple, who will battle for the $4,000 first prize.

Retired three-time SMH Half Marathon champion Heather Turland surprisingly announced on Friday that she would ``pull on the running shoes and jog around" today.

The women's event is likely to be dominated by the 1999 champion, Liz Miller of Randwick, who finished a creditable 29th at the world cross-country titles in Belgium recently.

After racing around a windswept track sometimes knee-deep in mud, Miller is looking forward to more pleasant conditions on the scenic half marathon course through the Sydney CBD.

Brilliant Victorian triathlete Emma Carney, who makes her half marathon debut today, is hoping to chase Miller home in a good time.

Carney, 29, a dual triathlon world champion, believes her endurance level will get her through the race.

``I'm not too sure what my running form is," she said.

*The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, starts at 7.30am in Lower Fort Street, The Rocks. No late entries will be accepted as the limit of 4,000 runners has been reached.

© 2001 Sun Herald

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