Interview with Patrick Gildea

by Cecil Harris

Patrick Gildea, 26, relishes a challenge. After achieving success as a cross country runner, the Holbrook, NY native will make his marathon debut at the ING New York City Marathon on November 5. The race concludes in Central Park, a familiar spot for Gildea, who has competed many times there as a member of the New York Athletic Club.

Acclaim as a high school runner in Suffolk County, Long Island, earned Gildea a scholarship to the University of Tennessee. He makes his home in Knoxville, and he continues to train under the Volunteers’ assistant coach George Watts. This he has in common with former Vols Jebreh Harris, an 800-meter runner, and fellow Long Islander and NYRR member Anthony Famiglietti, a 2004 Olympian in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

In 2003, Gildea had the finest year of any Volunteers male runner in the 10,000 meters in more than a decade. In 2005, Gildea ran a personal-best of 28:38 while finishing seventh in the 10,000 meters at the 2005 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In 2006, he represented the U.S. at the World Cross Country Championships. In the midst of what he considers a “disappointing” 2006 season, he returned to Long Island in September to run in the Great Cow Harbor 10K. He finished fifth in 30:20; reigning U.S. Cross Country champion Ryan Hall won in a course-record 28:22.

Easygoing and self-effacing, Gildea told MensRacing.com that he’s eager to compete in his first race of more than 10 miles and continue a family tradition started by his father, James, who ran in six New York City Marathons.

MensRacing.com: You’re going to run in your first ING New York City Marathon. What went into your decision to do it this year ?
Patrick Gildea: I just felt like the time was right. I didn’t want to wait too long and then run out of opportunities. Coming off kind of a disappointing track season, I figured, “Well, this is as good a time as any. Give it a shot and see how it goes.” I’ve always thought that the marathon distance would suit me best, so I’m going to make a go of it. I sat down with my coach and discussed it. It was kind of a no-brainer. I knew three or four years ago that when I decided to run my first marathon it was going to be in New York City. What marathon I would do was never an issue. I knew all along it would be New York City.

MR: You’re 26. It seems that marathon runners are getting younger and younger. Why is that?
PG: I don’t know. I think Ryan Shay started the trend. He seemed to run one early on in his career and then it kind of trickled down. I think it’s a good thing. It’s not detrimental to anybody’s training unless they’re training haphazardly. It takes a while to figure out the marathon, so I think the earlier you’re willing to give it a shot, the better off you’ll be in the long run. Some guys are talented enough or fortunate enough to nail it the first time out; other guys need two or three marathons to figure it out. If you’re starting younger—at 23, 24, 25 years of age—hopefully by the time you’re 28 you’ve got it figured out and you can start making a big impact in the races, instead of just hoping to dip under a standard or be the top local finisher.

MR: What has made your season, by your own account, disappointing?
PG: I had been selected for the World Cross Country Championships, and I was pleased with the way my winter went. The year before, I ran 28:38 in a 10K, which had been a PR by just over half a minute, so I thought I could run another half-minute faster this year. It just didn’t happen, for whatever reason. My training was not above and beyond what it was a year ago. But my intensity had picked up. I thought 28:05 or 28:10 was in the cards. But it just never worked out. I made an attempt at the Cardinal meet to run a fast 10,000. It just didn’t happen. I ran 29:15. I attempted one 5K and it was a mediocre effort. I was lucky enough to use my time from last year to get into this year’s USA Outdoors. But that was another average effort. I ran 29:15 there again. I was consistent. But I was consistently putting out mediocre efforts. It hasn’t been the worst of seasons, but it hasn’t been what I thought it would be coming off the World Cross.

MR: Has that disappointment helped to fuel your training for the marathon?
PG: Yeah. In a way, it was a good thing because it lit my fire to try to get this marathon thing right. I’ve been training pretty hard now since August. So we’ll see.

MR: Tell me about the training you’ve been doing since August.
PG: I’ve been doing your basic mileage. I’ve been able to handle a lot more mileage than I’ve ever handled before. That’s very encouraging. I’m normally a 90-100 mile a week runner. For this, I’ve had a peak of 135. I’ve been consistently in the 120-125 range. I’m thoroughly pleased with the training I’ve been able to do, with the longer intervals. My coach and I, we didn’t sit down and map out the training [schedule] from start to finish at the beginning because this is my first time around. We wanted to take the approach of seeing how I’m reacting to the training and the mileage and the intervals. We’ve gone by feel a little bit. We had some things pasted in there from the start, like on this day this is what my workout would be, but for the most part, he’s given me a workout day by day and I’ve done it. It’s been pretty good. Hopefully, it all pays off November 5.

MR: You’re no longer a student at Tennessee, but you’re still with George Watts, who coaches the distance runners and cross country runners there.
PG: Yeah. I left for a short while, but I came back. I’ve been with Coach Watts since 2002. There are quite a few guys who went to school here who still work with him. There’s myself and Anthony [Famiglietti] around, and there are some 800 [meter] guys still around. It’s probably a testament to how dedicated of a coach he is and how good he is. Sometimes he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. Maybe people on the outside who don’t live in Knoxville, or didn’t go to UT, don’t know how good he is. Maybe that’s his athletes’ fault. Maybe in some events, some of us don’t race as well as we could have, and maybe that doesn’t shine the best light on him. But he’s definitely the best coach I’ve ever had. Maybe you can’t use my track season as an example. But Anthony PR-ed at every single track event he ran this year, from 1500 all the way up to 10,000 meters. I can’t say enough about Coach Watts. He lets me hang around, gives me workouts, and keeps me under control.

MR: Why haven’t you convinced Anthony to run a marathon?
PG: [Laughing]. After his 10,000, I don’t know how much convincing it’ll take. I think sooner or later he will. We’ve never actually talked about it. The last time I talked to him was a week before the [Continental Airlines] Fifth Avenue Mile. I’ll tell you, the thought must have crossed his mind, “I ran my first serious 10K in 27:37.” I would imagine that one day you’ll see him running the marathon in New York City, and I would expect only great things. He’s not going to just go out there and try to have an experience with it. He’s going to go for it from the start. That’s the way he trains and that’s the way he runs. Maybe he’ll have questions for me after the marathon, maybe he won’t. I’m curious to see how I come out of this marathon. Hopefully, it’s a positive experience.

MR: Do you have a time in mind?
PG: We’re shooting for something in the 2:15 range. Priority number one is to get the standard for the Olympic trials next year. I’m never going to say it’s going to be easy, but I’m confident enough to say that I’m capable of running the standard, or maybe just a little bit higher than that. I don’t want to say that I’m going to run 2-something crazy, because I don’t want to get in over my head.

MR: Does being a native New Yorker make it more exciting for you to run in the ING New York City Marathon?
PG: Yeah. I’ve thought about it quite a bit, especially over the last month or so. It gets a little bit more exciting every day, because I get to think about the start, what’s it going to feel like to finish. It’s going to be very exciting, because I’ll have so many family members and friends to cheer me on. Like I said before, it was a no-brainer as to where I was going to run my first marathon, because of how well I’ve always been treated by the New York Road Runners. I’ve run countless races in Central Park, even in high school. I’m with the New York Athletic Club. I’ve seen my dad run a bunch of marathons himself. Just the idea of crossing the finish line at Tavern on the Green is going to be something pretty nice.

MR: How many people will be coming out to watch you?
PG: Probably too many to name [laughing]: aunts, uncles, cousins, my parents, and my sister. I’m sure I’ll have a bunch of wild and crazy friends out on the course. There’ll be a lot of fanfare. My girlfriend, Brooke Novak, is coming up from Knoxville. She’s a 1500-meter runner who also went to UT. I think this will be the first time she gets excited about a race that’s more than 1500 meters. She’s looking forward to it. She’s only been to New York once, for a track meet a couple of years back. She’ll get to see New York in a whole different light at the marathon. She’s looking forward to it.

MR: What do you plan to do in the city after the race?
PG: Go home with my parents and rest [laughing]. That’s it. Maybe if I wasn’t a native New Yorker, there would be something in particular that I’d want to do. But I’m just going to relax.

MR: Does your dad still run competitively?
PG: No. He’s more on the volunteer side of things now. He’ll probably be one of the last people I see before the start of the race and one of the first people I see at the finish line. He volunteers with New York Road Runners for the race. I think he works with elite runners’ baggage. Whether I’m coming through with a full head of steam or falling on my face, my dad’s probably going to be the first person I see at the finish line.

MR: Has he given you any advice since he has run the marathon before?
PG: Well, his experience and mine is a little bit different. He was really a middle-of-the-pack kind of guy. He just tells me to be rested. He knows how much training I’m putting into this.

MR: Is there anything about the marathon course that concerns you?
PG: I was fortunate enough to run the last 10 miles a bunch of months ago with Sam [Grotewold]. That was pretty helpful. The distance concerns me. And the footing in New York is a bit of a concern. I’ve been taking the road conditions into consideration. I run on pavement every day, but it’s still going to be an issue, I think, because I haven’t raced 26 miles on pavement. I’ve been told you’ve got to watch out for blisters. I’m talking to as many people as I can who have run New York before to get their advice: How really hilly is the last 10K? How do you feel the last half of the race? I’ll take all that into consideration. All I can hope for on race day is that I’ve done all my homework and I’m ready to go.

MR: In September, you ran in the Great Cow Harbor 10K, an event in Northport Village, near your Long Island home. Did you enjoy that experience?
PG: Yeah. That’s the second time I’ve run that race. They do a phenomenal job putting on that race and getting so many talented runners to participate. It didn’t go as well as I would have hoped, time-wise or place-wise. I got something valuable out of it just by seeing where I was in my training. It was not so great to get my doors blown off by Ryan (laughing). I wasn’t expecting any course record. Since then, I’ve been training that much harder and I’ve seen some improvements in my workouts.

MR: Are you getting a bit antsy in anticipation of November 5?
PG: I’ve been saying for the last few weeks that I wish I could just get to the race. I’ve just about gotten in all the long training runs. Tomorrow [October 21] is my last long training run. The rest are, like, formality runs. I’ve gotten through the bulk of the intervals. Now it’s about sharpening up and getting the legs back under me. I’ll run 100 miles [the week of October 16], 80-90 miles [the week of October 23], and then taper off. I’m feeling pretty good. I can’t wait for November 5. My flight to New York is November 2, and I’m already anticipating November 2 as much as November 5. Just get me to New York City. I just want to be in that atmosphere, just being around the other athletes, picking their brains, seeing how things have been going for them. I just want to take it all in. I didn’t think I could be this excited about anything. I was excited about the World Cross Country—my first world championship. But when I get to the start line in New York City, I think I’ll have that same kind of feeling, the same kind of emotion.

Interview conducted October 20, 2006, and posted October 27, 2006.