

Running Mates Staying The Course

They met as freshmen in the cafeteria at Providence College. Mark Carroll had come from Ireland to run for Providence. Amy Rudolph was a recruit from Kane, Pa., with a lot of potential.

``I heard this girl laughing loudly in the cafeteria,'' Carroll said. ``And I thought, `Who's that?' ''

``I thought he was cute,'' Rudolph said. ``And I couldn't understand a word he said. That was intriguing for me.''

Said Carroll: ``We more or less went from there.''

That was 10 years ago. Today, Amy Rudolph and Mark Carroll are top runners on the international track circuit. Both have been to the Olympics. Both have won the Manchester Road Race -- Amy four times, Mark twice.

Through it all, they've been a couple -- sometimes on, sometimes off -- but they're still together. They live in a small apartment a few blocks from Providence College with their dog Sydney, named after the 2000 Olympic Games.

They will run in the Manchester Road Race Thursday (10 a.m. start, Main Street) -- Amy, seriously; Mark, who just finished sixth in the New York City marathon, not so seriously.

At times, sticking together hasn't been easy, mainly because of the nature of their sport. Running is such an individual endeavor that runners, in general, must have a certain degree of self-absorption to succeed. Those who run for a living, such as Rudolph and Carroll, need to maintain a mental edge to carry them through difficult training sessions and races so they can make money and keep sponsors.

Put two runners in a relationship and things can get complicated. Throw children and jobs into the mix, and you have Mark and Gwyn Coogan.

The Coogans, who have run at Manchester but will not this year, are Olympians. They have three children, including a 5-month-old baby. Gwyn is a mathematics instructor at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H. Mark is a full-time runner.

``Distance running is a selfish sport,'' Mark Coogan said. ``The training will always get in the way of your relationship. If you're both trying to train twice a day, it's like, `Who's going to go first?' It really takes a commitment on the couple's part.''

How about when one makes the Olympic team, and the other doesn't?

That happened to Mark and Gwyn, who were married in 1990. Gwyn made it to Barcelona, Spain, in 1992 in the 10,000 meters.

Mark didn't make it. And he didn't want to go.

``I said, `I'm not a spectator,''' Mark said. ``I was kind of a bad sport. You train for four years for something and that's it. [Gwyn] went by herself. There I was, sitting in Providence, feeling sorry for myself.''

Mark gave in at the end. He bought a plane ticket and arrived in Barcelona the day of his wife's race to cheer her on.

In 1996 it was the other way around. Mark made it to Atlanta in the marathon and Gwyn finished fourth in the marathon trials.

``She was 100 percent supportive,'' Mark said. ``She came to grips with it a lot quicker than I did.''

Gwyn likes to joke, ``Mark and I met on a running team. Running brought us together and ever since it's pulled us apart. It means we don't see each other because we both want to run.

``Joking aside, I think we're lucky we both know this huge aspect of the other person's life. If Mark's passion was hunting, and I didn't hunt, I would miss a lot.''

Rudolph, 29, and Carroll, 30, feel much the same way. They get to spend a lot of time together because they don't have 9-to-5 jobs. Finding time for each other can be difficult on heavy training days, but overall they feel fortunate.

``We're very lucky,'' Rudolph said. ``We're both very lucky to be able to do this full time.''

When Mark was training for the New York City marathon, Amy would meet him at different places on his long runs and hand him water bottles. When Amy was training on the track recently, Mark would run with her, pacing her, or he would tell her he thought she was pushing herself too much and that she should stop for the day.

``He knows me better than anybody,'' Rudolph said.

And runners simply understand other runners.

``Because we do the same thing, we are very understanding of the physical toll on the body and the emotional drain of trying to mentally prepare for every workout and every race,'' Carroll said. ``We don't discuss running for the most part. As far as I'm concerned, we get up and have our breakfast and watch the morning show and do a bit of stretching, do a run, then after that we do regular stuff, laundry, shopping.

``Running has its place -- a couple hours in the morning, a couple hours in the evening.''

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