Carrington takes Island Race

Competing in road races, and at the same time doing so well, including coming out victorious, is nothing new for Boyd Carrington, who can test any distance, even as long as a marathon.

Presently residing in Amityville, New York, Carrington is a native of Barbados, where he attended Cobinere School. His main sport was that of running, but not on a competitive basis.

After high school, he advanced to Drexel University, where he blossomed and set some records on the track, including the 800 and 1000 meters.

“I have a lot of records,” said Carrington, who can compete at various distances, and is a versatile runner. And he prepares well for them, trying to being among the tops in his age category at the time.

At press time, he competed in three road races back-to-back during the Labor Day weekend. He didn’t have much rest between them. Overall, he wound up among the top five in the trio of races — Farmingdale Mile on Saturday, Jericho 10K on Sunday, and then climaxed his weekend on Labor Day by winning the race on the streets and boardwalk of Long Beach in a time of 29:52.

Carrington, who ran at a 5:59 pace over the five-mile course in a field of 289 finishers, mostly from New York City and Long Island, was indeed satisfied with his performances.

“I took the lead about one mile into the race or at the end of the boardwalk,” said the 42-year-old runner who tries to enter into as many races as possible, leading up to the big one, the New York City Marathon which is set for the first Sunday of November. Actually the Long Beach race was a training distance for the New York City Marathon, which draws thousands of runners and their friends and families seeing them in action.

He is now preparing for the Cow Harbor Race in Northport, Suffolk County on Saturday and then the Fifth Avenue Mile in Manhattan the following week.

Carrington is physically feeling fine after suffering from Achilles Tendonitis which sidelined him for seven months.

“I’m coming back slowly,” he added after winning the Long Beach race. “Running makes me happy. I’m getting back into shape.”

He started running in 2007 when at the time his weight read 205 pounds when he decided to make a change in his life.

In preparing for a race, he puts in about 70 to 80 miles a week, almost daily from the Long Island Rail Road Train Station to the Massapequa Trail. He works as a project manager in lower Manhattan.

His big race is the New York City Marathon and he would like to better his clocking of 2:41. He also was clocked in 2:39 in the Boston Marathon. He goal is to complete the course in 2:38 in New York City.

Actully he doesn’t like to run the marathon grind but prepares for the mile.

In the five mile race in Long Beach, Brian Rogeen of Long Island City finished in a close second covering the course in 29:57, one place ahead of Immanuel Wineman of Brooklyn, who was timed in 16 minutes flat.