James Carney will run the USA 20K in New Haven, Connecticut on Monday, Labor Day. He won the 20k in 2008 in 59:11; in 2009, for reasons he describes below, he was ninth in 1:00:21. He'll be doing the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 10. Carney was the 2008 USA Half Marathon champion in 1:02:21. In April in Rotterdam, he set his marathon personal best of 2:15:50. He had been 14th in the USA Men's Marathon Trials in November of 2007 in 2:16:54; it was his marathon debut, since he'd qualified based on 10,000-meter times. Carney, 32, is a New Balance athlete and is now a member of Team USA Arizona in Flagstaff and is coached by Greg McMillan. He was sixth in the Olympic Trials in the 10,000 in both 2008 and 2004. He ran his 10,000 best of 27:43.64 in 2007. Carney attended Millersville University, a Division II school, and Penn State, where he earned a masters degree in finance and logistics. Carney's other 2010 races include a second (to five-time winner John Korir) at the Bellin Run 10K in June in 29:23, an eighth in the 10,000 at the USA Track and Field Championships in 29:32.50, a fifth in the USA 10K, part of Atlanta's Peachtree Roadrace, in 28:57, and a fifth in the USA 7 Mile at Bix in 33:21; he was third in 2009 in 33:17. He was also part of a Team Colorado that got second to Ethiopia at Bolder Boulder. In high school, Carney was a 103-pound wrestler. "It's a great sport," he recalls. "It teaches a lot of mental tenacity."

Let's ask you, to start, about this New Haven 20K. You won it two years ago. Did you go back in 2009?
James Carney: I did. I didn't have a great race last year. I was leading through about halfway,  just very aggressive. Most of the times that works out for me. Being aggressive is kind of the plan. But I paid the price for it last year and I blew up and ended up running pretty slowly. In the last 5k, I was probably running over 5:00 a mile at some point. But, you know, I went for it, and it didn't turn out the way I liked it, but more often than not, it does work out.