By Jeff Lipton
Mammone, 23, a lifelong resident of Valley Stream, will take the initial steps of that journey on July 26, spending four days in Boulder, Colo., to begin serious training in his specialty, distance running. He said that if he finds a job and an apartment in the Rocky Mountain State, he will settle in for nearly five years of intense preparation in one of the country's best climates for running.
If all goes well, Mammone hopes to go for the gold in the 2012 Olympic marathon. Even though he has specialized in cross-country and, during the school track season, the steeplechase, 3,000 and 5,000 meters, he has also run -- and last year won -- the Long Island Half Marathon. But Mammone has never run a full 26.2-mile marathon, and he believes it will be a supreme challenge.
"If I make it to the Olympics, the long distance will be the easiest thing for me," said Mammone, a 2001 South graduate. "Running in the Olympics would be an absolute dream come true for me. It would just be amazing."
To become competitive in the marathon, Mammone said he would probably have to run 80 to 100 miles a week. "I've contacted a group called the Boulder Distance Project ..." he said. "I'll train with them and make things happen."
In relocating to Colorado -- which he called the "Mecca of long distance running" because the mile-high altitude forces athletes to use oxygen more efficiently as they train -- Mammone said that his biggest concern is earning enough money to support himself, which will be difficult given the demands that his workouts will make on his time.
After graduating from South, Mammone attended Iona College in Westchester County, graduating in 2005 with the goal of becoming a teacher. He took graduate courses at C.W. Post, and has since gone back to South, where he became a teacher assistant and track coach.
He was also a youth columnist for the Valley Stream Herald in high school, covering sports.
Mammone said he developed a love of running as a freshman in high school in the spring of 1998. He had natural talent, and improved dramatically throughout his high school career, becoming a seven-time Nassau County cross-country champion and a three-time 3,200-meter champion.
In an early gym class, he was asked to run the mile, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Michael Mammone Jr., who was a track star at South. Chris went on to break all of his brother's school records.
He decided to shoot for the Olympics when, as a member of the Bellmore Striders Club Racing Team, he finished 30th in the 10K at the USA Club Nationals in San Francisco last Dec. 9. "It was pretty good competition," Mammone said. "At that time I said I really wanted to do something with my running, and I would have to make some sacrifices."
He would like to try to qualify for next year's Summer Olympics in Beijing, but he said he may not have enough time to prepare, so he is setting his sights on Paris four years later, which he believes is a more realistic goal. He would first have to qualify at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the spring of 2012, by being one of the top two or three finishers in the marathon.
Mammone said he would miss his friends and family in Colorado, but feels that he has to make the most of this opportunity. His father, Michael Sr., agrees. "I don't like to see him leave here, but it's the kind of thing where he has to give it a shot now," his father said. "He's not married and he doesn't have the responsibility of family. He could just do it and give it the dedication it needs. He has prepared for this his whole life."
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
