Under The Wire

Yes, he is a long shot to make the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, but unlike all but 150 people in the country, Staten Island's Mike Cassidy still has a shot after finishing 11th at the California International Marathon in Sacramento last weekend.

The 26-year-old graduate of McKee/Staten Island Tech and the University of Pennsylvania ran the 26.2-mile course in 2:18:52, eight seconds below the barrier for entry into the marathon trials, slated for Jan. 14 in Houston, Texas.

It is actually quite an accomplishment for Cassidy, who was not a star at Penn. Perhaps he found the maximum college distance — 10 kilometers — a bit too restrictive. He has since finished as high as 22nd, in 2010, at the ING New York City Marathon.

From this week's discussion with the Staten Island Advance, Cassidy isn't content to just show up. "I haven't run to my maximum potential," he said. "I know a lot of things have to fall into place but [making the team is] not unthinkable."

To make the U.S. team, he would need to trim another six or seven minutes from his personal-best time, which would require a considerable improvement of about 15 seconds on his average mile pace.

"I know it's going to be very competitive," said Cassidy. "But it will be a great learning experience for me. Who knows? Anything can happen."