‘Summer House’s Carl Radke Talks Prepping For The New York City Marathon, ‘Summer House’ Season 11, and Whether He’d Follow In Ciara Miller’s Footsteps On ‘DWTS’

Carl Radke has become quite the marathon man.

The Summer House star, who paid a visit to DECIDER’s studio earlier this month, is gearing up for this year’s New York City Marathon, marking his second time taking part in the race and his fourth marathon overall.

“We’re in the middle of training still because I just ran Berlin three weeks ago, which is a little unusual. A lot of people aren’t running that close to the marathon, but there are people that do it. I have a coach and she really helped me put a plan together. So I am still training, but we’re on kind of a tapering-down phase,” he explained.

The reality TV star spoke about running for Release Recovery, and organization that is especially meaningful to him as a recovering alcoholic and drug addict.

“They have a foundation and a lot of the money that we raise to run actually pays for someone’s rehab that can’t afford it,” he shared. “And a lot of times people that need the treatment can’t addord it. So to be able use my running story to help other people, that’s everything. That’s why I do it. So it’s really powerful.”

As for who might be cheering him on come race day on Sunday, Nov. 1, Radke named his Summer House co-stars Kyle Cooke, Lindsay Hubbard, Jesse Solomon, and KJ Dillard as familiar faces that he hopes up will pop up throughout the course come race day as he aims for his personal record of under four hours.

“I don’t know if everybody’s going to be up and at ’em that Sunday morning,” he teased.

However, Radke recalled missing out on the chance to support another one of his co-stars, Ciara Miller, during her four-week run on Dancing with the Stars. In fact, Radke told us that he had booked a fligh and hotel in LA to watch her compete the week after she was eliminated, more than confident that her and her partner, Brandon Armstrong, would have still been dancing by then.

“I rode for her as hard as I could and we tried to support Ciara as much as we could,” he said. “But I’m really proud of her. I think she learned a lot and ultimately gained a lot from the experience. We were all really hoping she was gonna take it home. I even said she was going to win. So I hope I didn’t put too much pressure on it. But yeah, we were really proud of her.”

For more on Radke’s marathon training, what fans can expect from Summer House Season 11, and whether he’d put on his boogie shows and compete on Dancing with the Stars, check out more of our conversation below.

DECIDER: The New York City Marathon is [just under a week] away. Can you give us a status update on your training?

CARL RADKE: We’re in the middle of training still because I just ran Berlin three weeks ago, which is a little unusual. A lot of people aren’t running that close to the marathon, but there are people that do it. I have a coach and she really helped me put a plan together. So I am still training, but we’re on kind of a tapering-down phase… The training is also about taking days off and resting, making sure you take care of your body, getting good sleep. Just staying off your legs really is probably more important than running sometimes.

So what are you doing on those rest days?

Honestly, like today’s a rest day, which I’m not really resting resting, but it can be a combination. Just stretching. I like to use a roller at home. Sometimes we’ll go to a cold plunge or sauna, massages. Some days [I] just eat a bunch of food and not do anything and just veg out. It could be a variety of things, but I try to do stuff that hopefully will be healthy.

If I’m not mistaken, this marks your fourth marathon.

This will be my fourth marathon.

Are you aiming for a particular PR, or is this mainly just for the vibes and excitement of it all?

No, I’m aiming for a PR. I’m trying to be under four hours. I’ve been very close. So New York City last year, I was 04:04. [In] London in April, I was 04:02. In Berlin, I was 04:24. So I’m right there. But yes, sub-four is the goal.

The New York Road Runners, the non-profit behind this marathon, announced some of the stars running the marathon, including yourself. Is there anyone on the list you’re most excited to run alongside?

Tiki Barber, the New York Giants running back. I saw him on the list. I love sports. Jennifer Connelly is an incredible actress. I saw her on the list. Some of my other cohorts in the reality TV world, of course, are fun to run with. But yeah, I think it’s just a tremendous honor to be able to be a part of such an amazing day in New York. It’s such a powerful thing. There’s so many people that run for big reasons and charity and deeper meaning, and I love all of that. So to be able to be a part of such an amazing day with all these amazing celebrity people is really cool. But I’m really proud of why I’m running, which is I raise money for addiction and mental health services. There’s a community here in New York called Release Recovery. They have a foundation and a lot of the money that we raise to run actually pays for someone’s rehab that can’t afford it. And a lot of times people that need the treatment can’t affordable. So to be able use my running story to help other people, that’s everything. That’s why I do it. So it’s really powerful.

I feel like one of the essentials for success in a marathon like this is a support system, especially in the crowd on race day. Do you know anyone who will be cheering you on come November 1st? Any other reality TV stars that will be there on the sidelines?

I mean, I hope to see some of my Summer House friends. Kyle [Cooke], of course, maybe Lindsay [Hubbard], maybe some of the others: Jesse [Solomon], KJ [Dillard], we’ll see. I don’t know if everybody’s going to be up and at ’em that Sunday morning. But I have my Release Recovery community. There’s about 150 of us here in New York City that are running for the marathon. So we have shakeout runs before, a Medal Monday party. I want to show up for other people too, and I think our community of sober people, it’s not judgmental. Not everybody that’s running is sober, but we all run for the same cause and we’re all allies of the sobriety and mental health movement. But to be able to spend time with other people in our run community, get to meet anybody who’s there supporting… there’s a lot of people that are gonna be out supporting and I’d like to give back as much as possible.

You were telling me earlier a little bit about the music that you’ve been listening to while training. Tell me more about it and some of the artists that will definitely be on the playlist while you’re running this marathon.

I have a unique running music thing, which is here in New York, we’re blessed with so many amazing artists that come from these different neighborhoods and boroughs. So when I’m running through Brooklyn, I’ll listen to Jay-Z or Biggie. If I’m running through Queens‚which I run through Astoria and Queens Bridge‚Nas, Mobb Deep, 50 Cent. You get across the Queensborough, now you’re in the Upper East Side, Harlem; you got A$AP Rocky, you got Cam’ron, you’ve got The Diplomats. Work your way back down. There’s just so much cool music, I think, that while you’re running, they’re actually rapping about the areas that you’re literally on the streets of. No joke. I mean, there’s the Jay-Z line—”550 State Street”—which is next to Barclays Arena. You literally run by the building he’s rapping about in the music. So for me, it gives me a lot of energy. I like to be connected to the city. I love music. And there’s something really meaningful about running through the streets that the folks that are making music about. You’re literally on that same street.

You brought up the celebration at Soft Bar, as well. I actually just bookmarked Soft Bar on Beli. I’m very excited to check it out. You recently celebrated a year of being in business. What has that meant to you?

It’s amazing. I’m really proud of my team and the community that we’re building. It’s not easy, obviously, but we’ve been working with my core Soft Bar team since April of 2024. So, we were building and getting the concept up and running. We did pop-ups. We then were building our space. But to be open for 12 months in New York is not easy. We’ve done a lot of great stuff. We’ve made mistakes, but we’ve learned a lot. And my goal is to prove the concept. We are really building, I think, a real third space and a real brand. But the key thing is our drinks are incredible. We serve some of the best cocktails, I think in New York, alcohol-free. But it’s one step at a time. I’ve seen a lot of brands that have these crazy rocket ships, and a lot of times, they come right back down. So I want to just build slow and steady, build things the right way strategically, listen to our community, listen to the market, but just trying to kind of keep moving it one day at a time.

Ekjhalak Hindi

‘Summer House’s Carl Radke Talks Prepping For The New York City Marathon, ‘Summer House’ Season 11, and Whether He’d Follow In Ciara Miller’s Footsteps On ‘DWTS’

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