Seven local

runners from Fayette County recently made the trip to

Boston to compete in the 104th annual running of the

Boston marathon, the oldest and most prestigious marathon

in the world. It ranks only behind the Super Bowl as the

second largest single day sporting event in the world.

All seven runners are members of the Peachtree City

Running Club or the Atlanta Track Club. They were Bill

Fuller, Scott Ludwig, Valerie Reed, Trish Vlastnik, Jan

Bankieris, Al Barker, and Kelly Murzynsky. All but two

had run in Boston at least once before, but none said it

made the challenge any easier. Months of training and

preparation paid off on race day, however.

The course

itself is deceptively challenging. It begins in the small

Massachusetts hamlet of Hopkinton and proceeds eastward

through the rural countryside towards its finish in

downtown Boston. The first 16 miles traverse rolling

terrain until the runners enter the town of Newton and

take on the infamous Newton Hills. The most treacherous

of these, of course, is the final one - Heartbreak Hill.

Runners who

crest Heartbreak Hill are treated to a steep descent and

then mostly flat terrain for the final five miles. It is

during these last five miles that many of these runners

begin to pay a heavy price for the earlier trek up the

hills in Newton. They get a much needed boost at mile 23,

however, when they sight the John Hancock Center located

near the finish. Runners are cheered along the last few

miles and to the finish at Copley Square by thousands of

screaming spectators.

The Fayette

County contingent turned in very respectable performances

in spite of the breezy and sometimes gusty headwinds.

Scott Ludwig wad the first of his group finishing his

seventh Boston Marathon in 3:04:20. Next was Al Barker,

also in his seventh Boston Marathon, with a time of

3:15:43. Kelly Murzynsky, running for the Atlanta Track

Club Women's Open Team, completed her first Boston

Marathon in a time of 3:17:40.

Valerie

Reed, running for the Atlanta Track Club (ATC) Women's

Masters (40 and over) Competitive Team, finished in 49th

place overall in the Women's Masters Division with a time

of 3:19:11. It was her sixth Boston Marathon. Her

performance helped propel her team to it's second

consecutive team title in the Women's Masters Division.

Trish Vlastnik, also running for the ATC Women's Masters

team, in her second Boston Marathon, finished with a time

of 3:19:49. Jan Bankieris, running the marathon for the

first time, finished in 3:44.41.

Bill

Fuller, a veteran of four marathons at Boston, ran a

3:48:04. Among the seven, thy now have a cumulative total

of 28 Boston Marathon experiences between them.