Scott Ludwig, Valerie Reed and Al Barker have been friends since fall 1993.

Their friendship began training together on Sundays by running long distances in hopes of earning Reed a qualifying time of three hours and 40 minutes for the 1994 Boston Marathon. Their hard work paid off. Thanksgiving Day, Reed ran a 3:30 in the Atlanta Marathon with Ludwig running beside her to keep her on pace.

Barker, who had already qualified, and Reed then talked Ludwig into a trip to Tallahassee that February so he too could qualify for the Boston Marathon. He made it and the three traveled north in April of 1994 in what was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The trio will enter this year's race next month, their seventh Boston Marathon.

Ludwig, Reed and Barker have run together practically every Sunday for the past six years, usually running 20 miles a week. During “buildup” weeks, the three marathoners run over 30 miles. There are not many excuses for missing the Sunday run; the only acceptable ones being running a marathon, a wedding or a funeral, or an illness or injury that has been approved by the other two.

One excuse that never makes the grade is inclement weather. They have run in torrential rains, subzero temperatures and snowfall. One of their many mottos is: “No excuses, no whining and be prepared, you never know when a marathon will come along.”

Ludwig has been running for 21 years. He is what is called a streak runner, meaning he has run every day since 1978. He has run in over 525 races, including 68 marathons and seven ultramarathons. Among his highlights are running from Columbus to Savannah along Hwy. 280 in 1992 to raise money for the United Way. Ludwig completed this run, a distance of 280 miles, in six days. Ludwig's goals for the future are easy to remember: 100 marathons, 1,000 races and 100,000 miles.

Reed began running 19 years ago. She has logged over 29,000 miles and competed in over 260 races. She has run in 31 marathons, including her first Boston marathon, which she ran in 1994 with her father. Reed trains with the McIntosh girls track and cross country teams and is a board member of the Atlanta Track Club. She would like to run a marathon in every state and break the current age group record for the marathon.

Barker, an avid runner for over 24 years, has run in over 700 races and logged over 55,000 miles. He has run in 53 marathons and hopes to continue running for many more years in the company of good friends.

The three friends reached a milestone late in 1999. They ran the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon together and when they crossed the finish line together they had run their combined 100th marathon in their six years of running together. They ran in honor of a fellow runner who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Endurance is the quality they all share, both in their friendship and in their running. When the three of them are lining up in Boston on Patriot's Day, you can bet their six years of motivating and encouraging one another and over 156,000 cumulative miles of running will pay off.

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