By BOB DALTON
Special to The Citizen

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.

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