Six runners from Fayette County recently made the trip to Boston to compete in the 103rd 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 six of the runners are members of the Peachtree City Running Club or the Atlanta Track Club. They were Normer Adams, Bob Dalton, Bill Fuller, Scott Ludwig, Valerie Reed and Trish Vlastnik.

All but one had run the Boston Marathon 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 marathon is always on the third Monday in April, called Patriot's day, a state holiday in Massachusetts. The course is deceptively challenging. 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 the runners begin to pay a heavy price for the earlier trek up the hills in Newton.

The Fayette County contingent turned in very respectable performances in spite of the heat and the hills.

Trish Vlastnik, running for the Atlanta Track Club Women's Masters (40 and over) Competitive Team in only her second marathon and first Boston, ran a 3:21:18. Her performance propelled her team to its first team title by winning the Women's Masters Division. Valerie Reed, running for the Atlanta track Club Women's Open Competitive Team, ran a 3:26:30 with an injured foot. Her team took third place out of 44 teams overall.