By MICHAEL BOYLAN

Sports Editor

Five Fayette runners participated in teh smashing of a world record recently as the Atlanta Track Club fielded three teams in attempts to enter the Guinness Book of World Records in the 100x1-mile relay recently.

A women's team, a men's open team (men under 40) and a men's Masters team (40 and over). They attempted this feat at the Emory University Track, passing the baton from one to the next while running a mile at top speed.

The previous record for the men's Masters division was set by the Houston Area Road Runners Association. They ran the 100x1 mile relay with a time of 9:04:02. The men's Masters division smashed the record though, by over 6.5 minutes. The team averaged 5:23 per mile and set an official time of 8:57:31. By the time the ATC's 12th runner passed the baton, they were already four minutes ahead of record pace. At one point, they were seven minutes ahead of record pace.

After setting the new Guinness record, the men celebrated with a victory lap, champagne and the traditional dumping of ice water on the team captain. Fayette County Masters runners included Bill Anderson, Al Barker, Bob Dalton, Scott Ludwig and Dave Olson. Their new claim to fame is that they each hold 1 percent of a world record in a sporting event.

Runners on the women's team from Fayette County included 18 women, including runners from the local high schools and the Peachtree City Running Club.

The record for the women was set by a team from California, called the AC Athletics. They ran the 100x1-mile relay in a time of 9:38 in 1997. The women from ATC made a good run at beating the record this year, but fell short by 13 minutes.

The Syracuse Chargers hold the record in the men's open division, setting it in 1994 at a time of 10:14. The ATC men's open team was under record pace as late as the 22nd runner and were within 20 seconds of the record pace as late as the 40th runner. The team missed the record by 4:21.

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