Welcome to the 2007 version of 'Everything You Wanted to Know about Every Area Runner in today's Boston Marathon and Were Afraid to Ask.' column. Once again every local runner who will be running Boston today gets an acknowledgment here.

There will be 110 area runners entered in today's marathon, as compared to last year's 104 and 2005's 97 runners ... The average age of this group is 41.3 and the field consists of 70 men and 40 women; only 33 runners were qualifiers; the oldest local runners are 67-year-olds Ron Robitaille of Norton and Bill Markey of Norfolk; the youngest are 22-year-olds Jennifer Richard of Attleboro and Norton's Lauren Mannarino.

This year's runners have run a combined total of 275 prior Boston Marathons ... The runner with the distinction of having run the most Bostons of local runners is Mansfield's Kham Haledeuth with 21. Attleboro's Sean Hanley is next at 18, followed closely by North Attleboro's Dave Santoro (17); others with at least seven Boston finishes are Mansfield's Don Burke (10), Jan Kallio (10) and Kevin Fitzgibbon (7), Attleboro's Dan Richard (10) and Harry Pino (8), Wrentham's Tom Sullivan (11), Paul Powell (11), Roland Desrochers (10) and Bob O'Connell (7) and Norfolk's John Curran (8) and Tim Ryan (7).

Of the qualifiers, Attleboro's Kim Forget and Sean Hanley, Mansfield's Kit Wells, Haleudeth and Mike Ferrari, Norfolk's Curran, Norton's Monique Robitaille and Wrentham's Desrochers, Kirk Bogardus and Patti Mullin did so at a previous Boston Marathon. Many runners qualified at out of state marathons. Mansfield's Greg Ilson did it at New York, Chicago was a popular site with North Attleboro's Santoro, and Lynn Johnson and Attleboro's Dan Richard qualifying in the Midwest. Wrentham's Trish Moore and Mansfield's Tom Rooney got it done in Tampa. Philadelphia proved to be the destination of choice for Attleboro's Pino, Mansfield's Fitzgibbon and Wrentham's Don Jackson. Norton's Ron Robitaille got his ticket punched at Grandma's. Jennifer Richard earned her stripes at Marine Corps, Mansfield's Burke and Keith Purrier, Norton's John Winters, North Attleboro's Christine Bradley and Plainville's Ron Farkash at Portland and Rehoboth's Paul Zabinski at Mystic. Several stayed in state to qualify such as Norton's Chris Cappellini and Wrentham's Linda Liljeberg at Bay State and Attleboro's Matt Ditrolio and Wrentham's Amanda Ghostlaw at Hyannis. The tough Cape Cod Marathon produced two qualifiers: Mansfield's Kevin McCormick and Norfolk's Lynn McConnell.

There will be no question who the top local man and woman will be. Mansfield's Kit Wells, a 2:35 marathoner, will lead the men and North Attleboro's Lynn Johnson will be the first woman. No one else is close. As in past years, there will be many (32) in the marathon running to raise funds for a charity. North Attleboro's Santoro leads a cast of six local runners into the fray on Monday running for Dana-Farber; those runners are North Attleboro's Kaitlin Hoffmann, Foxboro's Kim McCarthy and Jack Burns, Mansfield's Deana DeSilva and Sarah Tynan and Attleboro's Bill 'The Legend' Dunphy ... North Attleboro's Linda Poidomani, Christine Mills, Bill Roberts, Tom Guertin and Plainville's Robin Lyons will be running for Tedy's Team/American Stroke;.father and daughter team from Norton, Chris Armstrong and Lauren Mannarino and Mansfield's Nick Gernt will be running for American Liver; Horizons for Homeless Children will have North Attleboro's Sean Lopolito on the course; other charity runners - Norfolk's Jack Collins (Brain Tumore Research), Chris Retos (Rodman Ride for Kids) and Nadia Raymond (Partners in Health), Norton's Jeff Long and Foxboro's Jeff Delgrosso (Cystic Fibrosis), North Attleboro's Beth Elliott and Attleboro's Dwayne Demond (Casa Myrna Vasquez), North Attleboro's Joe Coughlin (Arthritis Foundation), Rehoboth's Catherine Eddington and Mansfield's Dawn Foley (Leukemia), Foxboro's Patrick Hussey (Kenney-Quin Research Fund), Mansfield's Marc Turgeon (Friends for LADDERS), North Attleboro's Ali McConnville (Mass General Hospital), Foxboro's Todd Patkin (Boston Medical Center), Norton's Margo Antonellis (Parkinson's Disease), Attleboro's Mark Brightman and Mansfield's Bob Trejo (Mass Eye & Ear Infirmary), Wrentham's Dwight Porter (Brenden's Buddies) and Matt King (Cam Neely Foundation).

A cast of 18 got their Boston entry through a local running club. Attleboro's Chris Bitzas, Joan Barrett, Dave Donnelly, Pret Stevenson and Heidi Hawkins, Foxboro's Janet Spinney and Jack Martin, North Attleboro's Tanja Clements and Terry Tattersall, Seekonk's Ed Soares, and Wrentham's Brian McGowan were Wampanoag Road Runner lottery winners, Mansfield's Kevin Donnelly gained his entry via the Colonial Road Runners; Others Norfolk's Judy Beck (Hopkinton Running Club); Attleboro's Nancy Brodeur, Barbara Duquette, Michelle Bray and North Attleboro's Kathy Andrews and Kim Ashworth (B.A.A); Ashworth's family business (Ashworth Awards) has produced the marathon finisher's medals for many years. Forty eight runners will be out there on the Boston course for the first time including ... Attleboro's Marcus Evans, Foxboro's Diana Thompson and Peter Vacheron, Mansfield's Marsha Whitman and Glen Piro, North Attleboro's Dale Barth, Wrentham's Jeff Smith and Kathleen McDonald

Who's left? Attleboro's John Martino and Larry Walden, Foxboro's James Fraser and Mark Tully, Mansfield's Carolyn DeBeauport and Tom Kallio, Norton's Sam Shuman and Plainville's Kevin O'Hara have all run a previous Boston, are not qualifiers and are not running for a charity.

How about Norfolk's Chris Murtagh? Still waiting.

Two locals who moved away this year will be returning to run Boston. Brendon Cryan, formerly of North Attleboro is coming from Louisville and former Attleboro resident Tish Bischoff will be jetting in from Cary, N.C.

Finally ... Happy Birthday to Attleboro's Anita Hadlock who will turn 52 running Boston on Patriot's Day.

ROB ROSE is a Sun Chronicle correspondent. Send running news to P.O. Box 600, Attleboro, MA, 02703 or via e-mail to lsxplrer@comcast.net