AGE: 42

YEARS RUNNING: 20

OCCUPATION: Health and Physical Education teacher at Waynesboro Area Senior High School

TYPICAL CURRENT TRAINING WEEK: 40 miles of running

FAVORITE RUNNING SHOES: Brooks

FAVORITE TRAINING PARTNERS: Karen (Gelsinger) Wagner and Bonnie Sponseller

FAVORITE RACES: Tom Ausherman Memorial 5-Miler; Boston Marathon; New York City Marathon; God's Country Marathon

PERSONAL BESTS: 5k - 20:41; 5 Miles - 34:12; 10K - 43:46; 10 Miles - 72:42; Half-Marathon - 1:37; Marathon - 3:29.

THE EARLY DAYS: Patty has always been an athlete. At Chambersburg Area Senior High School in the mid-70s, she played field hockey, basketball and tennis. However, Patty didn't remain quite as active in the following years as a student at Penn State, where she graduated in 1980. Shortly after completing college, she was back in Chambersburg life-guarding at Memorial Park and feeling out of shape. Fellow guard Karen Gelsinger was doing a lot of running at the time, and soon Patty, who wanted to start exercising again, was motivated to become a runner, too.

"It was hard to find nine girls to go play basketball or hockey," explained Patty. "This was something I could do by myself." Patty had an immediate partner in Gelsinger, and around this time she also met local runner Bonnie Sponseller, who soon became another partner. There was also a group of women at the Chambersburg YMCA that Patty regularly ran with in the early days. Patty completed her first race, a 5K in Gettysburg, on her 23rd birthday in September 1980 and was instantly hooked. Over the next several years, she ran countless races all over the region, including many marathons. "I remember once Bonnie and I ran a marathon and the next day woke up and went to Washington, DC to run a 10-mile race," she said. "We were nuts."

FAMILY: In 1984, Patty married Kirk Stevens, who has one Marine Corps Marathon under his belt and still continues to run a few times per week to stay in shape. Patty and Kirk have a seven-year-old daughter, Allison, who has shown some interest in running and recently faired very well in the mile run at one of the Ausherman summer series races. Patty's brother, Chuck Frame, is also a very active runner in the local scene.

ANDREW'S COMMENTS: Patty Stevens began running just around the time the sport began to blossom in the area, and she has continued to pound out the miles, usually still getting out all seven days a week. She has run 12 different marathons and 21 total. However, only two of these have come since the birth of Allison, and as of now, she isn't sure when or if she'll do another one. Patty has also limited her racing recently to only a few events each year. But, while her focus has shifted a bit, she still gets great enjoyment from running and its health benefits, which is what initially drew her to the sport two decades ago and still remains her foremost goal.