An historic event will take place when brothers Paul, Stephen and Jim Gidus (pronounced 'Guide-us') of Central Florida run together in the 107th Boston Marathon April 21, 2003. In the history of the Boston Marathon, this will be the first time three brothers have qualified and run in the race known for being the oldest modern marathon next to the Olympic Marathon. The race carries strict qualification requirements, holds an elite reputation with thousands of runners across the world, and hosts the finest distance runners in the world, which adds to its prestige.

New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. is the official clothing sponsor of the Gidus brothers.

Paul Gidus, age 42; Stephen Gidus, age 40; and Jim Gidus, age 39, began training to qualify for the Boston Marathon in May, 2002. In order to qualify, Paul and Stephen needed to run a previous marathon in 3 hours and 20 minutes (3:20) or less, due to their age; Jim needed a time of 3:15 or less. Stephen and Jim qualified for the Boston Marathon at the Columbus Marathon in October, 2002 with a personal record (PR) of 3:13 for Stephen and 2:56 for Jim. Paul attempted to qualify in Columbus but a previous hamstring injury flair-up brought him in almost 14 minutes past the necessary time. He qualified, however, at the Houston Marathon in January, 2003 with a PR of 3:18.

Paul and Stephen have been training with the Track Shack Marathon Fest, an organized training group in Orlando, under the direction of Track Shack President and Co-owner Jon Hughes. Jon is also the race director of many Central Florida running races including the Walt Disney World Marathon, and is handling race particulars for the brothers.

"We have a coach who determines our workouts and schedules practice runs for us," Stephen explained. A course is laid out for the runners and water is set out prior to the run at specific mile marks. Runners typically stop briefly to hydrate themselves.

Jim prefers to train by himself in order to stay more focused. He does not make brief stops for water along the way because he says this also would break his focus and slow him down. When he started training and needed water more often, his wife would meet him at specific mile marks and hand off water to him so he wouldn't have to stop, in order to simulate the actual run.

"I've spoken to the Boston Marathon Executive Director Guy Morse, and to his knowledge, three brothers have never qualified and run together in this race," said Hughes. "The Boston Marathon is arguably the most prestigious marathon in the world. The odds of three brothers qualifying are low. It is amazing that they took different paths to qualify."

According to Ryan Lamppa of the USA Track & Field Road Running Information Center, only a select group of marathon finishers qualify for the Boston Marathon. Lamppa pointed out that it is fairly easy to run a marathon, but only a select group of people train hard enough and have the physical and/or mental talent to finish a marathon with a good qualifying time. Lamppa explained that the appeal of the Boston Marathon is that it is the oldest marathon in the world and the only major marathon that has qualifying standards that must be met.

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*Prior to running the Boston Marathon, the Gidus Brothers carried out research that led them to believe three brothers had never qualified for and completed the Boston Marathon together. However, in a letter to the editor of the Orlando Sentinel published several weeks after the marathon, it was pointed out that four brothers, one of whom resides in Central Florida, completed the Boston Marathon in 2000.

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