With several overall and masters titles under his belt, 42-year-old Ken Hall is definitely a top contender in any race he enters. Ken's running career started in high school, where he ran track and specialized in the 400 meters. After a break from the sport, he decided at age 34 to resume running to increase his endurance for playing soccer. Since then, he has continued to improve, notching all his PRs within the past year (2006) -- 16:30 for 5K, 27:46 for 8K and 34:42 for 10K. He also has run a 2:44 marathon. One of his more memorable moments was winning the 2005 Waco marathon. Recent overall victories include Run To Joe's 5K on March 24, 2007. Ken's goals include running negative splits in a marathon, participating in more trail runs and moving up to a 50K distance or longer.

Richard Neill trains mostly on an elliptical, but that hasn't slowed him on the roads. The 51-year-old often is in contention in his age division and masters titles. Richard said he started running 10 years ago after gaining 15 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. He does 80 to 90 percent of his training on an elliptical because of some minor knee soreness he has had on-and-off the past five years. He set is 5K PR in 2007 with a 16:34 at the Firemen's 5K. He said 2007 was his best year, and he has run four of his top five times since turning 50.

Frank Diaz of Fort Worth began a walking and dieting program about 21 years ago (from 2007) when he was casting too big of a shadow from the 259 pounds he was carrying around. After walking for almost 11 years, a couple of runners at his work coaxed him into entering a 5K. Even after pushing a baby stroller for Scott Smith, one who had talked him into running, Frank loved the experience. He said he was hooked and began reading and learning from others on how to train and run. He began to be competitive in his age groups, and at 66 in 2007, he continues to win awards. His biggest highlight was qualifying for the 2007 Boston Marathon after running a 4:08 in Austin. Boston was the third time he had gone the 26.2-mile distance. ``I'm 66 and never felt better in my whole life,'' Frank said after running a 22:38.5 at the Run For Dad's 5K in Fort Worth on June 16, 2007.