11.   From the moment the gun sounds at noon in Hopkinton, the race seems a romp.

12.   None of them walked away unhappy, but a sense of relief was almost as widespread as a sense of accomplishment when the final gun sounded.

13.   On Friday at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Brooks will hear the starting gun sound for the final time in her collegiate career.

14.   The final gun had sounded and Rutgers coach Doug Graber and Penn State coach Joe Paterno came onto the field for the postgame, uh, handshakes.

15.   The gun sounded, and Gaskin started in sync with the rest of the field.

16.   The only real certainty is that a gun will sound and the boats will go.

17.   Their guns sounded like cannons and our guns sounded like popguns.

18.   Then when the gun sounded and we crawled off, it became a bit like a history tour.

19.   Their guns sounded like cannons, and our guns sounded like pop guns.

20.   With that, the final gun sounded and PSINet Stadium erupted with the sort of celebration Johnson hopes he will hear someday soon in a stadium of his own.