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Twenty-five seconds.

That's all Mike Hassett had to spare after running for three and a half hours in Saturday's Richmond Marathon. But Hassett, 47, crossed the line in three hours, 30 minutes and 34 seconds and qualified to run in the Boston Marathon.

Exhilaration, right? Yeah, but he almost didn't make it.

Hassett aimed for the 3:30:59 or better that would get him to Boston, but that was 10 minutes faster than he had run in either of his two previous marathons. And he was strong at the half, then a couple of miles later after a gel packet. By mile 20, he learned he had dropped the rest of his gels. And by mile 24, he contemplated the dreaded DNF -- Did Not Finish.

"I started feeling bad," says Hassett, who lives with his wife, Mary Ann, and three sons near the Cardinal in Greensboro. "I felt kinda dizzy, just not feeling that great. If I had seen a policeman at mile 25, I might've stopped."

He didn't, holding his pace of eight minutes per mile, and he reached mile 25 with 3:20 elapsed on his watch. Only 1.2 miles to go, most of it downhill, and 10-plus minutes to get there.

"That really gave me a boost," Hassett says. "If I could stay on my feet, I knew it would be close."

Hassett stayed on his feet, but little else occupied his mind.

"I really just rolled down the hill," he says. "My 12-year-old (Danny) had a big sign and I missed it. I was focusing on the road. I couldn't move my head because I was afraid I was going to faint."

A close finish always makes for a good story, but Hassett is a good story for another reason. He quit smoking in 2000, but he replaced that bad habit with poor eating. Lean for most of his life, Hassett packed on pounds and ultimately tipped the scales at 205 pounds (he's 5 feet 11) -- until his middle son, Timmy, got involved with his school's GO FAR program. GO FAR teaches students about nutrition, character education and running, and Hassett joined Timmy in the 5K race at the end of the program.

"I've never stopped running after that," Hassett says.

As for Boston, that's where the feel-good part of the story ends, at least for now. Hassett got online Saturday night to sign up for the April classic, only to find the field full and registration closed. His qualifying time is good for two years.

"I couldn't believe it," he says. "I'll have to run it in 2011. But I will run."

Goff goes off

Runners, eat your hearts out.

Jen Goff's day in Saturday's Richmond Marathon: One hour and 36 minutes for the first half of the 26.2-mile race. A mere 1:30 for the second half.

The negative split -- and an impressive one. Not bad for a marathon rookie.

Goff's time of 3:06:35 placed her 15th among women and 116th overall and easily qualified her for the Boston Marathon (she faces the same registration issue as Hassett).

But make no mistake, Goff, 29, isn't a running rookie. Goff started as a youngster, going out with her dad, Jim Reid, who surprised his girl by showing up to cheer for her Saturday. Goff competed in track and field and cross country in high school (Bethel, Conn.) and at Lehigh University. In college, she specialized in the 5K and 10K distances on the track.

"It finally came down to me saying, 'Why haven't I done a marathon?' " she says.

So she put together her own training plan, beginning in July, and ran six days per week, maxing out at 53 miles per week.

"I got the long run up to about a 22-mile run," says Goff, who works in UNCG's Division of Student Affairs. "Each week I added a little at a time. I did some tempo runs, didn't go too crazy on the speed work. I had a lot of confidence and had fun with it."

Read more about Goff's efforts to stick with a pace group -- or not -- at the Running Shorts blog.

GO FAR going well

Here's what a big deal completing a 5K road race is: About 750 students, mostly ages 9-11, prepared by staying after school, with a teacher, a couple of days a week for 10 weeks.

Wait &ellipses; Staying after school? Ten weeks? What?

That's the impact that High Point resident Robin Lindsay's organization GO FAR, or Go Out For a Run, is having in schools and on students in Guilford County and beyond. Counting the teachers and parents, about 1,000 of them completed the GO FAR 5K on Saturday in High Point. That's about 400 more than participated in a similar spring event.

Read more about the program, hear from the teachers and get information links at the Running Shorts blog.

Contact Eddie Wooten at 373-7093 or eddie.wooten@news-record.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday: RMS Spirit Run 5K, 8:30 a.m., Randleman. $15; $20 on race day. www.offnrunningsports.com

Nov. 26: Greensboro Gobbler 5K, 8:30 a.m., Greensboro. Field is full.

Nov. 26: Turkey Strut 5K, 9 a.m., Winston-Salem. $25. www.twincitytc.org

Dec. 5: Run at the Rock, 9 a.m., Burlington. $35 for 7-mile run, $45 for 14-mile run. www.runattherock.com

Dec. 5: Mistletoe Run for Youth 5K and Half-Marathon, 8 a.m., Winston-Salem. $25 for YMCA members; $30 for non-members through today, $35 afterward, $40 race day. www.twincitytc.org

Dec. 12: Triad Trail Race Series: 10K, 9 a.m., Bur-Mil Park, Greensboro. $20. www.offnrunningsports.com