Eighteen weeks of serious training came to a head Sunday for Felecia Boston Brown Sunday when she ran – and finished – the New York City Marathon.

A few hours after completing the race, Brown – a nurse/midwife with The Purvis Clinic in Meridian – was experiencing stomach problems, but had nothing but good things to say about the race.

“It was a nice, scenic course – 26.2 miles. There was lots of energy,” she said.

Known as “The Mother Lode” of all competitive road runs, the New York City Marathon attracts more than 100,000 world-class professional athletes annually. The course covers five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island – and runners climb five bridges.

No small feat. However, Brown is modest about her most recent accomplishment.

“I don’t know what my finish time was, but I finished in a little over four hours,” she said.

She and running pals Kim Monsour, Brandy Gamblin and Dr. Ronnye Purvis trained together for the major road race. However, as Brown noted, on race day, “You have no friends; it’s every man for himself.”

“We all finished at different times,” she said.

A running enthusiast for more than a decade, Brown began running competitively about eight years ago.

“Me and some running partners – Monsour, Gamblin, Consuello Hooks and Julia Marshall – signed up for a half-marathon,” she said. “We didn’t know what we were doing, but we ran it. It just got into our blood and we figured that if we could run a half-marathon, we could run a whole.”

In 2003, the group – which has now grown to about 10 members – competed in their first marathon and have continued to do so ever since.

Brown advises anyone with a desire to run competitively to just do it.

“Get out there and start training. Join a running group, that’s the best thing to do,” she said. “You can get a lot of tips from runners who have run marathons before. It’s a lot to learn; I’ve run seven and it’s still something new every time.”

Her next major feat?

“Planning my daughter Ashley’s wedding (which is slated for August 2010),” she said.

Brown said she plans to take a little break from running competitively.

“When I forget about this one, I’ll train for another one for 2011,” she said.