Air Force Capt. Ethan Hollenbach of Oklahoma City, Okla. and Robert Laporta of Denver, both 2012 graduates of Lewis-palmer High School, completed the Myrtle Beach Marathon in May after training separately for four months.

Hollenbach completed the 26.2-mile course with a time of 3:57, and Laporta completed it in 3:34, while their families in Monument watched their race progress online.

The friends’ finishes put them in the top tier of their under-30 men’s age group. It was the first marathon for both. Both plan on racing again in the Colfax Marathon in Denver in October.

“It was easier than I thought and thankfully we ran it before it got too hot and humid by the beach,” Hollenbach said.

Laporta said, “It was great to feel the thrill of competition again!”

Both men are former LPHS varsity athletes — Hollenbach in basketball and track and field, and Laporta in lacrosse and football.

Hollenbach is a flight test engineer for the Air Force in Oklahoma, and Laporta works in Process Automation at Deloitte in Denver.