WEST HOLLYWOOD : Runner With AIDS Virus Beats His Record in Boston

Ric Munoz, a West Hollywood runner who has known for five years that he has the AIDS virus, got what he wanted out of the Boston Marathon Monday: his best time ever.

Munoz, 34, beat his former mark by three seconds to finish the 26.2-mile course in 2:52:32. That left him more than 44 minutes behind winner Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya, and 572nd out of the 8,135 finishers, but Munoz said Wednesday that he was elated.

“It just made everything worth it--all the training and just getting myself all the way out here,” he said.

Munoz, who takes the antiviral drug DDI, began running marathons seriously two years ago. He raced in 14 last year and said the hard training has been an emotional and physical ally in the fight against the onset of AIDS. His physician has endorsed his regimen and AIDS experts said that HIV-infected runners who are healthy enough to run marathons face no special threat.