Atmore native Alan Ash was the first Alabamian to cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon today, finishing with an official time of 2 hours, 33:47 minutes.

Ash, who ran Boston for the second time, was no. 127 overall in a field of more than 30,000 runners. His time was seven seconds faster than last year.

His average pace was 5:52 minutes per mile in the 26.2 mile race.

Ash, 23, ran cross country at Vanderbilt, and is currently teaching social studies at Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery as part of Teach for America.

Mark Rice of Atmore also ran the marathon, finishing in 4:05:50. Rice shaved more than an hour off of his finish time, which was 5:16:36 in 2014.

Rice said his time was actually slower than normal. Last year, when he ran Boston, he was recovering from a herniated disc, and this year, he was nursing shin splints.

This year marked Rice’s seventh consecutive marathon in Boston. His best time was in 2013, when he ran 3:12:24.