Bob Earle has finished his training. He’s been loading up on the carbohydrates. He’s waited patiently the last few days for his Boston Marathon debut Monday, but first he’ll put the finishing touches on his preparation.

The Lisbon resident hopes to add a little inspiration Sunday by watching the U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston.

“Two of my idols are running,” said Earle. “That should get me very amped up. Joan Benoit Samuelson is truly my idol. She’s my inspiration. She’s 50 and she’s running in the Olympic Trials.

“Emily LeVan, whose daughter is fighting cancer right now, she has a chance to qualify. She’s so inspirational to me right now. I’m very emotional about her journey and what I think is an epic attempt to qualify.”

Earle, who has worked at Original Pizza in Auburn for 25 years, has never run the Boston Marathon, but after watching Samuelson and LeVan compete Sunday, he knows his challenge the following day will pale in comparison.

“It really does make what I’m doing look quite easy,” Earle said. “They’ve overcome incredible odds and represent Maine at the highest level. My job is pretty easy. I’m really just out there to have a good time and enjoy this one.”

Earle is among a number of local runners participating in Monday’s race. It will be the 112th running of the prestigious event, and every runner is savoring the opportunity to participate.

“For the average amateur athlete, it’s the one event when you can feel you’re really special,” said Dan Thayer, the president of the Thayer Corporation in Auburn. “You have half a million people out there cheering, and there’s such a tradition involved. I’ve done marathons in different parts of the country and ran in Greece, but this one has a feel to it that is hard to explain. That’s why it has the tradition that it does.”

Thayer missed last year’s race in Boston. He’d been hampered by injuries, but still managed to qualify. By the time his injuries healed and he felt he could compete, registration was full.

“It was disappointing because I was ready to go,” said Thayer, who has been running marathons for six years and averages between two and four per year. “It’s always exciting to go back. There’s such a tradition there. It’s just a real special event, and it’s a pleasure to be involved with it.”

Farmington’s James Pickrell ran his first Boston Marathon last year in weather conditions that threatened to cancel the race for the first time in its history. Pickrell, who works in the emergency room at Franklin Memorial Hospital, was fortunate. By the time he began running, the worst of the weather had come and gone.

“Right when the race started for me, I was in the second wave at around 10:30, the rains let up,” said Pickrell, who had anxiously watched the city get pelted by rain and heavy winds the day before the race. “So it was basically overcast, head winds, a few showers. It could have been a lot worse. The people in the first wave definitely got a lot wetter than I did.”

Despite the stress of running his first Boston Marathon and the ominous weather scare, it proved to be a rewarding experience.

“It was really exciting,” Pickrell said. “The number of people that are participating is amazing. The course is clogged with runners, but just as impressive is all the people in the communities that come out to cheer you on. Virtually the entire course is lined with people, and they cheer for hours. It’s a really neat environment.”

Now he’s excited to return with the experience of last year’s race to build on, knowing what to expect.

The weather is looking promising for Monday. It could be a bit overcast with moderate temperatures.

“It looks like it’s going to be a perfect day to run,” Earle said.

Earle, who has coached wrestling in Lisbon for 12 years, has two former wrestlers who attend Northeastern. They’ll accompany him Sunday and help him navigate around town. They’ll also keep his wife, Debbie, company during the race. That will allow Earle to focus on the race.

“This has 25,000 people,” Earle said. “The largest I’ve run before this was 2,000. It’s going to be quite a significant difference.”

Earle is hoping to equal his qualifying time of 3:30.00 or even better it.

“I just ran the Eastern States 20 Miler, which is traditionally a great preparation for Boston,” said Earle. “I ran a 2:40.00 there. So that’s right on the money.”

Thayer feels healthy and says he’s ready. It will be his fifth Boston Marathon. He’s shooting for a time around 3:40.00.

“Boston is a tough race to try and get a personal record,” Thayer said. “So this one is more of trying to have a good showing and go with the flow of the day and take what the marathon Gods give you. You never know until you get out there how it’s going to play out.”