01:00 AM EDT on Monday, April 17, 2006

BY TOM MOONEY
Journal Staff Writer

If all goes well, Michael Calcagni and Ryan Hogan will march across the finish line of the Boston Marathon today just before the top runners start plodding in. Perhaps you will see them on television. They'll be the guys wearing combat boots, 25-pound rucksacks and a picture of a fallen comrade on their shirts.

Calcagni and Hogan, both 23, were in officer basic school in Oklahoma on that October day in 2004 when National Guard Sgt. Christopher Potts, a tall, thin marine mechanic from Tiverton, ran around a sand berm in Taji, Iraq. He was headed for a tree that would provide him cover from the gunfire.

Potts, 38, of the 103rd Field Artillery, had joined the Rhode Island National Guard in 1990. Prior to his call-up, in January 2004, he had confided to a neighbor how much he would miss his wife, Terri, and his two sons, Christopher Jr. and Jackson, while he was away.

As Potts turned the corner around the berm, insurgents opened fire. Potts shouted to those behind him to stay back. Then he fell in the sand. A medic from Arkansas ran to help him. He died, too.

Neither Calcagni nor Hogan, fellow members of the 103rd Field Artillery, ever met Chris Potts. But for weeks now they have carried his memory with them as they set out on 20-mile training marches with 40 pounds of gear on their backs. They are determined to march today's 26-mile course in Potts' name.

Calcagni grew up in Providence and attended Providence College, where he enrolled in the ROTC program. He has an uncle in the Army Reserve and a brother, John, who is a captain in the Army's 10th Mountain Division. An accountant for Price Waterhouse in Boston, where he now lives, Calcagni said he has always wanted to run the marathon, but wanted a reason that would motivate him.

"I presented the idea to Ryan and we figured we should come up with a cause," said Calcagni last week. "Chris was in our unit and we thought it would be a good idea if we could raise money for his scholarship fund."

The SSG Christopher Potts Memorial Scholarship Fund provides money for education for the children of men and women of the Rhode Island National Guard.

As of last week, the pair had raised more than $1,200 in pledges. And as news of their planned march spread, more donations were coming in, says Hogan, who works full time for the Guard as its education officer.

"Word has gotten out that we're doing this and everyone is behind us a hundred percent," says Hogan.

Hogan, of Cumberland, has done much of the logistical planning. He knows, for instance, that the first half of the race is pretty much downhill. Then the race gets real challenging.

"I'm hoping that just seeing the crowd will generate the adrenaline we'll need to pull us through to the end," Hogan says.

The men plan to carry about 25 pounds of supplies with them, including at least two gallons of water, foot powder and several changes of socks, to protect their feet from blisters.

Though both men say they're in good shape, neither had ever run a marathon.

The race doesn't officially start for elite runners until noon. Depending on weather conditions, those runners should start coming in around 2:15 p.m. The Guardsmen plan to set off on the course around 6 or 7 a.m. with intentions of finishing about 6 1/2 hours later.

"We figured that way we're not obstructing anyone who is actually competing in the race," says Calcagni.

Family members will be along the route cheering them on, the men say.

So will Terri Potts, Christopher Potts' widow.

"I'm not too big on big cities," she said Friday. "I tend to stay out of them, but we will be there."

"Chris was active pretty much in everything. He played softball, he liked golf, he liked to ride his bike and go to the gym almost every day. He would be very surprised -- I think we all are -- at just how much everyone wants to do things for us whether they knew Chris or not. They want to honor his memory."

"So you will hear us yelling," Terri Potts said, "cheering them on."

Calcagni and Hogan will march in their fatigue uniforms.

As the march continues, they suspect they will strip off their fatigue shirts.

What race bystanders will see on the front of their tan T-shirts will be a picture of Sgt. Christopher Potts. Beneath his gentle smile will be the words: courage, honor, sacrifice.

Donations may be sent to:

SSG Christopher Potts Memorial Scholarship Fund

23 Birchwood Drive

Bristol, RI 02809

REAL-TIME RESULTS: Get the latest on the Boston Marathon, local runners, and the two National Guardsmen, at:

http://projo.com/

tmooney@projo.com / (401) 277-7359