Barb Davis poses with her co-runners after the Boston Marathon. From left: Cathy Hopkins, Cathy Belice, Klari Kalkman and Davis

It’s a long trek from the Schmon Tower to the top of Heartbreak Hill, but a familiar one to Barb Davis.

On Monday, April 18, the Brock Registrar conquered hills and any other challenges to complete the famous Boston Marathon in a time that was fast enough (four hours, two minutes, 14 seconds) to automatically qualify her for next year’s event.

This year marked Davis’s fifth consecutive triumph at the world’s oldest annual marathon, where her lifetime marathon best of 3:57:16 came in 2008.

Davis, a familiar sight on the track above Ian Beddis gym track or the elliptical machines in The Zone, said conditions this year were close to ideal — clear skies, temperature around 60F, and mercifully, a tailwind. It all added to the magic that runners feel for this special race.

“Boston is a mentally and physically challenging course,” she said on her return home. “But the crowd support is unbelievable. No other marathon course comes close to the noise and cheering, and just the sheer energy of Boston.

“Turning that last corner into Boylston Street, in sight of the finish line, the crowd are 15 deep along the sides. They make you feel like an elite athlete coming down that last stretch.

“Aside from any sense of personal accomplishment, to share the Boston experience with the women I trained with all winter was particularly special.”

Davis can soak her feet and rest on her laurels, but only for a while. She has another date in Boston next April.