The free stew in the Exeter St. lockers must have been unusually enticing this year, for the fastest Boston marathon field ever raced home in record time to gobble it up.

Leading the Harvard contingent was junior Bob Holmes, who covered the 26 mile, 385 yard course in 2:40.01 to finish 27th and win the first silver medal in Crimson history. "That boy could be one of America's top distance runners if he concentrated on it," Robert S. Campbell, president of the National Long Distance Running Association, said afterwards. Holmes had never competed in a race longer than 12 miles before.

Gabriel Mirkin, another junior, who was hampered by lack of practice due to a bad knee, finished 67th in 3:13.24. "Some of the crowed booed my Harvard shirt," he said, "but a lot of them cheered me. One cop even yelled 'Go! Go! Phi Beta Kappa,' when I passed."

"But the last five miles are really tough," he added, "especially when the little kids get out and start racing you." His mother, who had been fasting for 24 hours, could only murmur "Thank God he's safe" as he crossed the finish line. Mirkin has decided to give up marathoning.

Less cheerful about his ordeal was freshman weightlifter Jim Doty, who lost 32 lbs. training for the race and seven more running it. Competing as James Rotz of Waltham, Doty finished 79th in 3:30 flat. He collapsed after the race, as did several others, including one 70-year-old veteran. The luckier competitors merely end up with blistered and bloody feet. I'll never run again," Doty said afterward.

Erich Segal, a classics major tracing the Greek origins of the marathon, finished 87th in 3:43.32. "I went out fast and really skyrocketed when I heard those cheers at Wellesley," he said, but my legs gave out when I reached the Newton hills."

Senior Fletcher Hodges finished 115th without practicing at all; Richard Arthur grDv covered 20 miles; and sophomore Colin Church raced 12 miles to meet his girl at Wellesley and collect a five dollar bet.

Finland's Ontti Viskari ran the equivalent of 26 consecutive 5:07 miles to win in 2:14.14