LAST ONE STANDING WILL WIN BIG IN CONTEST

Laughing, joking and bouncing on the balls of her small feet, Kim Talley, after standing for 118 hours, looked better than some folks in the crowd watching her Wednesday afternoon.

Talley was one of four people who remain from a crowd of 82 who began a contest at 7 p.m. Friday on the Schnuck's parking lot to see who could stand the longest. The last one standing among the four -- Talley, Rodrick Boyce, Mike Whelan and David Dillow -- and 10 other people at three other sites will win a $60,000 mobile home or $25,000 in cash.

"I've never done anything like this before," said Talley, who like the others paid $50 to enter the contest sponsored by 1st Stop Inc. Mobile Home Centers. She knew the money would go to a good cause -- money from the entry fees and a raffle will go to Gateway to a Cure, an organization that funds research and services for those with spinal cord injuries.

"I was also curious about just how far I could get," said Talley, who at about 3:30 p.m. was coming off a 15-minute break.

Contestants get four 15-minute breaks each 24-hour period, said Joe Brown with 1st Stop.

Outside of those breaks, they must remain standing without leaning on or holding onto anything. They can squat as long as no body part other than their feet touch the ground.

"They can smooch a loved one across the fence, but no hugs," Brown said, motioning to the plastic link fence keeping spectators from interfering with contestants.

Talley said she never expected the contest would go this long.

Brown said that sentiment was common among contestants. Some didn't last through the first night. Others went home Sunday night when they realized the contest might interfere with their jobs.

Talley, owner of Special Effects hair salon, kept going even when she realized she had a full day of hair appointments she'd have to cancel.

"People have been great," Talley said. Her employees have taken over many of her duties at the salon so she could continue in the contest.

Boyce of Cape Girardeau has been able to continue the contest because he had some days off coming to him from his job at Lee-Rowan. "Hopefully the contest won't go past the time I have off," he said.

Boyce wants to win the mobile home so he and his fiancee will have a place to live when they get married. That makes him determined to fight the problems that come with standing and going without much sleep for days at a time.

To keep from falling asleep, Boyce said he paces, jumps and sprays water in his face.

To help keep his feet from hurting, Boyce brought along a wooden box filled with foam. Rules allow contestants to stand on something soft as long as it is no larger than 3-foot square, Brown said.

When his feet began swelling Wednesday afternoon, he wrapped them with ace bandages and cabbage leaves.

"That's a home remedy for swollen feet," said Boyce's mother, Olivia Boyce of Ullin, Ill. Looking almost as tired as her son, Olivia Boyce has come to the contest every day. Relatives and friends are allowed to bring contestants food and water, massage their legs during breaks, hand them wet towels and provide moral support.

Also providing moral support to Boyce was his fiancee, Elaine Egson of Cape Girardeau

"I know he can do it," Egson said. "Once he sets his mind to something, he carries through."

Talley has had family support, as well.

Her husband, Sammy, took a day off Monday to take care of the laundry, grocery shopping and other chores she usually does on her day off.

"They're pretty darned proud of me right now," Talley said of her husband and two sons.

Talley said the worst times for her are in the middle of the night.

"By about 4 in the morning you become convinced the sun will never come up again," she said.

For Boyce, the hardest part has been watching other contestants he's come to know drop out.

This is the second year for the contest, though it's the first year there has been a Cape Girardeau site. Last year the contest stretched on for 134 1/2 hours with Alan Jett being the last one standing at Mid Rivers Mall near St. Charles.

Jett entered the contest again this year but dropped out early, Brown said.

"I think his wife convinced him to stop," Brown said. "Since he'd won the mobile home last year, he just didn't have the determination this year."

Boyce, on the other hand, said his determination is growing with each hour that passes.

"I didn't think I could go past Sunday," he said, constantly swinging his arms back and forth to stay awake. "But now I'm more determined than ever to get that trailer no matter what it takes."