Doug Hilliard and Mark Boring were workout partners in the gym.

After Boring was killed in an automobile accident five years ago, his partner wanted to memorialize Boring's name.

"I didn't want to do any memorial activity that was common," said Hilliard, a Butler resident. "I wanted something different."

Enter the Saxonburg Strength Fest.

The second annual event, featuring 11 men competing for $2,000 in prize money by performing feats of strength, takes place at noon Sept. 25 at the Saxonburg Carnival grounds.

Proceeds go toward the Mark Boring Memorial Scholarship at Knoch High School. Boring was planning a career in sports medicine before he was killed.

"This will be the first year we'll be giving money to a student," Hilliard said. "We're hoping the scholarship is for $1,000. Any Knoch student interested in going to college for sports medicine or athletic training is eligible to win the scholarship."

The average size of the competitors is 6-feet, 270 pounds. The largest is 6-foot, 335-pound Mathew Downing of Boyertown. The smallest is James Adams of Greensburg at 5-11, 200.

The Saxonburg Strength Fest consists of six events, including a tire flip, trolley pull, stone carry-chain drag, log press, stone load and hummer dead-lift.

Each competitor is given 90 seconds to complete each event. The tire flip consists of flipping a 780-pound tire end over end for 25 yards. The trolley pull is pulling a commercial trolley weighing 20,000 pounds 65 feet.

The stone carry-chain drag is performed by carrying a 250-pound stone 90 feet, then dragging a 450-pound ship anchor chain back.

"I'm anticipating the tire flip to be the most difficult," said George Eddinger of Sarver, one of the participants. "I've been training for two months doing different techniques.

"I've been picking up a 200-pound tire and have physically been towing my truck. But some of those events are hard to prepare for," he added.

The log press involves raising a 230-pound steel bar above the shoulders for 90 seconds. The stone load is loading four stones in order of weight - 200, 220, 240 and 260 pounds - onto platforms.

The hummer dead-lift is lifting a 600-pound military hummer on to a trailer.

Eddinger finished first overall in a strength competition last spring at the Allegheny Valley YMCA. He has been lifting for 15 years.

James Smith, a 320-pound competitor from Kittanning, finished second in the East Coast Strongman Showdown in Maryland last April.

At 21, Smith is the youngest of the participants.

"I don't think age will be an issue," Smith said. "I didn't enter until late, maybe two weeks ago, but I still think I'll do well."

Brian Eakman, 34, of Grove City, has won strength contests in Greenville and Sharon. He began lifting 17 years ago and has been into bodybuilding for 15 years.

"These contests are more about technique than anything else," Eakman said. "I mean, obviously, you have to be strong, but most events require repetitions.

"It's a different type of training. Endurance plays into everything you do."

The favorite to win at Saxonburg is Don Pope, 32, of Fairview Park, Ohio. The 315-pound Pope competed at the Strongman World Championships in the African nation of Zambia last year and won the train-pull portion of that event.

"You had to pull a caboose 100 feet," Pope said. "They took the top two point-getters from each of six groups and put them in the finals at the world championship.

"I was third in my group, behind the guys who finished second and third overall."

Pope won the Wise Wellness strength contest in Grove City July 30, which is where he learned of the Saxonburg Strength Fest. He is ranked No. 17 nationally in Strongman competition, earning that ranking at the World Cup in Russia by placing 17th out of 38 competitors.

He has been training for nationals - slated Oct. 7 to 9 in Atlanta - and will be part of a four-man U.S. team competing at a world event in the Caribbean in a few months.

Each competitor has paid a $35 entry fee to enter the Strength Fest. Businesses can sponsor an individual event by calling Hilliard at 724-352-1569.

Admission is $3, with children under 12 admitted free. The competition is expected to end at about 5 p.m.

A disc jockey and food vendors will be on hand.