James Joyce's works are famous for frustrating high school English students.

But some of the actors who interpreted the words of the Irish author during the 21st annual James Joyce Ramble in Dedham on Sunday appreciated the writer's challenging prose. Particularly some of his bawdier passages.

Dressed in early 20th-century costume, actors read from ''The Dead," ''Ulysses," and ''Finnegans Wake" during the ramble, a 10K race that combines organizer Martin Hanley's love for running, Joyce, and acting.

Some actors worried that onlookers were more interested in the running than the reading. But participant Kate Carney, 69, managed to get the full attention of several young children as she read a passage from ''Finnegans Wake" about two gossiping wash women cleaning the linen of a cheating husband.

''They were sitting at the finish line, waiting for the runners, so they were just listening to me, and I'm going on about 'oh, the dirty devil,' " Carney said. Fortunately, she said, Joyce's writing was too dense for the children to understand much of it.

''It's stream of conscious writing," said her friend, Geraldine Torf, a Back Bay resident who described herself as an actress, screenwriter, poet, and psychotherapist.

''It's wonderfully rhythmic," Torf said of Joyce's writing. She was still beaming from a passerby's comment that she resembled Molly Bloom, the wife of Leopold, the protagonist of ''Ulysses." . In her rust-colored hat and brown suit, Torf, the grandmother of six, also thought she looked the part.

''I am a lot like her," she said of the fictional Molly. ''I'm very lusty."

Carney and Torf were two of 35 thespians -- professionals and amateurs -- who were paid $25 to read during this year's installment of the ramble, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday, June 16, 1904, the day in the life of Leopold Bloom chronicled in ''Ulysses."

According to race organizers, the actors read for about 3,000 runners and 500 walkers who breezed and wheezed through the 6.2-mile race, which began and ended at the Endicott Estate on East Street.

''We didn't stop, but we listened and we applauded," David Belcher of Westwood said after the race, as he relaxed with other runners on the mansion's wide lawn. ''Some of these guys are really good."

Winner Jason Bialka of Quincy caught some passages from ''Finnegans Wake" even though he ran the hilly course at a pace of 4:55 per mile. A high school English teacher, Bialka admitted Joyce is not at the top of his reading list.

''I like Harper Lee," he said. ''My favorite book is 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' "

Christian Heaney-Secord of Westwood said he did not want to break his stride to listen.

''I don't pay much attention. I'm here to run," said the 12-year-old, whose intensity intimidated some of the older runners, including West Roxbury resident Mark Bittinger, 33.

''I thought there was a 12-year-old who passed me," Bittinger said.

The race originated in 1984 as a way to raise money for cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, but organizers also have tried to raise awareness of oppressed writers and journalists around the world. In 2002, the race was dedicated to Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was slain in Pakistan.

This year, Amnesty International's Northeast regional director, Joshua Rubenstein, told the crowd about Fessahaye Yohannes, editor of a weekly newspaper in Eritrea who wrote about poverty and other social issues. About two years ago, government officials detained Yohannes and other reporters and since then has moved them to secret locations in Eritrea, according to the organization.

Over the years, the race has raised $300,000, often with limited resources, Hanley said.

''It was hard to find corporate sponsors this year," he said. ''Most of them were running to the Democratic National Convention."

Local helpers, like the Dedham Police Department, whose officers directed traffic, eased some of the pressure, Hanley said.

Area businesses also pitched in by serving free food and beer, which excited some of the runners, including Bittinger.

''I had a water first, but that's because I didn't know there was beer over there, " he said as he pointed to the growing line