Posted: March 30, 2006

Athletics: Khannouchi, Tomescu-Dita Lead Field In Sunday’s Lasalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle

CHICAGO (March 30, 2006) – Runners, take your marks!

Chicago favorites Khalid Khannouchi and Constantina Tomescu-Dita, two of the biggest names in road racing, will step up to the start line on Sunday, April 2, in the 27th annual LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle 8K. They’ll lead the way on Chicago’s running “opening day” for a record field of 25,000 runners from world-class athletes to weekend warriors.

The 4.97-mile race, “a rite of spring” in the words of Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski, starts at 9:30 a.m. on Columbus near Jackson. The fast, flat course leads runners through River North, the Loop and back into Grant Park before they finish northbound on Columbus at Balbo.

Having Khannouchi and Tomescu-Dita in the field gives the race a special Chicago flavor. Ironically, although both are well-known in Chicago, neither has ever crossed The LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle finish line.

Khannouchi, 34, a native of Morocco and now a U.S. citizen living in Ossining, N.Y., has won The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon four times, setting a then world record of 2:05:42 in 1999, and is a crowd favorite in Chicago. He ran with the leaders at The LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle last year, but had to pull off the course with less than a mile to go because of injuries. He has recovered from those foot problems and is scheduled to run the Flora London Marathon on April 23.

“I am now training without injuries and look forward to giving my best effort in this year’s 8K race,” Khannouchi said. “Chicago has been the scene of some of my greatest athletic accomplishments and I always look forward to competing here.”

Tomescu-Dita, 36, of Romania, also entered in the Flora London Marathon as its defending champion, won The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in 2004. She was third in 2003 and second last year, setting a personal best of 2:21:30 in a five-second loss to American Deena Kastor. Obviously, Tomescu-Dita is no stranger to Illinois racing or shorter distances. She won Peoria’s Steamboat Classic 4-miler in 2003, was third in 2004 and won again in 2005, all against stellar fields.

“I am looking at 2006 as another big year for me and will use The LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle as a tune-up for the Flora London Marathon,” Tomescu-Dita said. “My experiences with the organizers in Chicago have all been wonderful and that is what has drawn me to be a part of this year’s 8K.”

A frequent racer with amazing resiliency, Tomescu-Dita also won the cold, rainy IAAF World Half-Marathon Championship last year in Edmonton with a 1:09:17 mark and finished third in the World Marathon Championship in 2:23:19 at Helsinki after giving Britain’s winning Paula Radcliffe a stiff challenge.

“We are all looking forward to having Constantina and Khalid, two of the world’s greatest distance runners, competing in this year’s LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle,” Pinkowski said. “To have Khalid healthy and back in training is very good news for the sport. Both athletes have had great success in Chicago, which has led to their local popularity. We hope that winning tradition will continue for them this weekend in the 8K distance and provide the running community with a great opportunity to see these two wonderful champions.”

Khannouchi and Tomescu-Dita aren’t the only fast runners in Sunday’s field.

Other top men to watch include Josh Eberly, 25, and Chad Johnson, 29, both of Rochester Hills, Mich., and part of the Hanson’s Brooks Distance Project, coached by Kevin and Keith Hanson. Also in the mix is Chicago native Robert Gary, 32, of Columbus, Ohio. Gary finished fourth in last year’s LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle with a very respectable 23:39, but is best known as one of this country’s top competitors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, an event in which he competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Expected to push Tomescu-Dita, at least in the early going, will be Hansons Brooks runners Desiree Davila, 22, and Melissa White, 22, both of Royal Oaks, Mich.

2005 champions Kastor, 32, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., (U.S. record of 24:36 set at last year’s LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle) and Brian Sell, 26, of Rochester Hills, Mich. (23:17) are not entered this year. Kastor is running in the Flora London Marathon. Sell also won The LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle in 2004.

The LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle event records are 22:35 for men, set in 1998 by James Kariuki of Kenya, and Kastor’s 24:36 for women.

How far have women come since the race’s first year in 1980? First men’s winner Kurt Schallenberger’s time in that inaugural race was 24:30, just six seconds ahead of Kastor’s winning time in 2005.

The race also is the first event of the year on the Chicago Area Runners Association race circuit and will feature the top age-group runners from across the Chicago area. Also new this year, the race is part of the new LaSalle Bank Chicago Challenge, a team competition that includes The LaSalle Bank Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon on Aug. 13 and The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on Oct. 22.

Fast or slow, you’ll see them go on Sunday in Grant Park.

**Remember Daylight Savings Time Start on Race Day**

Website: www.shamrockshuffle.com

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