Some of the top female athletes from two countries well-known for world-class long-distance runners will bring their talents to Kingsport on Saturday night, July 14th at the Indian Path Medical Center & SunTrust Bank Crazy 8s 8k Run. Three distance running stars from Ethiopia and five from Kenya are the most recent commitments to announce their intentions to run the world famous candle-lit, figure-8 course. They will join previous commitment and defending champion Luminita Talpos from Romania as early favorites to win the women's race and collect the Blue Ridge/OB/Gyn $5000 Women's Dash For The Gold. If any woman breaks the existing world record she will also collect the Regional Eye Center $10,008 World Record Bonus.
The Ethiopian ladies are Alemtsehay Misganaw, Maskerem Legesse, and Belainesh Gebre; the Kenyans are sisters Gladys and Neriah Asiba, Magdalene Mukunzi, Caroline Cheptanui, and Angelina Mutuku. All are marquee names with excellent credentials.
"The women's field is very strong and very deep," said co-event director and elite athlete recruiter Hank Brown. "This is a deep group top to bottom. Anybody could win it, and if we get a good night, one of these ladies might make a run for the record. I'm hoping for one or two more big names next week, so we'll keep our fingers crossed."
Misganaw was runner-up to Talpos last year but is looking to move up one position. She has several victories this year including the Litchfield Hills 7 Miler just a few weeks ago. Legesse has a tough pedigree with a 4:04 1500 meters with a trip to the 2004 Athens Olympics in that event. She will focus on the Lively State Farm/Foot Rx Crazy Mile on Friday the 13th, but should also do well in the 8k. Gebre is one of Ethiopia's rising stars at only 19 years of age, but she has already run under 32 minutes for 10k in her young career.
Gladys (4' 11") and Neriah (4'10") Asiba might be the smallest in the crowd, but they run big in big-time races. Neriah is the younger sister, but she might be the strongest, finishing 5th at the ultra prestigious Peachtree Road Race on July 4th. Gladys has run 25:47 for 8k, and 32:08 for 10k.
Mukunzi is coming to Crazy 8s on a hot streak, sizzling to a 32:24 course record at the Ukrops Monument 10k in Richmond earlier this year, which served as an encore to her course record 25:28 at the Ntelos 8k in Richmond last year. She also earned a notch on her belt for 1st at the 5th Season 8k in San Diego. Cheptanui has several top 10 finishes at major race this year, including 1st at the Borden's Uptown 8k, 2nd at the Ogden Newspapers 20k, and 3rd at the Ukrops Monument 10k. Mutuku is coming to the U.S. for the first time and christened her U.S. road racing debut with a respectable 9th at Peachtree.
For more information on Crazy 8s visit www.crazy8s.org. You can register at the Fun Fest Store or most sponsor locations.
Sponsors for the 2007 Crazy 8s 8k Run are Indian Path Medical Center, SunTrust Bank, The Regional Eye Center, Holston Medical Group, Cardiovascular Associates, Gastroenterology Associates, Bill Gatton Honda, Lively State Farm, Eastman Credit Union, Blue Ridge OB/Gyn, McDonald's of Greater Kingsport, United Way of Greater Kingsport, REACH!, Americourt Hotel, Foot Rx, Food City, Culligan, Charter Media, Oak Hill Cemetery, Citadel Broadcasting, and YMCA of Kingsport. VIP sponsors are Jon Mather, DDS, Mountain Region Family Medicine, Martin Dentistry, UBS Financial, and Celebration Church.