Courtesy: event press release

Texas Round Up Health and Fitness Initiative, the host of the 2008 USA Track & Field Masters 10Km Championships, announced a stellar field vying for more than $34,000 in cash prizes.

Headlining the event will be past Olympians Sean Wade and Colleen De Reuck. Wade, 42, who represented his native New Zealand at the 1996 Olympic Games is coming off of a strong season with victories at the Bayou City Classic [31:52], Cooper River Bridge Run [31:13] and the Azalea Trail 10K [30:45]. Wade was the 2006 RRCA Male Masters Runner of the year and was one of only two men over the age of 40 to qualify for the 2008 US Olympic Marathon Trials.

De Reuck 44, was a four-time Olympian and the 2004 US Marathon National Champion. She also held the world record for 10-miles [51:16] and 20 Km [1:05:11]. As a masters runner, De Reuck has been simply dominating, setting a US Masters marathon record of 2:28:40 in 2005 and finishing second over-all at the US Cross country Championships in 2006. She recently gave birth to her second daughter Tara, and opted to skip the 2008 US Olympic Trials to giver herself time to recover and gain strength.

Wade and De Reuck will both be pushed by a deep field over the challenging USATF certified race course. Wade will face new masters division runner Scott Strand from Alabama and defending age-graded national champion Dennis Simonitis. Strand entered the master's ranks with a 30:10 effort earlier this year and Simonitis recently set the 45-49 US record with a 14:47 at the Carlsbad 5K.

Pushing De Reuck will be Texan Jody Hawkins. Hawkins, 41 is no stranger to competing in Austin, having won the River City 10- miler over 12 years ago and again winning the IBM Uptown Classic 10K last October.

"Having athletes like Sean and Colleen travel to Austin to take on some of the best masters runners in the US is a testament to their competitive instincts and is a testament to the depth of this great championship field," said Race Director John Conley. "This is the first national road running championship ever held in Austin and I am very happy to see the tremendous field of legends and elite athletes coming to our city."

Also entered in the USATF national championships are local Austin runners Carmen Troncoso, Chris Gunderson, Scott Birk, Cindy Salazar, Dick Wilkowski, Margo Braud, Al Guevara, Mac Allen, and the age-less Keith Dowland.

Running legends Christine Kennedy and Nolan Shaheed are making their first visits to Austin for the Texas Round Up. Kennedy won the 1989 Berlin Marathon in 2:35:15 and was the 1991 Irish National Marathon champion. Shaheed 58, still holds the masters over-50 world-record for the mile at 4:27.9 and is a past Masters Track & Field athlete of the Year.

The Texas Round-Up 10K and the USA Track & Field national 10K championships will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2008 and more than 6000 runners and walkers are expected to participate. The USATF masters championships will begin at 7:50 a.m., followed by the general open and age-group 5K and 10K race at 8 a.m.

Runners may register for all events including the USATF 10Km Championships as well as the general 10K, 5K and Family Mile races at Texas Round-Up's Health and Fitness Expo held at the Palmer Events Center on Friday, April 25 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Race registration also is available on race morning, starting at 6 a.m. at the starting line area located on 11th St. and Congress Avenue. Only registration for the non-competitive divisions will be accepted on race morning.

In 2004, Governor Rick Perry launched the Texas Round-Up statewide fitness initiative and 10K race to motivate and encourage Texans to become more active and incorporate healthy choices into their daily lives. Today, Texas Round-Up is an independent, nonprofit organization working to improve the health of Texas through education and promotion of physical activity and healthy living. For more information about the Texas Round-Up and its programs , visit www.texasroundup.org.