October 1, 2003 (Chicago)---The men's elite athlete field for The 2003 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon grows larger this week with the addition of three marathoners from Great Britain: Ben Noad, Matt Smith and Mark Steinle. This will be the debut Chicago Marathon race for both Noad and Smith.

"The men's elite competition has a tradition of excellence and this year is no exception," said Carey Pinkowski, executive race director of The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. "Mark Steinle has fared well at the London Marathon and should do well in his second running of the Chicago Marathon. Ben Noad and Matt Smith are two up-and-coming distance runners to watch on race day."

Mark Steinle, 29, made his debut at the 2001 London Marathon with a brilliant run, finishing 6th in 2:10:46; he was the first British finisher. In 2002, Steinle shaved one and a half minutes off his Personal Record with an 8th place finish of 2:09:17 at the London Marathon.

Ben Noad, 27, came to the fore in 1994, when he was the second fastest British junior in the 3000m and 5000m races. He did not appear in ranking lists for the next three years because he was hampered by injuries, but he began ranking again during his time at Providence University. He was 18th in the NCAA cross-country in 1997 and 12th in 1998. In 2002 he was the 5th at the World 4km Trials and was Britain's fourth finisher in the World short-course race.

Matt Smith, 28, began running in high school and was a British Junior cross country international. He was recruited to Boston University where he earned All-American status at the NCAA Indoor Championships, placing sixth over 3000m (7:59:89) at Indianapolis in 1998. Smith has represented Great Britain in the last four consecutive World Cross Country Championships, competing over 4km at Vilamoura (2000) and 12km at Ostend (2001), Dublin (2002) and Lausanne (2003). Smith has also represnted Britain at the last three European 10,000m track Challenge Internationals.

Elite athletes will compete this fall for the highest Marathon purse ever, $550,000. The male and female winners each will earn $100,000, the largest first place payout in the sport. The 2003 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon begins Sunday, October 12 at 8:00 a.m., starting and finishing in Chicago's Grant Park. The Marathon has drawn its registration cap of 40,000 participants. CBS 2 CHICAGO is the official broadcast partner of The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and will cover the race live from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. race day.