Nearly 20,000 to participate with past champions attempting history setting
Chicago (March 18, 2003) The LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle, the world's largest 8K race (4.97 miles), takes place this Sunday, March 23, in Grant Park beginning at 9:45 a.m. The official kickoff event of the running season in Chicago features a mix of local runners and world-class athletes, including two former champions who will compete to be unprecedented three-time winners.

Leading the men's field is ten-time Australian champion and two-time Olympian Shaun Creighton, who was the 2001 and 2002 champion and is in position to be the first-ever to win the LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle 8K three consecutive years. Creighton, 35, has dominated the streets of Chicago in the 8K with a 2001 time of 22:51 followed by 22:57 in 2002, the fifth and eight fastest times respectively in the history of the event. "Shaun Creighton is in position to do what no other athlete has done in the 24 years of this event," stated Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski. "I anticipate another strong performance by Shaun leading to a history-making run to the first ever three-peat."

Two-time Olympian and Wisconsin native Rodney DeHaven will also compete in the men's field. DeHaven, 36, set the course record in the LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle 8K with a first-place time of 23:31 back in 1994. In 2000, he was the only American representative who participated in the Sydney Olympic Marathon. Several members of the HANSONS Olympic Distance Project will round out the men's field. These up-and-comers are sure to add some fierce competition to the men's race.

Two-time champion (1999, 2000) Collette Liss is back leading the women's field and is also in position for a history making run to be the first female three-time champion. She missed a three-peat fete with a second place finish in 2001. She'll be competing in the IAAF World Cross County Championships in Switzerland the weekend following her 8K run in Chicago. Liss, 30, is a graduate of nearby Valparaiso University in Indiana where she set Mid-Atlantic Conference records at all distances between 800 and 10,000m.

Newcomers Jenny Crain from Eugene, Org. and Jenelle Deatherage of Madison, Wisc. will also compete among others in the women's field. Crain, 33, set the course record at the Charlotte Observer Run in 1998. Deatherage, 25, finished second at the USATF Fall National Track Championships in 2002.

In addition to drawing top athletes to run, participation among Chicagoans in the LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle 8K continues to grow each year. Last year's race attracted a record 17,000 plus participants.

Since 1997, the number of registered runners has increased from 8,467 to more than 17,000? nearly 100 percent growth during the five-year period. "We are pleased with the continued growth and once again expect a record number of participants this year," said Pinkowski. "This is an all out fun event that has attracted more and more runners, walkers, families, and children through the years while truly becoming the premier spring running event in Chicago."

Registration and race packet pick-up will take place during the Health & Fitness Expo, located in the lower-level exhibition halls of the Hilton Chicago at 720 S. Michigan Ave., on Friday, March 21 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday, March 22 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission to the Health & Fitness Expo is free.

Packet pick-up is also available race-day from 6:30 to 9 a.m. There will be no day of registration for the 8K race or 5K walk this year.

The LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle 8K is immediately followed by a free post-race party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Grant Park. For more information on the LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle 8K visit www.shamrockshuffle.com or call (312) 904-9814.