Photo below: Eliya Sidame (18) won the 2002 men's race in 23:43.

The sounds which will be heard on Sunday, November 23, 2003 at 9:00 am, will be the heartbeats of the runners as they near the start of the 11th Outback Steakhouse 8K. The start and the finish will be at the Outback Steakhouse located at Prince George's Plaza in Hyattsville, MD. The surrounding neighborhood will be transformed into a performance track for runners of all abilities. The few rolling hills appear when you need to drop your competitors and the flats appear when you need to sprint away. This race will bring out the best in you as you will be running against some of the finest local and international runners. It will be you; the road and the clock . . . start something new and show everyone what you have!

The race will benefit Special Olympics Prince George's County, and televised race coverage will air on Prince George's County CTV Channel 76. The Official Hospitality sponsor will be the Outback Steakhouse. The quality of the post-race food will be something not to be missed. Prince George's Plaza is located off the Green Line of the Metro, a supporting sponsor.

There will be a 2-Mile Fun Walk in addition to the 8K race. The 8K will have a special drawing for those teams who have 50 or more runners registered. The winner will receive a free luncheon at the Outback Steakhouse in Hyattsville, and no more than 150 may attend the luncheon. The luncheon may be held after January 1, 2004, Monday thru Friday, 12 pm to 2 pm.

The race will use the ChampionChip timing system, and scoring will be provided by Capital Running Company. The "clock time" will be used for all cash awards, and the "chip time" for age groups awards.

The Challenge Cup trophy competition will consist of teams from: Military, Fire/Rescue and Police. Teams are to be composed of a maximum of five members, and the first four score, with a minimum of two females among those scoring. All ties will be broken by the time of the fastest member.

The teams in the All-Comers category (same team rules apply) will be competing for $800 in prize money: $275, $225, $175, and $125.

The top runners will be going after $7,500 in cash awards:

Open (male/female) $600, $450, $300, $200, $100 and $75
Master (male/female) $400, $350, $250, $150 and $75

The first place (male/female) finisher in the following age groups will receive $50: 50-59, 60-69, 70-79 and 80 and over.

There will be no duplication of any individual awards.

There will be an event record bonus of $100 offered for the fastest time under:

Open
Male 23:34 2001 Sammy Ng'eno
Female 27:20 1999 Naoko Ishibe

Master
Male 25:11 2000 Chris Fox
Female 29:27 2002 Lee DiPietro

The top 25 male and female finishers will receive a Special Olympics 8K pin. The age group winners will receive gift certificates from the Outback Steakhouse (Hyattsville).

"The course was hard, when I started to surge, I did not see anyone. I was not thinking about the record and I wanted to run my best. The competition was not bad and I will come back," stated 2002 winner (23:43) Eliya Sidame of Kenya, who is based out of West Chester, PA.

"By two and half miles there were four of us. Once Eliya opened a gap, we all ran about the same pace and he tried to keep it open. At the last hill at mile four I had two minutes of weakness. At 23:49 on the clock I put the hammer up to the finish, I was dealing with number three," stated runner-up (23:50), Andre' Williams of Arlington, VA.

"Winning for the third time is a high point. I didn't know what to expect. The record was not on my mind, it was just to go out to see how I felt," stated 2002 winner (28:03) and course record holder Naoko Ishibe of Silver Spring, MD (photo above).

"I am pleased and I felt like I am getting there. I was able to hold off Meghan McLaughlin and be competitive. It's a winners race, you have all of the runners who want to race", stated runner up (28:59), Alisa Harvey of Manassas, VA.

Start something new; get your family and friends and come out to the Outback Steakhouse 8K & 2 Mile Fun Walk. The early bird registration fee is $15 through October 3, 2003. For more information about the event, please visit the race Web site, www.outback8k.org, or call race director Billy Castle at (301) 985-5027. The Outback Steakhouse 8K is sponsored by the City of Hyattsville Recreation Department and the Outback Steakhouse in partnership with Prince George's Plaza and others.

To register by mail or fax, please see the Printable Entry Form.

Register online and receive instant confirmation of your entry! Take a look at the Online Registration Form to register now!

Photo above: Smiling volunteers gather around the Outback Steakhouse truck.