Chicago (July 11, 2001) After a memorable duel in 2000, defending champion Catherine Ndereba and runner-up Lornah Kiplagat are returning to compete in The 2001 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, it was announced today by Carey Pinkowski, executive race director. The 2001 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon starts at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 7th. Athletes will be competing for $450,000 in prize money, plus time bonuses.

"We are thrilled to have Catherine and Lornah return to Chicago this fall," said Pinkowski in making the announcement. "They are two of the very best athletes in the world right now. Catherine is coming off a victory in Boston and Lornah just won the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. If last year is any indication, the rematch may produce historic results."

The 2000 LaSalle Bank Marathon was a two-woman race from the beginning as Kiplagat led the first 22 miles and held as much as a 15-second advantage over Ndereba. The two Kenyans ran together for most of the second half of the race until Ndereba pulled away in the last two miles for the victory. Ndereba's winning time of 2:21:33 was the world's fastest in 2000, the fifth fastest marathon of all-time and only 12 seconds shy of Chicago's course record of 2:21:21 set by Joan Benoit Samuelson in 1985. Kiplagat's second place performance of 2:22:36 was a personal record and the fastest runner-up time ever. The averaged times of the first two women's finishers (2:22:04) was the fastest ever, beating the previous average (2:22:13) set in Chicago in 1985. The current women's World Record is held by Tegla Loroupe (2:20:43).

Ndereba, 28-years old from Nairobi, Kenya, has continued to shine in 2001 with her second consecutive victory at the Boston Marathon. In a dominant performance, she ran away from the field with the seventh fastest time in Boston history (2:23:53), nearly three minutes ahead of the second place finisher. Last Sunday (July 8th) Ndereba smashed a ten-year old event record with a victory at the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, New York. Her performance (48:06) was a Kenyan national record. She is currently ranked #1 by Runners World for the third consecutive year. This will be Ndereba's second appearance in The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

Kiplagat, 27-years old from Kipkabus, Kenya, has three career marathon victories - Los Angeles in 1997 (2:33:50) and 1998 (2:34:03), and Amsterdam in 1999 (2:25:29). This year she ran a World Record in the 20K (63:54) at the 2001 Twentig of Hans Verkerk in the Netherlands. Earlier this week (July 4, 2001) she won the very competitive Peachtree Road Race 10K (30:58) for the second consecutive year. In 2000 she ran the world's fastest half marathon and 10K. This will be Kiplagat's second appearance in The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. In 1997 she finished 10th with a time of 2:39:13.

Pinkowski also announced that two-time champion Marian Sutton and Kerryn McCann will be competing in Chicago this fall. Sutton, who turns 38 on race day, won The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in 1996 (2:30:41) and 1997 (2:29:03). In 2000 she ran the Sydney Olympic Marathon for Great Britain. This will be Sutton?s seventh appearance in Chicago. McCann, 34- years old from Australia, is a two-time Olympic marathoner. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Australian finished an impressive seventh (2:28:37). McCann also ran a personal best (2:25:59) at the 2000 London Marathon, finishing fifth. This will be her first appearance in The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon is one of the premier races in the world. From 1996 to 2000 the number of registered runners grew three- fold from 10,925 to 33,171. In addition to the amazing growth of the field, The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon is now one of Chicago's favorite annual traditions with more than 900,000 spectators attending the race in 2000.

Chicago has one of the world?s fastest courses. A men's World Record time of 2:05:42 was set in 1999, and an American Record of 2:07:01 was set in 2000 by three-time winner Khalid Khannouchi.

The 2001 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon begins Sunday, October 7, 2001, at 7:30 a.m., starting and finishing in Chicago's Grant Park. The race will be televised live on NBC5 and broadcast on Chicago?s ESPN Radio 1000 from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The 2001 race is expected to draw up to the registration cap of 37,500 participants who will compete for $450,000 in prize money, plus time bonuses. The Marathon is open to all runners who can complete the course in less than six hours.

For information call toll-free 1-888-243-3344 (U.S. and Canada) or (312) 904-9800. Registration is $70 ($80 for international participants) and can be completed online by visiting www.chicagomarathon.com . Mail-in entries will be accepted until September 12, 2001. Runners registering online earn a $5 discount and have a September 19, 2001 deadline or until the registration cap is reached, whichever comes first. There will be no race weekend registration.