The American Association of Running Clubs (AARC) and the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) announced their joint sponsorship of the 2004-2005 AARC/RRCA Roads Scholar Grants for developing elite distance running athletes. A minimum of four grants of $4,000 each will be provided to two female and two male athletes to help with travel and training expenses thanks to the commitments from AARC and its member organizations.

Carl Sniffen (RRCA) and Henley Gabeau (AARC) will again co-chair the selection committee. Additional information can be obtained from either Carl Sniffen, at csniffen@charter.net, or Henley Gabeau, at henleygabeau@aol.com. Also, applications may be downloaded from www.runningclubs.org or www.rrca.org. The deadline for applications is May 31, 2004, and recipients will be chosen by August 1, 2004.

"We are pleased to be able to fund this great program for developing athletes," said AARC President Jeff Darman. "Working in cooperation with the RRCA, we can again provide a great benefit to the athletes and the sport," he added.

The AARC, formed in December 2002, represents 63 clubs with 31,000 members, plus 7 events with 114,000 participants. The RRCA currently has about 100,000 members in over 500 chapters. Information about either group is available on their websites, www.runningclubs.org for the AARC and www.rrca.org for RRCA.