For Richmond's Nancy Fabian, a lot more than pride or a PR will be at stake when she runs the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K presented by POWERade on April 1. Instead, she will be running for $2,500 in cash, Cingular's exclusive SLVR, the ultra-thin phone with itunes, and $250 in airtime in the Cingular Dash for the Cash.

Fabian was chosen at random from more than 18,000 people who were registered for the 10K as of the March 1 contest deadline and will be given a head start when the race gets underway at 8:30 AM. To win the cash, she will have to out run the rest of the field to the finish line.

Based on the predicted time she listed on her race entry form and her past performances in the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K, she will be given a 2.4-mile head start on the course and will attempt to cross the finish line before any of the elite athletes, who will be running the full 10K (6.2 miles). The first person to cross the finish line wins the Cingular Dash for the Cash prize.

"When the gun goes off, Nancy will take off from the 2.4-mile mark near Malvern Street on Monument Avenue," said race director Tracey Russell. "When she makes the turn at the halfway point and heads down Monument Avenue toward Monroe Park, she'll get to see the elite athletes on the other side of the road closing in on her."

"This is both exciting and nerve-wracking for me," said the 32- year-old Fabian, who is a nurse practitioner at the McGuire Veterans Hospital. "I'm going to train really hard over these last few weeks to get ready and hope to feed off the energy of the crowd on race day to get me across the finish line first."

To help her prepare for the Cingular Dash for the Cash, Fabian will get coaching and guidance over the next three weeks from the contest's honorary coach Bart Yasso, who is race and event promotion director and contributing writer for Runner's World magazine. Yasso will also be with Fabian at her designated starting line race morning to provide last minute support. Yasso has extensive running experience, completing over 150 marathons around the world including the Boston Marathon, NYC Marathon, Antarctica Marathon, Mount Everest Marathon, and the Mount Kiliminjaro Marathon. He has also completed the Badwater 146 miler through Death Valley.

This is the second year of the Dash for the Cash contest. Last year, Chesterfield resident Larry Comstock easily outdistanced the elite athletes to win the $2,500 cash prize.

Race nearing capacity. As of March 8, more than 19,000 have registered for the 10K. Registration for the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K will close when the race capacity of 20,000 is reached. The entry fee is $35 and can be done online at www.sportsbackers.org or by snail mail by downloading an entry form off the Web site or picking one up at any Ukrop's Super Market.

The First Market Mile Kids Run currently has more than 920 registrants. The entry fee for the Kids Run is $20 and will stay open until March 28.