See the Outback Steakhouse 8K & 2K Walk Web site

Aussie style good humor arrives in Hyattsville, Maryland at Prince George's Plaza on Sunday, November 21, 2004. The 12th Outback Steakhouse 8K and 2-mile run will start at 9:00 AM in the parking lot of Prince George's Plaza (3500 East-West Highway, Hyattsville, Md.) across from the Official Hospitality sponsor and provider of post-race food, the Outback Steakhouse.

The race benefits Special Olympics of Prince George's County. Funds raised by this event will assist athletes in training programs.

The USATF-certified out and back course in the surrounding community includes slight modifications from last year. The Outback Steakhouse 8K is the most competitive road race in Prince George's County and boasts international runners and some of the area's top male and female athletes.

Registration Is Available

Race registration fee is $20 until November 13, $25 from November 14-20,
and $30 on race day, November 21, 2004.  


On-line registration is available at SignMeUpSports.com.


Walk in registration will be available this Monday-Friday, November 8-12 at:
	Hyattsville Municipal Building, Recreation Department  3rd floor
	4310 Gallatin Street, Hyattsville, MD  20781
	Phone: Billy Castle, race director	301-985-5027


Packet Pickup & registration:
	Saturday, November 20	10:00 am - 4:00 pm
	Location: Outback Steakhouse
	3500 East-West Highway, Hyattsville, MD  20782


	Sunday, November 21		7:00 - 8:30 am
	Location: Food court inside Prince George's Plaza

A Wide Variety of Awards

The top runners will be going after $7,500 in cash awards: 
No duplicate awards.


Open (male/female)	 $600-$400-$350-$250-$150-$75


Master (male/female)          $400-$350-$250-$150-$75


$50 To First Male/Female in Age Groups:
50-59, 60-69, 70-79, and 80 and over


Age Groups: Top three males and females in the following age groups 
will receive merchandise awards: 19& Under, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39,
40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59,60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, and 80 & Over.


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


Open Male	23:34 2001 Sammy Ng'eno	
Open Female     26:52 2003 Olga Romanova 
Master Male	25:11 2000 Chris Fox		
Master Female   29:27 2002 Lee DiPietro

Team Rewards
Groups of five or more can register as a TEAM at a special rate of $15 per person through November 12; thereafter, late registration fees apply.

Teams in the All-Comers divisions will be running after $800 in cash awards. Teams must be composed of a maximum of five members, and the first four score, with a minimum of two females among those scoring.

The cash awards for top teams: $275-$225-$175-$125.

A team of 50 or more members (limit of 150 members) will enter a chance to win a free luncheon at Outback Steakhouse in Hyattsville. The luncheon may be held after January 1, 2005, Monday thru Friday, 12 noon to 2 pm. Members must take part in the event.

Photo above: The Russian professional marathoners coasted through the 2003 race.

Last year, at mile three (14:33, split of 4:40), the original group of eight runners dwindled to four: David Kipngetich of Kenya (2002 fourth place 24:11) held the lead with Joseph Mwai, Sammy Ng'engo, and Ben Cooke. The pack passed the fourth mile in 19:30 (a mile split of 4:57). Mwai took over the race to finish first in 23:56.

Kyle Smits of Washington, DC commented after finishing sixth with a time of 24:41: "I was looking forward to this race to test my training against some top-level competition. With several international athletes competing, I expected a fast start. I was surprised to find myself in the lead for nearly two miles."

Jim Hage wrote of the 2003 women's race: Christina Wells, 28, who recently moved to Woodbridge from Kentucky, finished fourth in 27:22. Wells ran 2:40:22 at the 2002 Chicago Marathon and she is preparing for the Olympic Trials in St. Louis. "I knew it was a good field," Wells said. "I tried to hang in the pack until four miles, and that's when the Russian women shot ahead." Read Hage's story, "The Details Are All Right"

The race will use the ChampionChip for scoring distributed by Capital Running Company. All rental Chips should be returned after the race. The "clock time" will be used for all cash awards and "chip (net) time" will be used for age group awards.

For full race details, see www.outback8k.org, or www.signmeupsports.com /27996.
Phone 301-985-5027 (Billy Castle, Race Director).
Invited athlete request contact is George Banker at 301-839-7957 or monkbank@comcast.net.

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.

Ben Cooke of Silver Spring, MD, finished second in the 2003 Outback Steakhouse 8K.