New champs in all races

There will be new champions crowned in each of the Deseret Morning News/KJZZ-TV marathon and 10K races on Thursday — that's guaranteed. For the first time in recent history, not a single winner from last year's races will be back to defend a title.

Reasons vary, from injuries to previous commitments, but regardless, the 34th annual marathon and 20th annual 10K races should prove to be interesting and entertaining for the tens of thousands of spectators who will watch the final stretch through the streets of Salt Lake City.

In addition, the 5K fitness walk from the Delta Center to Liberty Park, along with this year's first-ever in-line skating event, should ensure a "competition" for almost everybody.

"Sign-ups really got brisk as we neared the finish," said race director Scott Kerr. "I think the combination of the holiday and all the festivities surrounding it, plus just the tradition of these races, led to the last-minute onslaught."

Kerr and his volunteer organizing staff will kick things off tonight with a free pasta dinner from Tucci's at Jordan Commons for all registered participants. The dinner will be served in the parking lot of Jordan Commons, and booths and displays will be set up for the public to enjoy. The marathon begins near Little Dell Golf Course at 5 a.m. Thursday, and the 10K race at Research Park at 6:15 a.m. Both races finish at Liberty Park, where medals and awards will be presented later that morning.

There may not be defending champs this year, but the fields for all four races feature world-class runners. Here's a breakdown of each race, with the "bib" number the runners will be wearing in parenthesis:

Men's 10K

Two-time champion John Kariuki (1) from Kenya is here again. He regularly participates in the 10K and has placed in the top five several times. Joe Wilson (2) of Ogden, a 2000 graduate of Weber State and past top 10 finisher here, is also back, as are

Teren Jamison (3) of Salt Lake City, the Mountain West Conference runner of the year in 2001 from the University of Utah; Ogden's Jeremy Tolman (4) from Weber State, and former Bingham High and SUU standout Curtis Moore (5). Any of these runners could cash in Thursday morning.