FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


         2006 MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS POISED TO DEFEND TITLES
                AT THE 2007 LASALLE BANK CHICAGO MARATHON
                Complete Field for Sunday's Race Announced

October  3,  2007,  CHICAGO – Defending champions Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN)
and  Berhane  Adere (ETH) will lead the field of elite athletes at The 30th
Anniversary  LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 7. Cheruiyot won
the  men's 2006 title in 2:07:35 while Adere place first among the women in
2:20:42.

"It is a tremendous honor to have both of our defending champions return to
the  streets  of  Chicago,"  said  Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski.
"Both  Robert  and  Berhane are extremely talented athletes and will be the
ones  everyone is looking to beat on Sunday. They will be challenged by the
likes  of  Evans  Rutto, Felix Limo and Benita Johnson so they will have to
perform  in  order  to  keep their titles. All of them combined makes for a
great day of road racing."

Cheruiyot  arrives  to  Chicago after back-to-back-to-back championships at
the Boston Marathon (2006 and 2007) and 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.
He  is  currently  poised  atop the World Marathon Majors men's leaderboard
with  75  points,  a lock for the inaugural championship. Regardless of his
place  finish  in  Chicago  this  weekend,  Cheruiyot will become the first
series champion following the ING New York City Marathon in November.

Adere's 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon championship set a new Ethiopian
national  record.  Although  her  career  spans  a  decade, Adere spent the
majority  of that time on the track, making her marathon debut in Rotterdam
in  2001.  Since then, she has twice held the Ethiopian national record and
earlier this year, she won the Fortis Rotterdam Half Marathon in 1:11:11 as
part of her preparation for Chicago.

The complete list of athletes set to compete as of today is as follows:

MEN

Name                   Country   Personal Record
Christopher Cheboiboch            KEN     2:07:18
William Chebon         KEN       Debut
Robert K. Cheruiyot    KEN       2:07:14
Jaouad Gharib          MAR       2:07:02
Patrick Ivuti          KEN       2:07:46
James Koskei           KEN       2:14:02
Bong-ju Lee            KOR       2:07:20
Felix Limo             KEN       2:06:14
Benjamin Maiyo         KEN       2:07:09
Jimmy Muindi           KEN       2:07:50
Charles Munyeki        KEN       Debut
Daniel Njenga          KEN       2:06:16
Evans Rutto            KEN       2:05:50
Daniel Yego            KEN       2:08:16
John Yuda              KEN       2:10:13


WOMEN

Name                  Country    Personal Record
Berhane Adere         ETH        2:20:42
Kathy Butler          GBR        2:28:29
Teyba Erkesso         ETH        Debut
Alvetina Ivanova      RUS        2:27:48
Benita Johnson        AUS        2:22:36
Nuta Olaru            ROU        2:24:33
Kate O'Neill          USA        Debut
Adriana Pirtea        ROU        Debut
Jess Ruthe            NZL        Debut
Linda Somers Smith    USA        2:30:06
Liz Yelling           GBR        2:30:44>

For more information on athletes and the race, visit chicagomarathon.com.

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