WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The fifth running of the SunTrust National Marathon and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield National Half Marathon and Relay Races will be held in Washington D.C. on March 20, 2010. The marathon is the only one to be run entirely within the District of Columbia and has the fastest looped course in the country.

The speed of the course draws elite runners including those trying to qualify for the US Olympic Trials and for the Boston Marathon. Joan Benoit Samuelson, 1984 Olympic Gold medalist and two-time Boston Marathon title holder, will try to break a world record for her age group in the half marathon. Bill Rodgers, one of the pioneers of American marathon running, will also run the half marathon.

Army Athlete of the Year, Matt Cavanaugh, will run the marathon as part of the Team Wounded Warriors Project. He plans to run 300 miles in races throughout the year to raise money for Wounded Warriors. Marine Jeremy Soles will run the half marathon in a gas mask to raise awareness and funds for Wounded Warriors. He is attempting to break his previous world record time for running a half marathon in a gas mask.

"We are really impressed with the growth of the race each year and the quality of the runners," said race director Bill Reifsnyder. "This year we will host runners from 50 states and 30 countries, and we are proud to be able to showcase Washington D.C.'s monuments and diverse neighborhoods as our races run through six of the city's eight wards."

Local elite runner Michael Wardian, of Arlington, Va., is a favorite to win this year's marathon. He is a three-time champion of the SunTrust National Marathon and is the 2008 and 2009 USATF Ultra Runner of the Year and the 2009 New York Road Runners Club's Ultra Runner of the Year.

Other men's favorites include Patrick Moulton the 2009 winner of the marathon and former New England Road Race Grand Prix Champion; Mohammed Awol, thirteenth place finisher in the New York Marathon; Lars Juhl, a second place finisher in the Champaign Marathon; and Mark Furin, Stephen Haas, and Jeff Powers, members of Team Indiana Elite who are trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials; as well as Demesse Tefera the reigning 2009 National Half Marathon winner.

Women's favorites in the marathon include Tamara Karrh who finished twenty fifth in the Boston Marathon; Shannon Saunders of Charlottesville, Va., who was a James Madison University Top 10 Female Athlete of the Decade; and Muliye Gurmu who finished second in the Bermuda Marathon.

Women's favorites in the half marathon include Dani Prince of Team Indiana Elite who is trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials and her teammate Jessica Gall who qualified in 2008; Phoebe Ko who finished in the top five in last year's half marathon; and Carly Shea who is attempting to get her third qualification for the Olympic Trials.

Ten thousand five hundred runners are expected to compete in the three races. Among them, many runners with inspirational stories including a number of contestants from the NBC television show the "Biggest Loser."

Crowds will gather along the race route, and at the six official Community Spirit Festival locations which include Dupont Circle (SunTrust Branch), Adams Morgan (SunTrust Pavilion - 18th & Columbia Road, N.W.), Bison Bend (Howard University - 5th and Harvard Streets, N.W.), North Capitol Street at R Street, N.W. (Bloomingdale), Randle Circle (Minnesota Avenue, N.E.), and Anacostia Park (Anacostia Drive SE & Nicholson Street, S.E.). The festival locations will provide refreshments and noisemakers and the first 200 fans will receive free t-shirts.

Runners can register for the race online until midnight March 14 and then again the day before the race, on March 19, at the D.C. Armory at the National Health & Fitness Expo, from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Volunteers are needed for race day. For more information, visit the Web site, www.nationalmarathon.com.