Forty members of Congress will lead teams in the annual ACLI Capital Challenge, a three mile road race.  The race takes place on Wednesday, April 29 at 8:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia Park.  For a brief period, competitors will run away from toxic assets, foreclosures, and foreign policy issues.

Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) will compete for the 28th straight year, never having missed a race.  Joining him will be several congressional committee chairs, agency heads, including Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, plus many on-air reporters, federal Judges, and print journalists.  D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is a guest entrant, as is the Danish Ambassador to the United States.

 Defending champions Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN), fastest man in Congress, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), long-time female Senate champ, will be seeking to repeat previous victories, while Senator John Ensign (R-NV) will try to keep his Senate title.    He will face a challenge from Senator John Thune (R-SD), the 2007 winner.  Representative Jean Schmidt (R-OH) will also seek to retain her title and will be challenged by five female members of Congress:  Jane Harman (D-CA), Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA),  Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).

On hand as official whistle blower (starter) will be Olympic Marathon Silver Medalist Meb Keflezighi.  Meb recently won his third USA National Cross County Championship and the National Half Marathon Championship.  He is also the US 10k record holder and has been among the top finishers at the Boston and ING New York City Marathons.  He was a 4-time NCAA Champion at UCLA and is running the London Marathon on Sunday. 

Meb’s spirit of endurance is fueled by his parents’ fervent determination to save their family from the 30-year-war between Eritrea and Ethiopia.  His life threatened by the Ethiopian regime, Meb’s father fled the country and worked for years as a laborer to save his family. The family reunited in Italy where they lived before arriving in San Diego. Despite language barriers, Meb and his ten siblings made education their number one priority.  The children who are out of high school hold six undergraduate degrees, an MBA, an MD, a JD, one is a senior at Stanford University and another a sophomore at UCSD. In 1998 Meb became a U.S. citizen.

Team captains in this event are not honorary positions. Each must finish the three-mile course for their team to score.  This event shows even the busiest people can take time out to stay physically fit.  All entry fees go to D.C. Special Olympics, as does an additional donation from the title sponsor ACLI (American Council of Life Insurers) and from other sponsors AEGON USA, ING, John Hancock, MetLife, New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, Prudential, RGA, Swiss Re, Western and Southern Financial Group, Roll Call and Winstead Attorneys.

Competition for the prestigious Best and James B. Kenin Worst Team Name honors remains intense.

Some noteworthy entrants:

TEAMS	CAPTAINS
Hutchison's Herd on the Hill	Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison  (R-TX)
"Bob"bleheads	Representative Bob Inglis (R-SC)
O Little Team from Bethlehem	Representative Charles Dent (R-PA)
Shock and Abs	Representative Aaron Shock (R-IL)
USCIRF ing Safari	Imam Talel Y. Eid (Commissioner, US Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Chronzi Scheme	Kelly Field (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Dash-ional Journal	Andrew Waldman (National Guard Magazine)
Running on APrayer	Michael Weinfeld (AP TV)
AIG: Athletes In Gear	Bill Plante (CBS News)
Talk of Pronation	David Kestenbaum (NPR)
Courting Disaster	Judge John Ferren (DC Court of Appeals)