April 1, 2004 TOP FIELD SET FOR 2004 AMERICAN NATIONAL 100KM CHAMPIONSHIP  A great field will assemble for the American National 100Km Championship to be held on Sunday, April 4th on a scenic road course in the Kettle Moraine State Forest of Wisconsin.  The event is also the selection race for the national team to the 2004 World Cup 100Km, which will be held September 11 in Winschoten, The Netherlands. The top three American men and women will be named to the team, provided they meet the minimum time standards of 8:00:00 for men and 9:00:00 for women.  The American 100km Championship is organized and funded by the American Ultrarunning Association.  AUA president and director of the race, Kevin Setnes, is a two-time national 100km champion, world 100km team silver medalist, and was a member of 8 national 100km teams in the 90's.  Setnes, personally familiar with every course on which the national 100km has been held, ranging from California to Texas to New York City, feels this year's course is the best ever chosen for this metric century title event.  It features a 7.2-mile nearly traffic free, well-paved loop with some gently rolling hills in rural, wooded Wisconsin.  And the weather forecast is nearly ideal (partly sunny, mild winds, high temperature near 50F degrees)--a refreshing change from the extremes of heat, humidity, snow, wind, and driving rain which have plagued more than 70% of the 100km national championships held since the event's inception in 1987.  Top contenders in the race are:  MEN  Dan Verrington, 41 of Bradford, MA.  Verrington was the National 50Km Road Champion in 2002 and a member of the last two national 100Km teams.  Dave Dehart, 42, Waukesha, WI.  Dehart will be running the course that is his home training ground.  A member of the 2003 national 100Km team, Dehart has a best time of 7:43, run at the 2002 National 100Km Championship.  Mark Godale, 33, Aurora, OH.  Godale is one of the most prolific and versatile contenders at any national championship.  A member of multiple national 100Km teams, he holds the National 24 Hour Road Record of 162.45 miles, set in 2000.  Tim Clement, 43, Solon, OH.  Clement is the reigning National Champion at 100 Miles, having won last year's Olander Park 100 Mile National Championship in 14:02.  Michael Wardian, 29, Arlington, VA.  Wardian is coming off a 2:22 run at the Olympic Trials Marathon in February and is clearly the speediest individual in the race.  He is a classic dark horse candidate for this event.  WOMEN  Anne Riddle, 37 Asheville, NC. Riddle is the 2001 National 100Km Road Champion, with a best of 8:13:58 over the 62.1 mile distance.  She is also the 2002 National 50Km Road Champion and three time member of the National 100Km squad.  Ann Heaslett, 40, Madison, WI.  Heaslett is the 2002 USATF Ultrarunner of the Year and 3-time member of the National 100Km squad.  In 2002, she won the Olander Park National 24 Hour Road Championship by running 128.56 miles.  Pam Reed, 43, Tucson, AZ. Reed is best known for her two consecutive outright wins (over men & women) at the grueling Badwater 135 mile run across Death Valley.  She is the number one ranked American and National track recordholder at 24 Hours.  Anthea Schmid, 32, Crested Butte, CO.  Schmid is the AUA’s Ultrarunner of the Month for February and is coming off some early year victories on the trail.  This will be an interesting test for her as she tries to match leg speed with some of the fastest American road runners.  Laura Nelson, 38, Waynesboro, VA.  Nelson is a two time winner of the JFK 50 Mile in Maryland, America’s largest and oldest ultramarathon.  Nelson was member of the 2003 national 100Km team and won the silver medal at the 2002 National 100Km in Dultuth, Minnesota.  Carolyn Smith, 38, Milwaukee, WI.  Smith is a product of the University of Wisconsin and is the fastest women in the field.  With a marathon best of 2:45 and two years of preparatory ultrarunning experience behind her, Smith is the distaff darkhorse in the field.  NEW MASTERS AGE-GROUPS:  The American Ultrarunning Association will be implementing its new Masters Age Groups for the first time in this race.  The new AUA system is based on years of statistical analysis of top ultra performances, which clearly shows that the peak performance age for events of 100km and longer is 5-10 years older than that for the marathon and shorter events.  Hence, AUA will be implementing the following Masters Age-Groups starting with this event: 45-54; 55-64; 65-74; 75+.  Roy Pirrung, 55, Sheboygan, WI.  Pirrung is the most prolific open/age group national ultrarunning champion in American history, having won national and world open and age-group titles at 24 hours, 100km, 50 miles, 50km, and numerous trail championships.  He has held 39 American open and age-group records and is the team captain of the national 24-Hour Run squad.  Eric Binder, 47, Littleton, CO. Binder is shooting for his first master’s title in the newly created 45+ master’s age category.  Binder was the second American finisher at the 6 day Marathon Des Sables in 2002 in Morocco.  Ed Rousseau, 64, Minneapolis, MN.  Like Pirrung, Rousseau is a 24 hour specialist having won numerous National titles and places at distances ranging from 100K to 24 Hours.  Sandy Powell, 46, Greenville, VA. Powell is primarily a 12 and 24 hour specialist and a current member of the national 24 Hour team.  For updates on the American 100Km Championship this Sunday, please visit the AUA website (WWW.AMERICANULTRA.ORG).  -Dan Brannen,  Executive Director, AUA  danbrannen@earthlink.net