Ironically this year's course had to be changed to, yes, floodings. mzungo.org hopes that no one's property is harmed seriously.
Here's a quick peek at the favourates OA and for the American champs (thanks to Mlive.com for this neat preview):
Women
No. 85 Caroline Chepkorir (pictured), 32, Kenya The River Run's defending champion and this year's favorite who also won last year's Baltimore Marathon.
No. 87 Meseret Mengistu, 25, EthiopiaA successful international competitor who was second at the 2008 Nice, France, Half Marathon and 11th at the World Half Marathon Championships.
No. 7 Samia Akbar, 27, Herndon, Va.One of the nation's top young distance runners whose 2008 road running season included a fifth at the U.S. 15K Championships and an 18th at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
No. 13 Alvina Begay, 28, Flagstaff, Ariz.Begay placed 10th at the 2007 New York City Marathon and sixth last year in Grand Rapids.
No. 32 Magdalena Lewy Boulet, 34, Long Beach, Calif.Boulet was the runner-up at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with a 2:30:19 to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. She comes to Grand Rapids as a favorite to win the American and overall women's titles.
Men
No. 90 Emmanuel Kiprop Korir, 28, Grand RapidsA talented Kenyan who now resides in Grand Rapids and helps fellow countrymen when they move to the U.S.No. 94 Festus Langat (pictured), 24, Kenya The favorite to win the overall title. Langat claimed first at last year's Crim 10 Mile and the 10K Vancouver Sun Run.
No. 86 Linus Maiyo, 26, Kenya Expected to challenge Langat for top honors. Maiyo recorded his top marathon time last year with a 2:12:53.
No. 36 Fasil Bizuneh, 29, Flagstaff, Ariz.A sixth-place finisher at the Houston Half Marathon and a third-place winner at the 2008 U.S. 10K Championships. Bizuneh is the favorite to win the USATF title and a challenger for the overall championship.
No. 38 Trent Briney, 30, Flagstaff, Ariz.Briney earned fourth-place status at the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials. He also was sixth at last year's USATF Marathon Championships.
No. 8 Dan Browne, 34, Portland, Ore.Browne ended an eight-year American drought by winning the River Run in 2003 with a 1:16:13. He also was the USATF champ in '04, and is coming off a fourth-place effort at a very competitive U.S. 15K Championship event.
No. 2 Fernando Cabada, 27, Boulder, Colo.The flamboyant Cabada shocked the field with a first-place and American-record time of 1:14:20 in 2006. He won the '08 Twin Cities Marathon and is being coached by former marathon world-record holder Steve Jones.
No. 26 Matt Gabrielson, 30, MinneapolisA consistent top-10 runner in his major races during the 2008 season who took second at last year's U.S. Marathon Championships. Gabrielson also was eighth at the U.S. Olympic Track Trials in the 5,000-meter run.
No. 44 Jason Hartman, 28, Eugene, Ore.The former Rockford High School star had a standout career at the University of Oregon. He was 10th at the 2007 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and sixth at that year's USA 10K Track Championships.
No. 22 Jason Lehmkuhle, 28, MinneapolisA member of Team USA Minnesota who was second last year at the USATF Half Marathon Championships and eighth at the New York City Marathon.
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