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Thirty-Nine Members of Congress Lead Teams in Annual Capital Tradition

Posted: 04/24/2008 In Category: General Non-profit / Association
Posted By: ACLI Capital Challenge

Thirty-nine members of Congress will lead teams in the annual ACLI Capital Challenge, a three mile road race. The race takes place on Wednesday, April 30, at 8:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia Park. For a brief period, competitors will run away from election year politics, mortgage worries, Iraq war issues and the economy.

Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) will compete for the 27th straight year, never having missed a race. Joining him will be several congressional committee chairman; agency heads, including SBA Administrator Steven Preston, the newly named HUD Secretary designate; plus over two dozen on-air reporters, federal Judges, and print journalists. D. C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is a guest entrant, as are four Ambassadors from Slovenia, Denmark, Latvia and Lithuania.

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 attempting to repeat previous victories, while Senator John Ensign (R-NV) will try to regain his Senate title. Representative Jean Schmidt (R-OH) will also seek to retain her title, but will be challenged by four other female members of Congress: Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), Jane Harman (D-CA), Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).

On hand to start the 27th running of the race as official “whistle blower" will be Missy Foy. Missy was recently profiled in Parade Magazine. She is an accomplished distance runner: in 2000 she became the first diabetic athlete in history to quality for the Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials. She has moved up to ultramarathons and in 2005 ran the Umstead 50 Mile Ultramarathon in 5:06, breaking the course record by twenty minutes, clinching a #1 world ranking for a 50-mile trail race. She is an active advocate for children with diabetes and for women’s health and fitness initiatives.

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 ING, MetLife, Northwestern Mutual, the Principal Financial Group, Swiss Re, Qwest Communications and Roll Call.

Competition for the prestigious Best and James B. Kenin Worst Team Name honors remains intense.
Some noteworthy entrants:
TEAMS
CAPTAINS
DeMint Condition
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Starksy and Hutchison
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Final Run In LaHood
Representative Ray LaHood (R-IL)
Charlie Horses
Representative Charles Dent (R-PA)
Crude Regulators
Walter Lukken, Chair; CFTC
Nerds Sweating Furiously
Kathie Olsen, Deputy Dir., (National Science Foundation)
Fast Times at Market Highs
Robert Colby, Deputy Dir., Market Regulation (SEC)
Ivy Laggers
Sara Lipka (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Veni, Vedi, Video
Bill Plante (CBS News)
Article III Milers
Judge William Bryson (US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)
USA Toadys
Denny Gainer (USA Today)

Click Here for a Complete List of
Team Captains and Team Names

The course is an out and back, riverfront course in Anacostia Park (just over the Sousa Bridge-Pennsylvania Avenue).
Editor’s Note: For media information, call Jeff Darman at 610.925.1976 (until April 26), 703-875.8717 (April 26-30) or 610.299.4436 (cell). The ACLI Capital Challenge starts at 8:00 a.m. in Anacostia Park near the Roller Rink. Directions to the site may be downloaded from www.capitalchallenge.com. (Entries are closed.)

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