It is no surprise that Olympic Marathon medalists Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor returned to the top of the U.S. Road Rankings in 2004 with 1,256 and 1,045 points respectively. The Team Running USA duo were followed by a solid group of American men and women who achieved at least one world ranking time standard of 28:40 or 33:00 respectively for an equivalent 10K.

The rankings system developed by the Road Running Information Center in 1988, adjusts all road performances to an equivalent 10K time taking into consideration course factors such as drop, climb and altitude. Points are assigned according to the quality of the adjusted time in comparison to the world record and bonus points are given for first place finishes. In 2004, additional points were awarded for achievement of the IAAF 'A' time standard in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, top 3 finishers in the Trials, finishes in the Olympic Marathon and medals at the Athens Olympic Marathon.

For the U.S. men who have had as few as 6 ranked runners in both 1998 and 2000, it was encouraging to have 18 athletes at the 28:40 level - the most since 1992. Meb Keflezighi of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., who first appeared in the rankings in 1999 (#5, U.S.), has been in the number one position for 3 of the last 4 years. In 2002, he was ranked #3 below Khalid Khannouchi and Alan Culpepper. Other men who have achieved the road ranking standard for the last 4 years include Abdi Abdirahman (#5 in '01-02; #6 in '04; #9 in '03) and Tim Broe (#7 in '02- 03; #9 in '01, '04). Khalid Khannouchi, the second ranked U.S. male in 2004, was #1 in the world in 1999 while he still had Moroccan citizenship. He topped the U.S. list in 2000 and 2002.

Newcomers to the U.S. Men's Road Rankings in 2004 included Mbarak Hussein (#5) who became a U.S. citizen in October (still to be officially confirmed at press time); Trent Briney (#7), the surprise 4th place finisher at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials who is coached by the Hanson brothers, Keith and Kevin; Dathan Ritzenhein (#8), former University of Colorado star who snuck onto the list by running only one road race on the last day of the year, coached by Brad Hudson; Clint Verran (#11), also from Hansons-Brooks team based in Rochester Hills, Mich.; Chad Pearson (#12), 23, of Raleigh, N.C.; #14 Ryan Shay of Team Running USA coached by Joe Vigil, and Matt Lane (#17) from Palo Alto, Calif.

Deena Kastor (formerly Drossin) has dominated the U.S. Women's Road Rankings for a number of years. The Mammoth Lakes resident achieved the world road standard in 1997 and was #3 on the U.S. list for two years. In 1999, she moved up to #2 and has claimed the top U.S. position for all 5 years since. Jen Rhines (#4 in '04) and Sylvia Mosqueda (#7 in '04) have achieved the ranking standard for the last 5 years and like Deena, Elva Dryer (#10 in 2004) has made the rankings list for the last 8 years. But Colleen De Reuck, winner of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and #2 U.S. rank, gets the longevity award for consistent running quality since she achieved the world standard the last 4 years as a U.S. citizen and all 11 years before that as a South African. In fact, she may have run world ranked times for more than 16 years, but 1990 is the first year that the Road Running Information Center began tracking performances in foreign events.

Women to watch in the future include the rankings first-timers Kate O'Neill (#5) and twin Laura (#14), age 24 and Yale graduates; Heather Hanscom (#9), 6th at the Olympic Marathon Trials, and Kelly Keane (#15), winner of the 2004 Motorola and St. Jude's Memphis Half- Marathons.

U.S. Road Rankings
January 1 - December 31, 2004

MEN

1) Meb Keflezighi, CA, 1,256
2) Khalid Khannouchi, NY, 543
3) Alan Culpepper, CO, 272
4) Dan Browne, OR, 239
5) Mbarak Hussein, NM, 200
6) Abdi Abdirahman, AZ, 118
7) Trent Briney, MI, 68
8) Dathan Ritzenhein, CO, 56
9) Tim Broe, MI, 54
10) Anthony Famiglietti, NY, 33

WOMEN

1) Deena Kastor, CA, 1,045
2) Colleen De Reuck, CO, 581
3) Marla Runyan, OR, 268
4) Jen Rhines, PA, 251
5) Kate O'Neill, CT, 132
6) Blake Russell, CA, 125
7) Sylvia Mosqueda, CA, 121
8) Magdalena Lewy Boulet, CA, 109
9) Heather Hanscom, VA, 83
10) Elva Dryer, NM, 76