Many of America 's finest distance runners will take on the world's best Tuesday, November 23 at the 2004 International Chiba Ekiden in Chiba, Japan .

The U.S. team will look to improve on last year's performance when the men's squad finished ninth and the women's team placed 10th in team competition.

Members of the 2004 U.S. men's Chiba Ekiden Team are Matt Gabrielson (Apple Valley, Minn.), Jason Hubbard (Alamosa, Colo.), James Carney (Monterey Bay, Calif.), Justin Young (Boulder, Colo.), Chad Pearson (Cary, N.C.) and Luke Watson (Minneapolis, Minn.).

The U.S. women's team is Kelly Keane (The Woodlands, Tex.), Sharon Dickie (Knoxville, Tenn.), Katherine Jane Newberry (Williamsburg, Va.), Melissa Marie Gulli (College Station, Tex.), Carrie Messner (Carbondale, Colo.), Dana Turner Coons (Burnsville, Minn.) and Melissa April White (Rochester Hills, Mich.).

A total of 14 separate countries will compete in the men's and women's competitions, with 263 athletes competing overall. For more information on the 2004 International Chiba Ekiden, visit: www.chiba-ekiden.jp/race.html