1.   Also, no Americans are among the top runners.

2.   And the Jets come in with their top runner, Johnny Johnson, nursing a hamstring injury.

3.   And though a few top runners have corporate sponsors, the lack of prize money insures that most competitors are strictly amateurs.

4.   Because most top runners participate in only a handful of marathons a year, they run in races with the highest possible payoff.

5.   Because their top runner, Antowain Smith, has been hobbled by injury.

6.   Bill Orr, the L.A. Marathon elite athlete coordinator, said problems attracting the top runners this year has been compounded by the Sydney Olympics.

7.   But he wants to avoid the high pressure and obsession demanded of the top runners.

8.   But that is not considered a guarantee of authenticity, and the BAA routinely supplements that data with film reviews of the top runners.

9.   By December, he was performing well enough to finish third among several top international runners in a cross-country race in South Africa.

10.   Imagine you are a top runner, in prime physical condition, and you decide to take six months off.