The fifth annual Road Runner Akron Marathon is now only two days away, but the day's biggest news features a highlight for the 2008 race.

Road Runner officials will announce today that Akron has been chosen to host the 2008 USA Women's 8K Championship as part of next year's race.

''We're a known quantity with the leadership at USA Track and Field,'' said Dave Hunter, an Akron attorney and spokesman for the Akron Marathon Charitable Corp. ''They've been watching what we've been doing since our inception and recognize our energy and focus. They know that Akron has a great tradition of being a city that can rally and come together to put on a world-class event.''

It helped Akron's bid to host the women's 8K that for two consecutive years (2003-04) the city hosted the North American Men's Relay Championship as part of the marathon's events.

In turn, hosting the women's race helps pad the city's resume when it comes to the possibility of hosting even bigger running events in the future.

''The women's 8K helps highlight our marathon and brings greater visibility to our area,'' said Steve Marks, the Akron marathon founder. ''We have our sights set on hosting the Olympic Trials in 2012, and this is a steppingstone toward that goal.''

Akron was one of the finalists for hosting U.S. Olympic Team Trials this year, but Boston was selected for the women's marathon trials and New York City for the men.

So, while Akron is out of the mix for hosting trials for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the city is building toward hosting events for elite runners with sights set on London in 2012.

In the meantime, next year's women's 8K distance will be making a return to the women's USA Running Circuit schedule for the first time since 2005. It features some of the best U.S. distance runners.

Runners who could come to Akron include Olympic medalist Deena Kastor from California, multiple national champion Katie McGregor from Minneapolis, 2004 Olympic team member Jen Rhines of California and Amy Rudolph, the 1998 and 1999 8K winner from Providence, R.I.

''The 8K is one of those distances that doesn't fit into the host city's schedule every year,'' explained Jim Estes, the USATF programs manager in Colorado. ''But when a city does host it, it can do a lot to demonstrate that area's ability to address a variety of needs the elite athletes present and shows a commitment to a higher level of planning and displaying professional running.''