NATCHEZ &8212; You&8217;ll find some of the best distance runners in the state and beyond Saturday morning at the 28th annual River City Classic.

But this year it&8217;s also about fitness.

Specifically, it&8217;s fitness with the younger kids, local people involved in the Health Quest program and others from the Miss-Lou who are eager to stay in shape. Organizers of the event along with Natchez Regional Medical Center are reaching out to lure more local interest in the one-mile race this year to go along with the 5K and the 10K races.

Cost to enter the race is $15 to pre-register and $20 the morning of the race.

&8220;The one-mile has really grown, due in part to us promoting it in the schools,&8221; director Kay Ketchings said. &8220;The local school with the most participants, we give them $500 for their P.E. program. McLaurin won it the last two years, but they&8217;ve got some competition this year. It&8217;s close. It&8217;s so much fun to promote fitness for kids, and they see how much fun it is to exercise.&8221;

The one-mile run will feature four age groups, but the race is open to anyone who wishes to enter. Each child that completes the course will receive a medal.

The Classic will also feature the 5K walk, part of the Health Quest program for those entered. It&8217;s part of a year-round focus on fitness, and those entered in this race will benefit their stance with the program.

&8220;We&8217;re promoting health and fitness throughout the year, and that has brought a lot of local people to the race,&8221; Ketchings said. &8220;There are 20 to 30 new walkers who have never done this before. I hope they&8217;ll enjoy it and have a good time. They get points for exercise. Anything to promote health and fitness is what we&8217;re doing, and they&8217;re excited about it.&8221;

That&8217;s not to overshadow the marquee event in the Classic, the 10K run for men and women. It&8217;s the first event of the year of the Mississippi Track Club Grand Prix Circuit, and participants can use this race to establish a time for the Crescent City Classic in New Orleans later this summer.

In total, Ketchings said Saturday&8217;s event will draw between 250 and 275 people. Close to 200 have pre-registered, including 2004 men&8217;s champ Rob Oates of Jackson and 2005 women&8217;s champ Yolanda Brown of Jackson.

The race will start and end at the corner of Main and Broadway and travel along downtown streets. Dwain McDuffie of Monroe, La., won it on the men&8217;s side last year in a time of 34:28.

&8220;We get a lot of runners from all over the state and Tennessee, Texas and Georgia,&8221; Ketchings said. &8220;A lot of times local people move off, remember the race and keep coming back. It&8217;s been really steady. They&8217;re really strong, and you see their names in all the competitive races.&8221;