The annual Women's Distance Festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 9 at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau with festival headquarters at shelter 4 near the Rose Garden and Cherry Hill.

The event is sponsored by Southeast Missouri Hospital's Fitness and Wellness Center.

The festival is presented by Moving Comfort with Saucony as the title sponsor. Other sponsors include Runner's World, Women's Sports and Fitness Magazine and Road Runner's Club of America. Special help with the event is provided by the Cape Road Runners and HealthSouth.

Events for women include a mile walk or run, a 3.1-mile (5K) walk and a 3.1-mile run. These events begin at 8 a.m.

Age groups go from younger than 10 to older than 70. The entry fee is $8 before the event, and $9 on race day. All entrants will receive a commemorative T-shirt, and the top three winners in all age groups in all events will receive specially made bud vases. Overall winners in the 5K walk and 5K run will receive running shoes, and a Moving Comfort workout outfit will go to the overall one-mile winner.

Children's events are offered to encourage younger family members, boys and girls alike, to get into the excitement and fun. All participants in children's events will receive a ribbon.

To register for the Women's Distance Festival, contact the hospital's Fitness and Wellness Center at 334-9355.