Best settings for Nikon D60 for outdoor running race?

I have a standard lens - 18-55mm on my D60. This will be a fast race - only 1 mile so runners will be close up and moving quickly.

Set your camera to shutter priority "S" on the dial… On a bright sunny day you should be able to get 1/2000 out of your shutter maybe even more…

set in "S", mode and play around with fast shutter speeds.

in "S" mode you control the shutter and camera sets everything else

Set your camera to aperture priority and change the f-stop to 5.6. That way, you will have maximum light without having to change your aperture. You will have at least 1/500 of a second shutter speed to stop the action, but it you are in broad daylight, that will be easy. Adjust the ISO through experimentation.

Unfortunately, my magic weather forecasting crystal ball is out for repairs. So without knowing the conditions the race will be run in its rather hard to intelligently answer this question.

Will it be an early morning race under a clear sky? ISO 200 and shooting in Aperture Priority should give you a sufficiently fast shutter speed at f5.6 or f8.

Will it be a mid-morning race under a cloudy sky? ISO 400 and shooting in Aperture Priority should give you a sufficiently fast shutter speed at f5.6 or f8.

Will it be an early afternoon race? Late afternoon?

Is your goal to stop the action of the runners? Sometimes adding a little blur can make for a better picture. Panning with the runners blurs the background and adds a sense of speed and motion.
Here is what panning is and how to do it:

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/mastering-panning-to-photograph-moving-subjects

http://www.ehow.com/...raphy.html