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Rowe headlines near-record field in Canberra
New South Welshman Tim Rowe is set to headline a big field in this Sunday's 33rd annual Canberra Marathon.
At the close of early entries Canberra race organisers had received 1091 race applications, a 15 per cent increase on last year's numbers and almost certainly the largest field to have contested the event in the past 25 years.
Late entries will be accepted across the weekend and are expected to take final numbers close to 1300.
Eighty-three per cent of marathon entrants will flock from outside the ACT to contest the event.
Rowe, who grew up in Murrumbateman and now lives in Sydney, will make his marathon debut in Canberra this weekend. He will be hoping his entry to the event proves to strengthen Canberra's long history of debut runners going on to represent their country at major championships.
The emerging young athlete is aiming to be the first Australian across the line on Sunday and win the event prize of a trip to Japan to race the famous Fukuoka Marathon in December.
Rowe will start clear favourite amongst the Australians but will face some tough competition for line honours from Ethiopian Yared Temesgen and Moroccan Abderrazak Haoui, who resides in Italy.
Temesgen, who boasts a personal best time of 2.14:16 (Greece, 2007) finished third in last year's Melbourne Marathon and has since remained in Australia. The African-born runner was recently granted a protection visa, guaranteeing him the right to stay and seek employment in Australia.
The women's race is a wide open event with favouritism shared by Japanese runner Mai Tagami, New Zealander Sarah Biss, Queenslander Helen Stanton, 2007 race winner Magda Karimali-Poulus (NSW) and Wollongong's Anita Keem on debut.
Tagami is currently living and training in Melbourne following the collapse of her corporate running club in Japan due to the global financial crisis. In October she won the Melbourne Marathon and backed up that win with victory in the Athens Marathon in November.
Biss is a nine-time New Zealand junior champion and will this weekend mount her first serious attempt at the marathon, aiming to break 2.43 and gain selection to the New Zealand team for the World Cup Marathon in Berlin in August.
Stanton will be a very competitive force, with a personal best time of 2.41:51, (Melbourne, 2007) and a strong performance in December's Singapore Marathon.
Karimali-Poulos has run consistently around the 2.45 mark in races all around the world including Athens, Rotterdam, Houston, Sydney and Nagano.
Keem will make her marathon debut and will be hoping to mirror her brother Barry's performance of 2006, when he won the Canberra event.
The Canberra Marathon will again incorporate the Canberra 50km Ultra Marathon. The sixth annual kids marathon will also be held on Sunday, starting at 8:00AM.
Also on the schedule this weekend are the Asics Marathon Eve 5km and 10km races on Saturday afternoon. Late entries will be accepted at the Telopea Park School from 1:00PM.
Full details are available at www.canberramarathon.com.au
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