The fourth running of the Brighton Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race, takes place on Sunday (14) and features an intriguing debutante in the shape of Uganda’s 2005 World Steeplechase champion Docus Inzikuru.Now guided by the renowned Italian coach Renato Canova, she has decided to switch to the Marathon, but only temporarily since she has not given up all aspirations to further track medals.“I have changed my preparation for the Marathon, and after then I shall prepare for the Steeplechase at the World Championships in Moscow,” said Inzikuru.She ran the Steeplechase at the London 2012 Olympics Games but failed to get through to the final, “because I did not have enough preparation.”One of the main changes to her regime is that her long runs have progressed from 25km to 48km, usually on Sundays, with two track sessions a week which are typically a gruelling set of 10x2000m repetitions done at altitude.Although she hails from Uganda, Inzikuru spends most of her time away from her family, husband and five-year-old daughter. “Mostly I train in Iten in Kenya, it is too warm in Uganda. It is 25 or 26 degrees Celsius so it's no good for training for distance running, so mostly my entire life is in Kenya,” she reflected.Back in Uganda, it is her husband who takes care of her daughter but occasionally he is also in Iten helping her train by following her in a car and supplying Inzikuru with water. On those occasions, it falls to one of her six sisters to look after her child.Inzikuru is ready to be competitive on Sunday where she will come up against the US 2:32:55 performer, Emily Harrison, the fastest woman in the race.However, Inzikuru has an additional goal in mind. <div class="quote">“I shall be very grateful if I break the Ugandan record (2:40:31), we don’t have strong marathon runners in Uganda.”</div>Harrison hails from Virginia but currently trains in Flagstaff, Arizona. “I am in good shape and we will see what happens," she said. "I think 1:17 would be a great halfway split for me. I tend to run better if I can do a negative split. My 2:32 came on a very conservative first half and then I cut it down on the second half which leads me to believe that I have more room to improve.”Apart from Marathon running, Harrison is also an ultra exponent. After finishing second in last November’s JFK 50 miler, she has been invited to a 100 Mile event in California. “That is in June so after this I will be transitioning to some longer endurance training,” added Harrison.Expected to be battling for the Brighton title is former course record-holder from Sunderland, Alyson Dixon, who set her personal best of 2:34:51 when she won in Brighton two years ago, and Kenya’s Eunice Kales.Like Inzikuru, Kales is making her Marathon debut but has run under 70 minutes for the Half Marathon, albeit in 2010, and she has a good cross country pedigree as well, including finishing second at the famous Cinque Mulini IAAF Cross Country Permit race in Italy two months ago. On the men’s side, Kenya’s Ben Chebet is the fastest on paper with a best of 2:09:26.There are also four other Kenyans who have run under 2:11 in the line-up, as well as Ethiopia’s 2:10:17 performer Gela Hailu.14,500 runners have registered for Sunday with around 10,000 expected on the start line. For the elites there is a new start which misses out the first hill so organisers are looking for fast times.The course record stands at 2:12:03 by Kenya’s Peter Some from last year while Belarus’s Sviatlana Kouhan was timed at 2:29:27 in 2012 for the women’s record. However, both marks - particularly the men’s record - will be under threat on Sunday.Michael Butcher (organisers) for the IAAF

Uganda's Inzikuru leaves the barriers behind with marathon debut in Brighton

The fourth running of the Brighton Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race, takes place on Sunday (14) and features an intriguing debutante in the shape of Uganda’s 2005 World Steeplechase champion Docus Inzikuru.

Uganda’s Docus Inzikuru, winner of the inaugural women’s World 3000m Steeplechase title in 2005, will make her debut over 26.2 miles on April 14 at the Brighton Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race.The 31-year-old made a great return to form last year in her specialist event, clocking 9:30.95 – her fastest Steeplechase clocking since 2006. Although she races rarely on the roads, Inzikuru boasts PBs of 15:59 for 5km and 33:27 for 10km.Dividing her time between Kampala and Iten, Inzikuru has also been preparing for her final business degree exams, but cannot wait to tackle her first outing over the legendary distance.She will be joined in the race by fellow debutante Eunice Kales. The Kenyan has a PB of 69:50 for the Half-marathon and is a seasoned road runner.The fastest woman in the field is Ethiopian Aregu Lechisa who lifted the Nice-Cannes title on her debut last year when she ran a time of 2:31:56.Home hopes rest with former course record-holder Alyson Dixon, who will be targeting a qualifying time (2:31) for the Moscow IAAF World Championships later this summer. Brighton was the scene of Dixon’s greatest triumph when she won the 2011 event, setting a then course record of 2:34:51.Also in the race is USA’s Emily Harrison who set a PB of 2:32.55 to finish third in the Medtronic St Paul Minnesota race in 2011.The men’s field includes five men who have broken 2:12, the fastest being Ethiopia’s Fekadu Kedir who has a best of 2:09:15 from Rome in 2010. The 28-year-old has run a marathon a year for the last three years and is hoping to add the Brighton title to his laurels.One man who could challenge Kedir up front is Kenya’s Ben Kipruto, the most experienced of the field with 12 marathons under his belt, the fastest coming in Padua two years ago when he crossed the line in 2:09:26.Bernard Rotich has been enjoying good form over the country this year, finishing eighth in Antrim and a fine third in the Cinque Mulini early in February.Another to look out for will be debutante Justus Moranga, who reduced his Half-marathon PB to 61:07 last year and could be on for a fast time over the full distance in Brighton.The chase for the top British spot is likely to be between local man Jon Pepper, 24, who made his debut at the London marathon last year clocking 2:21:48, and Martin Williams who recorded a lifetime best of 2:17:36 in Seville two years ago.Organisers for the IAAF

Inzikuru to make Marathon debut in Brighton

Uganda’s Docus Inzikuru, winner of the inaugural women’s World 3000m Steeplechase title in 2005, will make her debut over 26.2 miles on April 14 at the Brighton Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race.

A state dinner was held on 7 April in Kampala at which Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and first lady Janet Museveni, Prime Minister Apollo Nsibamba and a host of cabinet ministers&nbsp;and other sports administrators were in attendance. The dinner was in honour of Uganda&rsquo;s top athletics stars, Boniface Kiprop and Dorcus Inzikuru, and they were offered 16 head of cattle in recognition of their gold medal achievements at the recent Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Kiprop took the men&rsquo;s 10,000m title and Inzikuru, the women&rsquo;s 3000m Steeplechase crown.Uganda Athletics Federation President Dan Tamwesigire and his Treasurer Godfrey Nuwagaba, and Inzikuru&rsquo;s father Jackson Lulua also attended the event.Another dinner organized by the company MTN was also held in the athletes&rsquo; honour at the Fang Fang restaurant was on 10 April, and was attended by IOC member Maj. Gen Francis Nyangweso, MTN (Uganda) Chief executive Officer Noel Meier, Standard Chartered Bank (Uganda) Chief Executive officer David Cuttings, among other sponsors and&nbsp; sports administrators.Katende Norman Ssemakula for the IAAF

A state dinner was held on 7 April in Kampala at which Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and first lady Janet Museveni, Prime Minister Apollo Nsibamba and a host of cabinet ministers and other sports administrators were in attendance.

Uganda's Inzikuru leaves the barriers behind with marathon debut in Brighton

Inzikuru to make Marathon debut in Brighton

Kiprop and Inzikuru honoured