One year after Kenenisa Bekele broke the course record on his debut at the classic distance, organisers of the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon have assembled another star-studded field for the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on 12 April.Leading the way is Kenya&rsquo;s Moses Mosop, owner of the fastest marathon debut in history &ndash; and one of the quickest marathon runs of all time &ndash; with his 2:03:06 clocking on Boston&rsquo;s point-to-point course in 2011.After a couple of years hindered by injury, Mosop returned to winning ways earlier this year with a world-leading clocking of 2:06:19 at the Xiamen Marathon, setting a Chinese all-comers&rsquo; record. His best on a record-eligible course is 2:05:03, one second quicker than Bekele&rsquo;s course record set in Paris last year.He will be joined on the start-line by fellow Kenyan Vincent Kipruto, who won in Paris back in 2009. He has a PB of 2:05:13 and took the silver medal in the marathon at the 2011 IAAF World Championships.When Kipruto won in the French capital six years ago, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Bazu Worku finished second in 2:06:15, the fastest ever performance by a junior at the time. Having improved to 2:05:25 and twice won the Houston Marathon, Worku returns to the Paris Marathon looking to go one better than in 2009.Ethiopia&rsquo;s Deressa Chimsa is the fourth sub-2:06 man in the field. The 2012 world half-marathon silver medallist has a marathon PB of 2:05:42 and has won marathons on three different continents, triumphing in Prague, Toronto, Daegu and Guangzhou.Other sub-2:07 runners set to compete in Paris include Toronto Marathon champion Laban Korir of Kenya, former Frankfurt Marathon winner Gilbert Kirwa, 2014 Frankfurt runner-up Mike Kigen, former Dusseldorf Marathon champion Seboka Tola of Ethiopia and 2012 Paris runner-up Raji Assefa.The French challenge is led by Olympian Abdellatif Meftah, a 2:09:46 runner at best who will be competing in his third Paris Marathon. He is joined by compatriots Jean Damascene Habarurema and marathon debutant Yassine Mandour.<h3>Duarte faces tough challenge on debut</h3> Overwhelmingly so, the local interest will be focused on the marathon debut of 2013 European cross-country champion Sophie Duarte. The 33-year-old, who still holds the French steeplechase record of 9:25.62, has never contested a race farther than 10km.But that will be the least of her worries as she will be up against a quartet of women with sub-2:24 PBs, all of which are within a minute of each other.Mulu Seboka is the fastest of those. The vastly experienced Ethiopian will be contesting her 33rd marathon and is showing no signs of slowing down. She won all three of her marathons in 2014, clocking a PB of 2:23:15 in her most recent victory.Kenya&rsquo;s former world half-marathon silver medallist Philes Ongori is also in the field. Although she finished ninth in Boston last year, she did so in 2:23:22, breaking the PB she had set on her debut at the distance three years prior.Duarte isn&rsquo;t the only former steeplechaser in the field. Olena Shurhno ditched the barriers in 2005 in favour of the roads and now holds the Ukrainian marathon record at 2:23:32.Ethiopia&rsquo;s Amane Gobena is a previous winner in Seoul, Osaka, Santa Monica, Toronto, Istanbul and Xiamen. With a best of 2:23:50, she will be looking to improve on her seventh-place finish from the 2013 edition of the Paris Marathon.Organisers for the IAAF<h3>Elite field (with PBs)</h3> Men Moses Mosop (KEN) 2:05:03 (2:03:06) Vincent Kipruto (KEN) 2:05:13 Bazu Worku (ETH) 2:05:25 Deressa Chimsa (ETH) 2:05:42 Laban Korir (KEN) 2:06:05 Gilbert Kirwa (KEN) 2:06:14 Seboka Tola (ETH) 2:06:17 Raji Assefa (ETH) 2:06:24 Mike Kigen (KEN) 2:06:59 Abdellatif Meftah (FRA) 2:09:46 Jean Damascene Habarurema (FRA) 2:12:40 Yassine Mandour (FRA) debutWomen Mulu Seboka (ETH) 2:23:13 Philes Ongori (KEN) 2:23:22 Olena Shurhno (UKR) 2:23:32 Amane Gobena (ETH) 2:23:50 Sophie Duarte (FRA) debut

One year after Kenenisa Bekele broke the course record on his debut at the classic distance, organisers of the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon have assembled another star-studded field for the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on 12 April.

Quality field set to challenge Bekele’s course record in Paris

Tomomi Tanaka gave the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, a thrilling end to its short-lived run. Running just her second marathon, Tanaka outsprinted Kenya's Philes Ongori down the final straight to win in 2:26:57 on Sunday (16).Ongori, who went to high school and spent her early years as a professional runner in Japan, came up just two seconds short in the sixth and final edition of the race in this historic port city.Just when it looked like it might be a photo finish, Tanaka pulled ahead as they approached the tape. "I didn't give up. I wasn't going to lose," reflected Tanaka."The time was bad, but as I was running, the calls of support never stopped," Tanaka said. "Many teammates and employees of Daiichi Seimei came not for an ekiden, but to support me alone. I could hear the cheers of my parents, family and friends, and that gave me energy.""I wanted to win this race, but the last 50 metres, my legs, everything was finished," said Ongori, who placed fifth in last year's race after developing a leg cramp late in the race.In addition to Tanaka's victory, the host nation could also celebrate the emergence of a prospective star, as 19-year-old Reia Iwade made an amazing debut by sticking with the lead group throughout the race and finishing a strong third in 2:27:21.Iwade's time was the fastest ever by a Japanese teenager, eclipsing the record of 2:30:30 set by Akemi Masuda in 1983 and it also topped the 2:29:12 run by Chika Horie in 2000 on the downhill course in Nagano.Kenya's Caroline Rotich was in line to make the fight to the finish a trio, but suddenly started retching badly with just under two kilometres to go and struggled home in fourth place in in 2:27:32, overtaken by Iwade in the final kilometre.Last month it was announced that the race, which originally started as the Tokyo Women's Marathon in 1979 and was moved to Yokohama in 2009, was to be discontinued due to financial reasons but in its final hours, the event produced a lasting memory.On a clear day, with temperatures around 14 degrees Celsius, the lead group was quickly winnowed down to seven runners at 5km after a quick opening split of 16:56. The overenthusiastic Pacesetter Purity Cherotich, who was supposed to go out at around 17:05 over the 5km splits, then zipped through the next five kilometres to the 10km mark in 16:34. Only Japan&rsquo;s Asuza Nojiri, second in Yokohama 12 months ago, and her compatriot Iwade decided to stay with her."During the first 10K, the pace was very fast for me, so I decided to slow it down," Ongori said. "The second group started to catch me and I went backwards, so I started to push with them. The second group was really my pace. "The trailing group was content to keep it that way until around 16 kilometres, when Rotich, Ongori and Tanaka moved up to join the two early Japanese leaders. With the pace slowing slightly, the five went through the halfway point in 1:11:56.Nojiri, a former cross country skier who moved to the marathon six years ago, was the first to crack, falling back around the 24 kilometres as the tough early pace seemed to take its toll. For the next 10 kilometres, the four leaders were biding their time at a steady pace, each formulating their own plan for making a move. Rotich was the one who broke the stalemate at 37 kilometres, which shed Iwade from the group."There were times (in training) where I started to struggle," said Iwade, who set the Japan junior half marathon record (1:09:45) last December, which gave her the confidence to make such a rare early move up to the marathon. "The senior members of [my team] Noritsu said that if I would stick it out at those times, things would get easier, and that kept me going. &nbsp;When I was left behind with five kilometres to go, I could still see the car with the clock. The only thing I thought about was watching that because I wanted to break 2:28"At the 40km mark, Rotich, Tanaka and Ongori were running evenly and they all looked like they had enough left in the tank, which left the question: &ldquo;Who would be the first to try to break away?&rdquo;Rotich&rsquo;s chance of victory soon came to an end. She took water at the 40km drinks station but then soon slowed down and started heaving.Tanaka and Ongori were left to run side-by-side as they made the turn into the bay front Yamashita Park, where the race ended on a long straight, with the harbour on one side and hundreds of cheering fans lining the other.The avid audience were rewarded with a thrilling duel to the line and a home victory.Tanaka, who finished fifth in her debut marathon in Nagoya in March, is one of nine athletes specially selected by Japan athletics officials for a national team, with the aim of regaining the Olympic medals that the nation used to earn so frequently.An unheralded runner in college, Tanaka has bloomed at Daiichi Seimei under former Olympic medallist and coach Sachiko Yamashita. She won the All-Japan corporate half marathon in 2012 and 2014 before clocking 2:26:05 in her marathon debut.Nojiri had to settle for fifth place in 2:28:54 while Olympic champion Tiki Gelana was hampered by back pain and finished sixth in 2:29:13.Gelana, who was looking for her first marathon win in three races since winning the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics Games, slipped back early into second group and was never heard from again.She said she developed back pain the night before the race and it became intense after the 15km mark. "I was feeling pain and not at my best, but I'm happy because I completed the race," said the Ethiopian.Ken Marantz for the IAAF

Tomomi Tanaka gave the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, a thrilling end to its short-lived run. Running just her second marathon, Tanaka outsprinted Kenya's Philes Ongori down the final straight to win in 2:26:57 on Sunday (16).

Tanaka proves to be the toughest and wins in Yokohama

More than two years after striking gold at the London 2012 Olympics, Ethiopia's Tiki Gelana will aim to end a marathon victory drought on Sunday (16) at the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race.Gelana&rsquo;s slump can be traced back to a freak accident at the 2013 London Marathon, where she fell and suffered a foot injury after colliding with a wheelchair racer at a drinks station and finished in 16th place.She followed that by dropping out in the early stages of the marathon at the World Championships in Moscow in August on a day she described as being &ldquo;too hot&rdquo;, and then finished ninth at this year's London Marathon in April in 2:26:58, eight minutes off her personal best.&ldquo;I ran those races, but I had pain because of the accident at the London Marathon,&rdquo; Gelana said through an interpreter during a visit Thursday to Yokohama&rsquo;s Byobugaura Elementary School with fellow runners Philes Ongori and Marisa Barros. &ldquo;After London, I ran with only one good leg. Now I can run with full power in both legs, so it's no problem at all.&rdquo;With strong showings in several recent road races, Gelana said she&rsquo;s ready to be the first to break the tape at the finish in bayfront Yamashita Park.&ldquo;I have prepared very much for this race,&rdquo; said Gelana, whose Ethiopian record of 2:18:58 set when winning the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon puts her fifth on the world all-time list. &ldquo;Before I had pain in my foot, but I have recovered.&rdquo;Gelana heads a field that includes Ongori and Kenyan compatriot Caroline Rotich, who share personal bests of 2:23:22, among the 14 invited runners in the sixth and final edition of the race in the port city about 30km south of Tokyo.The other invited foreign runners are Russia&rsquo;s Alina Prokopeva, who won her third career marathon this summer in Nagano in 2:30:56, along with Ukraine's Olena Shurhno, Lithuania&rsquo;s Zivile Balciunaite, Barros of Portugal and South Africa&rsquo;s Irvette Van Zyl.Leading the host nation contingent will be last year&rsquo;s runner-up Azusa Nojiri, the cross-country skier-turned-marathoner who won the Hokkaido Marathon in August. The 32-year-old, who was 19th at the 2011 World Championships, ran a career best of 2:24:57 when finishing third in Osaka in 2013.For the Japanese runners, the race is also serving as the first of three domestic qualifying races for next year&rsquo;s IAAF World Championships in Beijing. The other invited entries are Tomomi Tanaka, who was fifth in her debut in Nagoya in March, Mayumi Fujita, Nanami Matsuura, Kumi Ogura and teenager Reia Iwade, who will be making her marathon debut after setting the Japan junior record in the half-marathon of 1:09:45 last December.The race, which originally started in Tokyo in 1979 and was moved to Yokohama in 2009 following the launch of the mass participation Tokyo Marathon, will be discontinued after this year, reportedly for financial reasons. It is also speculated that it is a victim of a trend of moving away from elite, single-gender races to the mass participation events. The JAAF is working to add a mass race in Saitama, north of Tokyo, to replace the Yokohama event.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a shock, because I like to race in women-only races,&rdquo; said Ongori, who attended high school and spent her early years as a pro in Japan.Gelana, who spent half a year in Japan competing for Denso in 2007, has had success here since leaving. She won back-to-back titles in the Marugame Half Marathon in 2012-13.&ldquo;I like Japan. I come year by year. I&rsquo;m happy to run here,&rdquo; said Gelana.This autumn, over a month-long span from 7 September, Gelana showed she was back on a healthy track by finishing third in a pair of half-marathons in Britain and second in a 10-mile race in the Netherlands.Gelana, who broke Naoko Takahashi&rsquo;s Olympic record in London to add to her race mark in Rotterdam, says she anticipates a winning time of 2:22-23, which would eclipse the Yokohama course record of 2:23:07 set in 2012 by Kenya&rsquo;s Lydia Cheromei.The main factor will be the intensity of the ever-prevalent winds that come off the bay and sweep across the loop course.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know about the weather, I don&rsquo;t know the course,&rdquo; said Gelana. &ldquo;High pace is good, but the wind is a problem.&rdquo;Ongori won her debut marathon in Rotterdam in 2011 and clocked her personal best in April in Boston, where she placed ninth in her fourth career marathon. After suffering from a leg cramp and finishing fifth last year in Yokohama, she says she&rsquo;s primed for a first marathon title in her second homeland.&ldquo;This year everything is good,&rdquo; said 2009 world half-marathon silver medallist Ongori, whose track PBs for 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m have all been set in Yokohama. &ldquo;I didn't get any injuries. Sunday I am going to do something, if the weather is going to be good.&rdquo;John Ondari, her husband and coach, said Ongori is well prepared.&ldquo;Hopefully, this time around things are going to be on our side,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;In spite of the competition from the Olympic champion, we are optimistic. The training has been good, the speed work and everything.&rdquo;Rotich, whose PB of 2:23:22 came while finishing fifth in Chicago in 2012, finished fourth at the Tokyo Marathon last February. The Kenyan has two victories in 10 career marathons, in Las Vegas in 2010 and Prague in 2013, the latter on the day before her 29th birthday.Shurhno, who failed to finish the 2013 Tokyo Marathon, will be looking to emulate last year's winner, Albina Mayorova of Russia, as a former pace-maker who later entered and won the race. She ran a career best of 2:23:32 at the 2012 Berlin Marathon, where she finished third.Barros has twice finished third in Yokohama, in 2011 and 2012, but might be hard-pressed to better that performance after suffering a left knee injury at the European Championships in Zurich, where she placed 20th. She said she is not at the level of preparation as she was two years ago.If experience plays a factor, then Balciunaite has a step on the competition, although she has not run faster than 2:30 since 2008. Among her 30 marathons dating back to 2000, her personal best of 2:25:15 came at the Yokohama race's predecessor in Tokyo in 2005, when she finished second.Ken Marantz for the IAAF

More than two years after striking gold at the London 2012 Olympics, Ethiopia's Tiki Gelana will aim to end a marathon victory drought on Sunday (16) at the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race.

Gelana looks to get back to winning ways in Yokohama

The 6th Yokohama Women's Marathon on 16 November, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, will have Olympic marathon champion Tiki Gelana as their star attraction.The 26-year-old Ethiopian has not yet returned to the heights she scaled two years ago when she won the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon in what remains her personal best of 2:18:58 and then took the Olympic title, but she has shown good form on the roads over shorter distances in the past seven weeks and could have Lydia Cheromei’s Yokohama course record of 2:23:07, also set in 2012, in her sights.Gelana has never run a marathon in Japan but she is still familiar with the Japanese roads after winning the 2012 and 2013 Marugame Half Marathon.The Kenyan pair of Philes Ongori and Caroline Rotich, who have identical bests of 2:23:22, could challenge Gelana and their compatriot’s standard in the Japanese city. Leading the European contingent will be Ukraine’s Olena Shurhno, along with Portugal’s Marisa Barros.There are also three Japanese runners with personal bests faster than 2:30, who will be looking to push their credentials for selection to next year’s IAAF World Championships as this race is a selection event for Beijing.The best of the local runners is Azusa Nojiri, who has a personal best of 2:24:57 from two years ago.Nojiri did not break 2:30 in her two marathon outings this year but gained the first marathon win of her career when she won in Sapporo in 2:30:26 in August, and that victory will certainly have boosted her confidence.Phil Minshull and organisers for the IAAF<h3>Elite field (with PBs):</h3>Tiki Gelana (ETH) 2:18:58 Philes Ongori (KEN) 2:23:22 Caroline Rotich (KEN) 2:23:22 Olena Shurhno (UKR) 2:23:32 Azusa Nojiri (JPN) 2:24:57 Marisa Barros (POR) 2:25:04 Zivile Balciunaite (LTU) 2:25:15 Tomomi Tanaka (JPN) 2:26:05 Mayumi Fujita (JPN) 2:29:02 Alina Prokopeva (RUS) 2:30:56 Irvette van Zyl (RSA) 2:31:26 Reia Iwade (JPN) debut

The 6th Yokohama Women's Marathon on 16 November, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, will have Olympic marathon champion Tiki Gelana as their star attraction.

Olympic champion Gelana heads Yokohama field

Organisers of the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon have made some small changes to the course, making it flatter and faster. It means the high-quality elite fields will head to the Portuguese capital for the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (16) with high hopes of producing lifetime bests.Part of the reason for tweaking the course is because if the men want to set a course record, they will also have to break the world record as it was at the 2010 edition of this race where Zersenay Tadese set the existing world record of 58:23.Should they succeed, they will secure a USD $50,000 bonus. As the women’s race will be held separately to the men’s, the same bonus is on offer for breaking the women-only world record of 1:06:25, set by Lornah Kiplagat in Udine seven years ago.Two of Kenya’s top athletes will be making their half-marathon debut in the men’s race. World and Olympic 10,000m finalist Bedan Karoki has been in great form this year, winning the World’s Best 10k in San Juan less than three weeks ago, and winning the hotly contested Kenyan cross-country title one week prior to that.His recent performance in San Juan was his first ever race on the roads, but he won by a comfortable margin in difficult conditions, beating a quality field.World 10,000m bronze medallist Paul Tanui will also be contesting his first ever 13.1mile race. Like Karoki, the 2011 world cross-country silver medallist warmed up for Lisbon by racing in San Juan and finished fourth in 28:59 in what was just his second road race to date.But given the quality of the field, this could well be a baptism of fire for Karoki and Tanui.They will be up against 2011 world cross-country champion Imane Merga, who has a half marathon PB of 59:56, 2010 world cross-country silver medallist Teklemariam Medhin and his fellow Eritrean Amanuel Mesel.Kenya’s Ezekiel Chebii has the fastest half-marathon PB of the field with 59:05, set when winning in Lille in 2012. He will be joined by compatriots Bernard Kitur, who finished fourth in this race last year, former Nairobi Marathon winner Moses Kigen, and Richard Sigei, who has a best of 1:01:14.Zimbabwe’s Cuthbert Nyasango, who finished seventh in the marathon at the 2012 Olympics, is also in the field and has a PB of 1:00:26. Other contenders include Ethiopia’s Abayneh Ayele and Morocco’s Adil Annani, who finished fourth at the London Marathon two years ago with a PB of 2:07:43.A separate prize money structure is in place for the domestic entrants. Hermano Ferreira is the fastest of the Portuguese men in Lisbon with a PB of 1:01:24, but could be challenged by Pedro Ribeiro and Jose Moreira.Straneo faces strong African challengeItaly’s world marathon silver medallist Valerie Straneo is one of a handful of strong European athletes who could challenge the tradition African dominance at the Lisbon Half Marathon.Kenyan or Ethiopian women have won 13 of the past 15 titles in Lisbon, but Straneo has won her past five races over the half-marathon distance and has a PB of 1:07:46.European cross-country champion Sophie Duarte is making her half-marathon debut, while European 10,000m champion Ana Dulce Felix leads a strong Portuguese contingent that also includes 2013 European indoor 3000m champion Sara Moreira. Seasoned British international Susan Partridge, 10th in the 2013 IAAF World Championships marathon, will be looking to improve on her best of 1:10:32. The European women will face strong challengers, such as Kenya’s 2009 world half-marathon silver medallist Philes Ongori, who has a PB of 1:07:38 and has never finished outside the top three in all 13 races she has contested over the distance.Last year’s Chicago Marathon runner-up Jemima Jelagat is also in the field, along with fellow Kenyans Jane Kiptoo, who set her PB of 1:09:07 at the 2009 edition of this race, and Diana Chepkemoi Sigei, who has a best of 1:08:08 and finished second in Lisbon two years ago.Worknesh Debele, who has a PB of 1:07:49, is the sole Ethiopian in the field. Another notable entrant is Portugal’s 2008 Olympic triathlon silver medallist Vanessa Fernandes, who has a half marathon PB of 1:12:28 and represented Portugal at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.Organisers expect about 32,000 finishers on Sunday with weather conditions looking ideal.Antonio Manuel Fernandes for the IAAF

Organisers of the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon have made some small changes to the course, making it flatter and faster. It means the high-quality elite fields will head to the Portuguese capital for the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (16) with high hopes of producing lifetime bests.

Fast times expected on Lisbon’s improved course

In each of the last two years, Albina Mayorova ran at the head of the pack for much of the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, but never made it to the end.It wasn't a problem of stamina or injury. As one of the race's pacemakers, the Russian was contractually obliged to drop out early. However, this year, she will finally get her chance to cross the finish line, and Mayorova expects to be in the battle to be the first one across on Sunday (17).Mayorova, a three-time Marathon winner in Japan, is among the 13 invited runners for the fifth edition of the race in the historic port city on the western rim of Tokyo Bay."I'm happy to finally get to run in the [Yokohama] marathon," Mayorova told the IAAF through an interpreter, during a visit on Thursday to a local elementary school with Kenya's Philes Ongori and South Africa's Rene Kalmer."I practically know the course, although it's a little bit different. The course is very flat, which I like. I like the fans in Yokohama. If everything goes fine, I will have a good race."The 36-year-old Mayorova can expect company from Ongori, the 2011 Rotterdam winner who will be looking for her first marathon win in her second ‘homeland’, along with the Japanese trio of Remi Nakazato, Mizuho Nasukawa and Azusa Nojiri.Mayorova has had remarkable success in Japan, with half of her six career wins coming in the Asian nation. She posted her lifetime best of 2:23:52 while winning the 2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon, and captured back-to-back titles at the Nagano Marathon in 2005 and 2006."I won in Nagoya, so I like Japanese marathons," she said. "I feel very comfortable in Japan." Mayorova placed fourth in last February's Tokyo Marathon, but finished a disappointing 21st at the IAAF World Championships on home soil in Moscow."I had good training, it just didn't work out. I was very disappointed, but that's sports."Ongori retrurns 'home'Ongori spent eight years up in Japan during her formative years, attending Yamanashi Gakuin High School and then competing for the Hokuren corporate team, for whom she won a combined five All-Japan corporate titles in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m. Feeling limited by the Japanese system which committed her to Ekidens and other team events, she left in 2010 on amicable terms to pursue her dream of becoming a Marathon runner."She loves the Marathon more than anything else," said her husband John Ondari. "She can run Half Marathons, but her best race is the Marathon."After winning the silver medal at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham, she returned to Kenya to focus on Marathon training and won her debut race in Rotterdam in 2:24:20, which earned her a place on the Kenyan team going to the 2011 IAAF World Championships."I made it in 2011, but I got injured and didn't get to go to Daegu," she said in Japanese. "I'm aiming to get good results from now and make the 2015 World Championships."Ongori, 27, did not enter any Marathons last year, running three Half Marathons. She won two and finished second in the other. Her second career Marathon came last May in Prague, where she placed second in 2:28.53. A tweak in the Yokohama course this year makes it a bit flatter and could lead to faster times but Philes said that was not her main concern."I'm feeling alright," she said. "I don't know the course. But I'll aim for the title without thinking about the time."Kalmer looking for big step forwardSouth Africa's Kalmer will be looking to improve on her fifth place finish from the 2011 race and the personal best of 2:29:59 that she ran that day."I'm pretty excited about the race," she said. "I did my personal best here two years ago, so I have some fond memories. I know the course and hopefully I can improve on that."The other invited foreign runners are Portugal's former European cross country champion Jessica Augusto, who finished seventh at the London 2012 Olympics games and has a best of 2:24:33 set last year; Great Britain's Freya Ross (best of 2:28:10 in 2012) and Ukraine's two-time Olympian Tetyana Filonyuk (2:26:24 in 2010).Japan finally got back on the World Championships medal podium in Moscow with Kayoko Fukushi's third-place finish, but it is still looking for up-and-coming runners to fill the void leading up to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.Yokohama will be their first test.Nakazato and Nasukawa lead local hopesExpectations are high for the 25-year-old Nakazato, dubbed ‘Q-chan II’ in reference to her physical resemblance to Sydney Olympic Games gold medalist Naoko Takahashi, although she has recently been in a slump.A teammate of 2011 Yokohama winner Ryoko Kizaki at Daihatsu, Nakazato made Japan's team to Daegu after finishing second in the third Yokohama race (the 2010 edition, which was actually run in February 2011), then barely missed out on the London Olympics team after placing third in Nagoya in March last year.However, things started going awry 12 months ago, when she failed to finish in Yokohama. A poor showing at the All-Japan Corporate Women's Ekiden followed, then a modest 12th place finish at the London Marathon, where she clocked a mediocre 2:33:34. Japan officials are anxious to see how see bounces back.Nasukawa, a product of noted marathon guru Yoshio Koide, set her personal best of 2:25:38 when she won the 2009 Tokyo Marathon. She finished second in Yokohama last year to Kenya's Lydia Cheromei, but by such a wide margin that Japan officials opted to leave her off the team to Moscow even though there was a berth available.Nojiri, along with Eri Okubo (best of 2:26:08 in 2012), have both opted out of the corporate team system and run independently with sponsors but what makes Nojiri unique is that she was a cross country skier who switched to athletics at age 26, saying she thought it gave her a better chance of making the Olympics.The 31-year-old has shown potential, making the Japan team to Daegu after running 2:25:29 at the 2011 London Marathon, and then clocked a career best of 2:24:57 with a third place finish at the 2012 Osaka Ladies Marathon.Actually, the fastest personal best in the field belongs not to an invited runner, but to one of the 328 general entries who met the qualifying standard of 3:15. Yumiko Hara, 31, was once among Japan's most promising runners, appearing in the 2005 and 2007 IAAF World Championships (she finished sixth in Helsinki), but saw her career knocked off track by injuries.&nbsp; Hara managed to win the Hokkaido Marathon in the summer of 2010, although her winning time of 2:34:12 was well off the personal best of 2:23:48 she ran in winning the Osaka Ladies Marathon in 2007.Ken Marantz for the IAAF

Albina Mayorova looking to finally finish the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, on Sunday.
