ATHLETICS LONDON MARATHON:A SENSE of something special emerging from tomorrow's London marathon has strengthened in the build-up this week to the world's leading big-city race.

The Northern Hemisphere spring marathons have produced some remarkable times, and if the trend continues Haile Gebrselassie’s world record of two hours three minutes 59 seconds set in Berlin last September is under serious threat.

Attention before the London race has focused primarily on Olympic gold medallist Sammy Wanjiru, second behind compatriot Martin Lel last year, who said on Wednesday he would go for a world record if the conditions were favourable and the pacemakers did their job.

Wanjiru, who said he planned to go through the halfway mark of the 42.195km race in a blistering 61 minutes 30 seconds, was asked if he thought a two-hour marathon would be possible some day soon. “I think so,” he replied.

Kenyan pacemakers Elijah Kitani and John Kales have been instructed to take the field through the 32km mark at an overall 2:04 tempo. Race director Dave Bedford said it was the first time he could recall when the pacemakers had been asked to specifically set a world record pace.

Predictions that an era of marathon record-breaking is on the horizon have been fuelled by this year’s Rotterdam and Paris marathons.

Kenyan Duncan Kibet clocked 2:04:27 to win the Rotterdam marathon this month in a photo-finish with compatriot James Kwambai, who clocked the same time. Only Gebrselassie has run faster, with his world records of 2:04:26 and 2:03:59.

On the same day, another Kenyan, Vincent Kipruto, clocked 2:05:47 in Paris.

Race organisers are relishing the marathon debut of Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadese, who appears to have all the qualities of a champion in the longest championship road race.

Tadese (27), who won Eritrea’s first Olympic medal with his third place in the 2004 Athens 10,000 metres, is a world half-marathon champion and defeated the wonderful Ethiopian distance runner Kenenisa Bekele at the 2007 world cross country championships.

All six medallists in the Beijing men’s and women’s marathons are entered, with Gebrselassie the only notable absentee.

Gebrselassie suffers from asthma in the spring, but is keen to complete his career by running in the 2012 London Olympics.

Leading all-time marathon times

Men

1*Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) 2:03:59Berlin – September 28th, 2008

2*Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia)2:04:26Berlin – September 30th, 2007

3Duncan Kibet (Kenya)2:04:27Rotterdam – June 5th, 2009

4 James Kwambai (Kenya)2:04:27Rotterdam – June 5th, 2009

5Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia)2:04:53Dubai – January 18th, 2008

6*Paul Tergat (Kenya)2:04:55Berlin – September 28th, 2003

Women

1*Paula Radcliffe (Britain)2:15:25London – June 13th, 2003

2*Paula Radcliffe (Britain)2:17:18Chicago – October 13th, 2002

3Paula Radcliffe (Britain)2:17:42London – June 17th, 2005

4* Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) 2:18:47 Chicago – October 7th, 2001

5Paula Radcliffe (Britain)2:18:56 London – June 14th, 2002

* denotes world record