African runners are expected to steal the show in tomorrow's USD310,000-prize money 7th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.
The absence of defending champion Kenneth Mungara has placed his Kenyan compatriot and last year's runner-up David Tarus as the hot favourite for the men's crown.
Tarus has come here after having finished a creditable sixth in an impressive two hours, nine minutes and 24 seconds at Eindhoven last October, but can expect stiff competition for the top prize of USD35,000 from compatriot Daniel Kiprugat.
The course record for the men stands at 2:11.51, set last year by Mugara, while the record for women is 2:34:08, held by three-time winner Mulu Seboka of Ethiopia, set in 2008, who is bidding to regain her crow from last year's winner and compatriot, Haile Kebebush.
This year's race will see the runner traversing the newly-opened Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link, a 5.6-km stretch over the sea which bridges Worli and Bandra.
Kiprugut is the fastest contender in the men's field following his 2:08:38 in the Paris Marathon last year.
On his first visit to India, Kiprugat hoped that the weather would be good tomorrow.
"I am happy to be running in Mumbai. It was raining when I left from Kenya. But the weather is good here, and I hope it remains the same even on Sunday," he said.
