Nemeth and Walsh start favourites

Around 150 runners, most of them Maltese but with some foreigners among them, are expected at the starting line of tomorrow's Zurrieq International Half Mara-thon. This challenging race has become one of the most anticipated events of the year.

Last year's winners, the Belgian Christian Nemeth and Carol Walsh (formerly Galea), are expected to repeat their success this time round.

Whether any one of the two manages to beat the course record they set in 2004, however, remains to be seen as it is something that depends on various factors not least the weather. They'll certainly give it a go, particularly Nemeth who expressed the opinion that the current best of 1:09 could be improved by around two minutes.

The chasing pack will include Palermo Half Marathon winner Jonathan Balzan who will be looking to shrug off the fatigue and be the first Maltese man in. His main rivals are Drew Lang, Peter Azzopardi and even Robert Attard who has made a return to the sport after an absence of a couple of years.

The list of athletes striving to finish behind Walsh should be headed by Lisa Marie Bezzina with others like Cecilia Fenech, Carmen Hili and Doreen Vella all having the potential to do well.

Race director John Bezzina shared his high hopes not only for the half marathon but also for the fun runs organised during the day.

"We're expected a large number of youngsters to turn up as we've been promoting the event heavily in a number of schools," he said of the event that coincides with the World Run Day.