Some of the country's top long distance runners will be among the starters for this year's 17th Malta International Challenge Marathon. The three-stage marathon, with an accumulative distance of 42 kilometres, gets underway today from Mdina.

Race director Barry Whitmore said this year's edition will see the largest number of Maltese runners participating. It would probably be one of the most open races in the event's history, Whitmore said in a statement.

Up to last Wednesday, the number of confirmed entries from the local scene had reached 70 and more were expected to join the three-day race at the last minute. Last year, there were 53 Maltese participants from a total of 95 athletes on the starting line.

So far, there has been no mention from the organisers as to how many foreign runners are taking part. However, it was revealed that all-time appearance record holder David Mansbridge and the 2006 winner Konstantin Kochkin, of Russia, will give this year's race a miss.

Carol Walsh, a last-minute entry in last year's Challenge Marathon, will be defending her title. Earlier this month, the evergreen Walsh was the first woman to finish the Zurrieq half marathon.

The first Maltese runner home at City Gate in 2006 was Drew Lang. He was fourth overall in a time of 2:36.23.

This time, a tighter contest for local honours is expected over the three days of racing, what with the participation of Charles Cilia and Brian Magri. Carmen Hili is expected to be Walsh's main rival in the women's race.

The first leg (11.195 kms) starts today from Mdina at 1 p.m. A short 6km stage will be run tomorrow in Birzebbuga at noon and the challenge winds up on Sunday with a 25km stage from St Paul's Bay to Valletta.

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