Lamont Marshall has ruled himself out of this year’s Bermuda Marathon Weekend.

Marshall has decided to skip the Bermuda 10K, in which he has finished runner-up the past two years, on Saturday after shifting his focus to qualifying for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in London in the 3,000 metres steeplechase.

“Lamont is not participating this weekend because he is focusing on track this season,” said Marshall’s father and coach Larry Marshall Sr.

“He has a 3,000 metres indoor race scheduled for January 28 in Boston.”

Another reason for Marshall’s decision is to avoid burnout later in the season, which could derail his qualifying bid for London 2017, which takes place in August.

“The mistakes we’ve made in the past, we don’t want to make this year and one of them is possibly the Bermuda Marathon Weekend,” Marshall Sr said.

“He normally starts his season in the Bermuda Marathon Weekend or Gosling’s to Fairmont Southampton, which are relatively long races.

“Because it’s his first race, we have come to the conclusion that it’s probably too long and has taken a lot of the sting out of his legs and affects him later in the season. This year he has opted to start with the indoor season and hopefully build from that.

“Running is not an exact science. But there are still certain patterns that emerge for every runner and you need to follow those as much as possible — what works and what doesn’t — and eventually I think you will reach your goals.

“It’s just reorganising his priorities and focusing primarily on the track because we do feel pretty confident he is going to get that world championship qualifying time.

“But everything is going to have to fall in place and you can’t take any chances doing races that are not actually going to facilitate that agenda.”

Marshall’s personal best in the 3,000 metre steeplechase is 8min 58sec, which he needs to lower by another 28 seconds to qualify for the championships to be held from August 4 to 13.

Meanwhile, he has also ruled out defending his Appleby Bermuda Half Marathon title after claiming a maiden victory last year to join brother Larry Jr as the first siblings to take overall honours in Bermuda’s biggest race.

“Right now his goal is the World Championships and so everything is going to take a back seat, including May 24,” Marshall Sr added.

“We would rather err on the side of caution because Lamont is 32.

“We are not pushing the panic button.

“But time is running out for him to qualify for a major event, and that has always been his ultimate goal.”

Marshall has also set his sights on qualifying for next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. His personal best is just eight seconds shy of the qualifying mark.