Top Bermuda road runner Kavin Smith will come up against the toughest competition he's ever faced at tomorrow's world half marathon championships in Bristol, England, writes Adrian Robson.

The 13.1 mile race will represent a Who's Who of elite distance runners with almost all of the world's premier athletes in the field.

Haile Gebrselassie stands out as the biggest and brightest star as he makes his international debut at the distance, a first step towards a new career in the marathon. The Ethiopian is already the most prolific 10,000-metre runner in history, with several world records, two Olympic and four world titles.

His chief rivals will be former half marathon champion Khalid Skah of Morocco and two-time runner-up Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa. Three-time London marathon winner Antonio Pinto is also a contender.

Paul Tergat, winner in 1999 and 2000, isn't competing in Bristol, but holds the best time of 59:06, set in Lisbon last year. Gebrselassie's only previous race over the distance was 64 minutes, 34 seconds at the Ethiopian trials.

Smith, who has a fastest half-marathon time of around one hour, eight minutes, said before leaving earlier this week his main goal was to run a personal best and not get caught up in the race for honours.

The International Association of Athletics Federations will test for the banned substance erythropoietin for the first time at a British sports event. It will be the same blood and urine test used at the World Athletics Championships in Edmonton in August. EPO, which boosts the production of oxygen-rich red blood cells, is believed to be widely used in endurance sports.

A field of 252 athletes - 166 men and 86 women - are entered for tomorrow's event.