Kenyan Janet Cherobon, who set a new Mississippi marathon record last Saturday, is the first overseas athlete publicly confirmed for this year's Bermuda International Race Weekend.

A full list of elite runners from around the world who will be heading for Bermuda to take part in the three-day event that starts on January 18 is due to be released tomorrow.

Cherobon is likely to spend only 48 hours on the Island during a whistle-stop trip that will see her fly back to her home in the US shortly after finishing the half-marathon, which is held a week on Sunday.

She is also due to run in the 10km race the day before.

The talented 29-year-old is a resident of Georgia and originally declined the invitation to compete until it became possible for her to miss only one day of her studies at Georgia Highlands College.

Last November she ran her fastest 10km time, winning the Modesto Carrion race in Puerto Rico in 32 minutes 21 seconds. She also won last Saturday's inaugural Mississippi Blues Marathon, re-writing the State women's marathon record in 2:48:37.

Winning and setting the record brought Cherobon a $5,000 payday, which is three-times the annual salary of her mother, who is a teacher in Kenya.

In an interview with the Mississippi newspaper the Clarion Ledger, Cherobon said she had only taken up athletics in her native Kenya at the age of 20 in order to win a school scholarship.

She has now been in the US for eight years and has remained a runner of note in all that time. She told the newspaper: "In Kenya, running is a way out for most people. If I was still over there, I probably wouldn't have a job. Running is a way to make a little extra cash."

Cherobon admits she took up the sport relatively late, but the desire to win a chance to go to college gave her the drive to succeed."

In 2005, she was a triple All-American national champion at 10,000m, 5,000m and 5,000m indoors.

Last May, she also set a personal best of 1:16:02 when she won the OneAmerica 500 Festival half-marathon in Indianapolis. Two months earlier she ran a similar time of 1:16:33 to win the ING Georgia half-marathon.