Derby just two days before undergoing surgery.

The Irish-born nurse, who collapsed while leading the race with less than a mile remaining last year, said this week she intended to compete despite suffering from an umbilical hernia which will require an operation.

The injury forced Conroy Haydon to pull out of the Maple Leaf 10K last Sunday, but she dismisses any thoughts of withdrawing from Bermuda's premier road race.

"If I can survive work, things should be okay,'' she said yesterday. "I am going to wait and see until I wrap up work on Sunday and then make the final decision.'' Conroy Haydon said she hadn't suffered "any real discomfort'' since Sunday's attempt at the 10k and training runs this week had been satisfactory.

"I have done some easy runs this week and they haven't been too bad at all, but I still intend to wait and see a little while longer,'' she said.

Last year she suffered a harrowing experience when victory in the women's division seemed inevitable. She led eventual winner Sandra Mewett by six minutes only to collapse near the Fire Station in Hamilton through dehydration.

Should she have tackled the race any differently? Conroy Haydon isn't sure.

"I think I would hydrate more the day before because you need to be well hydrated. But I don't know if I would have done anything more about changing my race strategy.

"However, it would be nice if there were a few more water stops from the foot of The Lane along East Broadway and Front Street,'' she said.

Karen Adams, another expected to challenge for Mewett's title, has also had hernia problems and underwent an operation following last year's race which she also failed to finish through injury.

She bowed out of the event earlier than Conroy Haydon, abandoning the course after just a few miles.

"I had a muscle injury about a month prior to last year's race that just happened to weaken and cause everything else to shut down. And then there was the hernia situation which led to the operation just afterwards,'' recalled Adams.

"So I went into the race literally on that morning not knowing if I was going to run or not. I hadn't done anything for that final month so I didn't really think I could be competitive and as it turned out, it was stupid to keep going as long as I did.'' Adams hasn't been as competitive as she would have liked this year, but her hopes are a little higher than a year ago as she considers herself in far superior shape.

"I have located the problem with my muscles and, touch wood, I can get stronger in time for next week. But I have been able to keep my training up and my fitness is better than it was the last time, even though I have not raced for a while.''