starting (9 a.m.) and finishing at Fidelity's Pembroke Hall offices on East Broadway.

Torrential rain greeted the field last year, which saw the pair of Glyn Sexton and Sandra Mewett seizing top honours, however all indications are that the elements will be a much kinder.

Sexton completed the men's five-mile course in 30 minutes and 35 seconds, while Mewett's 21:41 for 3.6 miles gave them a combined time of 52:16.

Sexton is again among the entries, which numbered 65 couples at last report, but this time will go without Mewett as he has another prominent female runner, Annette Booth, as his partner.

Absent thus far from the list are Marathon Derby champions Kavin Smith and Anna Eatherley. The latter competed in 1992 alongside husband Brett Forgesson and snatched the married category.

Mark Perry, who was recently crowned the KPMG Peat Marwick Road Running Series champion, has entered along with Charlotte Perry as a brother-and-sister tandem.

One couple to watch is the team of Julia Hawley and Steve Donnelly. Hawley is a top triathlete, while Donnelly, a former Front Street mile winner, has proven himself to be quite formidable over the shorter distances.

In addition unofficial world number one masters runner and former Olympian Nick Rose of Britain will also take to the streets and present prizes.

To prevent any unfair advantage the top 20 men and 10 women have been seeded and therefore cannot run on the same team.

"This is regarded as the last big race of the season and gives a chance for the top runners and others to compete on a more even field,'' said race director Joe Pagnam. "We like to call it `a race with a difference' where it is the accumulated times of the men and women that count.'' Five categories will be up for grabs, including open, married, master (over 40), junior (under 16) and visitors.