The last time Ashley Estwanik ran the May 24 Derby she set a new course record.

Estwanik came home in a time of one hour, 23 minutes and 30 seconds in 2008, knocking four minutes off Dawn Richardson's previous record on the revised route.

Pregnant last year, Estwanik could only watch as Victoria Fiddick took the women's title, and the two will be the favourites to battle it out again on Monday.

And anyone expecting anything other than a full-bloodied battle between the two can think again. Despite the presence of a new baby daughter, Estwanik has been training as hard as ever.

"It's going well, I definitely feel that I've done everything I can possibly do, especially given the fact that we have an 11-month-old," she said. "I think it's going well, I don't think I could have done anything differently, and at this point all the hard training is already done.

"Victoria (Fiddick) is in the best shape she has been in, in probably ever. She just had a good half-marathon in New York, and it seems like every race she has run this year has been a personal best, so I'll have to keep her in mind.

"I know Jenny Allen, I actually haven't seen her out much lately, but I would assume that she's doing it. She's always up there. Tamika Williams is going to be running this year, she told me she is only running to finish, but you never know.

"And there are always people who come out late on, who haven't done any racing, but show up on May 24, and so you never know on the day who's going to be there."

Not that Estwanik is getting too caught up on the likes of Fiddick and Allen, she's more concerned about beating the time she set last time out.

"You've got to remember it's your race, you've done your training, and it doesn't matter who's in it," she said. "You should be going out and doing your best no matter who's there. So whether your best gives you fifth place, or first place, or last place, you've got to go out, do your best on the day, and race your own race.

"I think one of the mistakes I made two years' ago was going out a bit too hard, it was just so exciting at the beginning of the race, you kind of forget that you have 13 miles ahead of you.

"Everybody is excited about the day, and for the first three miles at every mile mark you're going 'whoops, I'm going too fast, I'm going too fast'. And then all of a sudden you get to Burnt House Hill and you realise you're only half way through.

"I think I'm going to try not to go out too hard, but also enjoy it at the same time and take in the sights. I want to still feel relatively good by the time I get into town, and there are always huge crowds in town, so you have to remember that even if you feel bad, they are going to carry you, especially on Front Street and Cedar Avenue.

"Those two places, I don't think it matters how you feel right there, because the crowd are going to carry you. Actually, that being said, there is a rumour going around that the weather is going to be on the rainy and windy side, so I say to the people to please, please, come out and cheer for us because the crowds make the day."

Some might think that coming back after two years away, Estwanik would be content with just finishing Monday's race, and there is a part of her that just wants to go out and enjoy the occasion.

"On the one hand it's like, I had a baby less than a year ago, so just go out and enjoy it," she said. "I love the race itself, and the day, the spectators are always so great, and it's just a fun day to be a part of.

"So the one side of me is just saying 'go out and have fun'. And the other side of me is saying 'two years' ago you ran 1.23:30', so obviously you always want to better your time, so I'm also kind of going towards that.

"But I have to keep in mind that I was in really good shape two years' ago. I think I'm in pretty good shape now, but I haven't raced that distance in two years.

"When I was pregnant, that was a great excuse, I'm pregnant, so I shouldn't be running that hard. But when you're not, and in theory back in shape, you don't want to be looking at your time and going 'wow, I'm ten minutes slower'."