Sean Trott hopes this year will be the one in which he finally gets to savour a maiden Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby sucess.

The 33-year-old has finished runner-up four times in the prestigious 13.1-mile road race he has long yearned to win and has put in the hard yards to prepare.

“That’s definitely always at the front of my mind going into this race,” Trott told The Royal Gazette.

“It’s something that I have wanted to get for a long time and it is definitely what drives all the work that goes into it. I think for some people probably their love of running is what drives it, but my love for competing and doing well is what drives me the most.”

Trott was second behind eight-times winner Chris Estwanik in last year’s race, which started from Somerset, but Estwanik is not competing this year, leaving Trott, Lamont Marshall, Sammy DeGraff and Chayce Smith to battle for his vacant crown.

“The way it looks right now is Lamont and myself but you can’t count out Sammy DeGraff, who has always been consistently at the top as well,” Trott said.

“The young guy Ryan Outerbridge, who has been doing some good things on the track, has also entered and you never know what he is going to throw in there. These people I have on my radar.”

Front Street Mile champion Dage Minors was also expected to be in the hunt but was forced to withdraw because of a knee injury.

While nclement weather may have hampered final preparations for many runners of late, Trott has been unaffected as a result of a shrewd investment.

“I actually have a treadmill so I am able to jump on that inside if it rains too much,” he said.

“That’s actually helped my preparations a lot this year with getting in the extra miles where weather might have impacted it before. Preparation has definitely gone really well over the last two months.”

Trott has already enjoyed plenty of success this year after winning the RenaissanceRe Ten Mile Challenge, the PHC Mile Run and Walk and the Lindo’s to Lindo’s 10K after getting his campaign off to a slow start.

“I had a bit of a slower start to the year with illness and slight injuries back in the fall,” he said. “I started a bit slow but as the season has gone on, I find my fitness has really taken some huge jumps.”

Trott hopes that trend continues as he attempts to record a first win on what he describes as a “tricky course” from St George’s to Bernard Park.

“I am from the west so I definitely prefer the west course,” Trott said. “I am comfortable on it but I don’t have anything against the east course.

“I actually think even with a tougher second half it is run quicker, in terms of times, but is a tricky course if you don’t run it right.

“You can blow yourself up easy because it’s a fast early section that you can really get caught up going hard. Then from the middle to the end it’s just constant hills, so you have have that in the back of your mind as you take off in the beginning.”

It remains to be seen whether Isabelle Dutranoit will be back to defend her women’s title this year but six-times winner Ashley Couper is a confirmed starter, although she insists she is using the race as a warm-up for another event.

“It is just a training run for me as I have a Half-Ironman coming up,” she said.

“I am in the middle of another heavy training week right now, so I will be going out easy for once and just really enjoying the crowd. I am really looking forward to just being out there, being a part of the day and not having all the stress trying to perform.

“I am looking forward to the day and hope the weather holds up for us and we still get the usual crowds even if there is going to be a little bit of a drizzle.“