Chris Estwanik has ruled himself out of next month’s Marathon Weekend, but is hoping to defend his Gosling’s to Fairmont Southampton road race title a week tomorrow.

Injuries have disrupted Estwanik’s running over the past few years, although he has won a couple of races this season after recovering from an Achilles injury.

“I am currently running around three days per week with plans to hopefully increase to four days in the new year,” Estwanik said. “The acute injury is healed up but unfortunately the last four years of four different injuries and the lingering effects of those are all working together to keep me from being back to full strength.

“I am opting for the approach of taking what the body will give me as opposed to just training through injury as I have done in the past. I am tentatively looking to run the Gosling’s to Fairmont but have to see how the body holds up over the coming weeks. I will not be participating in Race Weekend this year, unfortunately.”

Estwanik and Deon Breary won last year’s first Gosling’s to Fairmont Southampton race after it was renamed from Fairmont to Fairmont, which started as the Princess to Princess race in 1978. Estwanik cruised to victory in 37min 11sec, while Breary finished three minutes ahead of the second female in 47.04.

Estwanik became the first winner of the Peter Lever Trophy, which was awarded last year in memory of the former runner and race official who died in March 2015.

Breary was presented the Jim and Debbie Butterfield Trophy, named after two top distance runners from the past, whose son, Spencer, was second to Estwanik last year in 42.32.

The Gosling’s to Fairmont Southampton race will be the final race before the Bermuda Marathon Weekend and the top local runners will use it as a warm-up.

The distance is the same, 7.2 miles, although the start of the course has been altered, starting outside Gosling’s on Dundonald Street instead of the Hamilton Princess and taking the runners over Washington Street and Cedar Avenue and onto Burnaby Street and Front Street before following the old course to Fairmont Southampton via Harbour Road and Middle Road.

The Gosling’s to Fairmont Southampton race also includes a three-member team relay, a competitive walking category and a junior 3K race. Last year’s junior winners were Quincy Kuzyk and Lynsey Palmer.

The first leg of the relay will be 2.8 miles from the start to Newstead on Harbour Road, before the second-leg runner carries the baton for 2.6 miles up to the former White and Sons store on Middle Road.

The last leg is 1.8 miles to the finish at the Fairmont Southampton Ocean Club.

The main draw prize is a four-night stay at the Fairmont San Francisco in California with round trip JetBlue tickets also a part of the prize.

The Gosling’s to Fairmont Southampton race is organised by Mid Atlantic Athletic Club and sanctioned by the Bermuda National Athletics Association.

This year the event will benefit Meals on Wheels with $10 from every entry fee going towards the charity.