FRESH off clocking an impressive two hours, 30 minutes and 23 seconds in his very first marathon, Bermuda's Terrance Armstrong is now setting his sights on qualifying for the marathon in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.Armstrong, who holds the Bermuda record for the 1,500 metres, 3,000 metres and 5,000 metres, was feeling happy — but sore — after his run in the New York Marathon on Sunday in which he placed 59th overall among the 37,000 runners.

He said: "I am sore today but nothing that a few days rest cannot cure — but the experience was great. Before the race I thought I could run between 2:30 and 2:35 — on paper at least. So it was just a matter of getting out there and seeing if I could do it. It is a whole different perspective once you get over 20 miles. The body goes into a whole different realm — your body just goes outside of yourself. The last three miles I didn't even know what I was doing. I was just going through the motions."

But after a bit of reflection, Armstrong, the defending Bermuda's May 24 Marathon Derby champion (in reality a half marathon), said he would like to try and qualify for the marathon in Beijing in 2008.

"Running in New York was a great experience and now I know what it takes to do it. It is just a matter of putting more into the training. Qualifying for the Olympics in 2008 would definitely be my goal. I don't know what the qualifying time is but I think it is about 2:18 and I have until next year to do it.

"If I can get myself ready and in decent shape I would like to go to the Chicago Marathon where I would have the opportunity to qualify since Chicago is pancake flat and you are running through the city. You do have some swirling winds but other than that it is definitely a course where you can run it fast."

And one of Bermuda's marathon greats, Peter Lever, said he had no doubts that Armstrong could qualify for Beijing.

Lever, who has run eight sub-2:30 marathons and also has clocked the fastest of 2:21:19 in Detroit in 1972, said: "Obviously he has the talent. To go out there and do what he did in his first marathon was fabulous. I think he has a very good chance of qualifying (for Beijing)."

Although Lever has never run the Chicago Marathon he said: "I have never done it but they say it is a good course — after all it has had the world record set on it."

Lever also holds the best time for any local in the New York Marathon — 2:25:43.

Other local marathon runners who have broken 2:30 include Ray Swan who ran 2:26:37 in Boston in 1983 and Brett Forgesson who ran 2:26:55 in the California International Marathon in 1993.

Armstrong, 35, travelled to New York from his New jersey home and stayed the night in a hotel before Sunday's race.

He was right on the start line with the sub elite runners. "On one side they had the elite runners and the other the sub elite — it was a split start. Then we all met up at eight miles. It was a good programme that I got myself into. Otherwise it would have been very tough (if he had had to start with the thousands of other runners).

"I was taken aback by the whole thing. I was so happy when I finished. I was like 'wow!'. It was even harder than I thought it would be."

But Armstrong vowed to train harder for his next marathon. "Unfortunately I didn't put in the same kind of training as I should have. In the last weeks leading up to it I lost motivation and I think that is what hurt me in the last 10K of the race. I did a lot more mileage for the Bermuda Half Marathon than I did for the New York Marathon. I never went above 80 miles a week in training for New York and I did more training for Bermuda where I ran 95 to 100 miles a week."

Early on the Bermudian was motivated to get ready for New York. "I was motivated to do it as a couple of my buddies and I were training together. They were running Chicago and once they stopped training I didn't have that motivation. It was tough the last four weeks.

"Up until mile 21 I was on pace to run 2:27 — but then that is when my body started breaking down."

And he hopes for similar weather when he next runs a marathon. "The weather in New York was excellent. It was perfect marathon weather. The wind was mild and the temperature was cool. If it was windy I know going over the bridges would have been very, very hard.

"New York is one of the tougher marathons — tougher than say Chicago — so I was happy with my time."

And the famous New York crowds got him, and the thousands of other runners, over the course.

"The crowds were magnificent — that is what kept me going. Going over the bridges you are kind of alone and then when you come off the crowd is so unbelievable — it is so loud — you can't hear anything but them. They keep you so motivated."

Asked if he would be back in Bermuda in January for International Race Weekend, Armstrong said: "I am thinking about it. Right now I will be taking a week or so off and start slowly building again. If I feel that I am in OK condition I will take a stab at it — but only the 10K. I don't know whether it will be worth the trip but I could see my family and break up the winter training."

[obox] Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil ended the African men's decade-long hold on the New York City Marathon title with a stunning debut, and Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia successfully defended her title last Sunday.

Gomes broke away from the lead pack in the last quarter of the race and held off an all-star field of challengers to become the first South American to win the race, man or woman. Gomes finished in 2:9:58.

Prokopcuka sped away early and ran alone at the end, becoming the first woman in more than a decade to win two straight titles in New York. She won in 2:25:05.

And marathon rookie Lance Armstrong thrilled the crowds in what he called "without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done."

Armstrong crossed the finish line in 2:59:36 seconds, barely meeting his goal of breaking three hours. The seven-time Tour de France champion struggled at times, but — as he has so many times on his bicycle in the Alps — found the energy to meet the challenge.