UP to 40 runners from Bermuda are expected to start this Sunday's New York Marathon, confirming the event as the most popular overseas race for locals.

At the sharp-end of the field Terrance Armstrong and Albert 'Jay' Donawa both appear to be in the kind of shape that will bring them home in under two hours 40 minutes if all goes well.

For Donawa it is a return to New York after he made his debut over the distance last year in 2.39.58. This will be only his second attempt at the full 26.2 miles, and he said he would be pleased if he simply lowers his 2007 time.

A few months ago Donawa recorded a highly competitive 1.11.04 in the Philadelphia Half Marathon.

Meanwhile, three-times May 24 champion Armstrong, who ran 2.30.23 in the race two years ago and a 2.43.42 time last year, is aiming for around 2.35 this time around.

Behind these two the next Bermuda runner home is likely to come from the trio of Geoff Blee, Ricky Sousa and Manuel Lopes.

The three runners are veterans of numerous New York Marathons. Lopes has run the race 23 times, not missing it in any year since 1987. He also completed the 1984 and 1985 events, with his best finish time coming in 1991 when he clocked 2.32.50.

Sousa and Blee both made their New York debuts in 2000, and have made it a yearly excursion ever since, although Blee missed the 2006 race after running the Chicago Marathon two weeks earlier. His best in New York is 2.58.59 set in 2001, although his lifetime best is a 2.57.28 run in Chicago.

For Blee it is a remarkable achievement even to be on the start line after he suffered extensive injuries early this year when he broke two ribs and fractured seven others after falling on Sousa's boat during the Queen's Birthday celebrations in June.

As well as the damaged ribs, he suffered a collapsed lung and was in hospital for six days.

Despite having his training schedule blown away, Blee was determined to get into some kind of shape so that he would be able to show up for the New York race. By early August he was able to start jogging again and then began a curtailed training programme in the middle of that month, eventually putting together a sustained 10 weeks of marathon training.

"All together I was out of training for about eight weeks," said Blee, who last year ran four full marathons.

"The biggest thing I've found out is not realising how much the trauma of the accident took out of me physically."

Determined to make it to New York, he quickly ramped up his training and has completed a few 20-mile runs to give him the confidence that he can make the full distance.

The last of the trio, Sousa, would appear to be the most likely one to lead them home based on recent form. He ran a 2.56.25 in the 2003 New York race and last year went close to that mark when he ran 2.56.43.

All three runners are said to be looking to enjoy this year's event, as opposed to all-out racing, with the expectation of finishing times between three hours and 3.15.

The Royal Gazette's Jonathan Kent, with a 3.29 best set in Chicago, is looking to improve upon that and maybe set a Boston Marathon qualifying time of 3.20.

Other local names to watch out for include Alistair McNeish, who is running his fifth consecutive New York event and is looking to run around 3.20.

Stephen Dunkley ran 3.59.05 in the city in 2004 and could be looking at a similar result this time. His niece Christine is also taking part, running her first marathon after catching the running bug following a strong performance in the May 24 Marathon Derby.

Melissa Durrant is running the New York Marathon for the first time, she said: "I'm doing it for the Run MS team, part of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society."

Both she and fellow Bermudian Allison Petty are raising money for charity, although Petty is running for Team Fox (Parkinson's Disease).

Durrant, who has not set herself a projected finishing time, has a cousin with MS and so chose that cause to run for. She has reached her fundraising goal of $3,000.

Another runner not looking at any particular finishing time is Spencer Conway, who is going along for the fun of being part of the Bermuda team.

And it is the social side as much as the race itself that keeps so many of the Bermuda athletes coming back year after year.

Geoff Blee summed it up: "We love it. It is a great city. It's not just the marathon, it is the weekend experience and the great restaurants. Even in the 'serious' years we still have our fun at happy hour and ribs at the restaurant. People would be surprised what we eat and drink on marathon weekend.

"And then there are the spectators on the course with the Bermuda crew at O'Flanaghan's at mile 17. We might even hang out there for a drink during the race, that's where the Bermuda supporters contingent has traditionally hung out, standing on the fire hydrant to cheer."