Ukraine's classy runner Yelena Plastinina will return to Bermuda next week to challenge her own women's marathon record.

But that same mark may also be threatened by other elite runners as organisers continue to bolster the fields for International Race Weekend which culminates with Sunday's marathon.

It was three years ago Plastinina set the record when she completed the gruelling 26.2-mile route in two hours, 40 minutes, 50 seconds -- a mediocre time by international standards, but impressive on Bermuda's undulating course which is also subject to harsh weather conditions at this time of year.

The Ukrainian returned to win again in 1999 in a slower time of 2:43.08, and failed to return to defend her title last year.

And while she will enter as favourite again this year, race director Judy Simmons doesn't believe she'll have everything her own way.

"There is an outstanding class of elite runners in the women's event this year, there's no doubt about it,'' said Simmons.

"It will be good competition for all of the women, and there is a strong possibility that the record will be broken with such a fanastic field. But it will depend on the humidity and other conditions that exist on the day.'' In addition to a strong women's field, Simmons said organisers had received over 100 responses from top overseas athletes for all four of the weekend events -- Front Street Mile, 10K, Marathon and Half-Marathon -- and more requests continued to come in.

"We have made a serious attempt to pick out the athletes with the best times from the year 2000 and to make sure they were comparable with the 1999 times so that we have some sort of history of the particular elite runner,'' noted Simmons.

"You can't go by what they did while they were here before.'' Simmons indicated that no word had been received from last year's women's marathon winner Lyudmila Kortchaguina of Russia who romped home in 2:52.51.

But in addition to Plastinina, the field will include Anfissa Kossatcheva of Russia who late last year recorded a time of 2:35.46 in a marathon in Lisbon and another Russian, Elena Paramonova, who recently turned in a time of 2:35.03.

Another top runner who has agreed to compete is Ewa Fliegert of Poland whose best time last year was 2:38.52.

Painful victory: Yelena Plastinina is helped as she collapses after crossing the finishing line on Front Street to win the 1998 International Race Weekend Marathon.