By Athletics WeeklyLondon has announced what it claims to be its best-ever women's elite field for the next edition on April 17, 2011.
Both fields include the quickest in the world in 2010, along with the world and Olympic champions. In all, the top seven women and top six men from this year's race will return for 2011.
Defending champion Liliya Shobukhova of Russia headlines the line-up, which includes 14 sub-2:24 athletes, while her male counterpart, Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia, is due to run the men's race.
Shobukhova may be favourite in the women's race after her London and Chicago wins this year helped her secure the World Marathon Majors prize. However, she could face tough opposition from Irina Mikitenko of Germany, the 2008 and 2009 London winner and the world champion Bai Xue of China.
Bai's team-mate and former London winner Zhou Chunxiu is one of two sub-2:20 runners in the field along with Mikitenko. Kenya's Mary Keitany, the 2009 world half-marathon champion who is the African record-holder for the distance at 66:36, will have another stab at 26 miles after her disappointing 2:29:01 debut in New York recently.
Inga Abitova, the 2006 European 10,000m champion and second-place finisher in London this year, returns to the capital. Three-time world half-marathon champion Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands will contest her first marathon for four years. Her namesake (but no relation) Edna Kiplagat will be contesting her first marathon outside of the USA, having recently won the New York Marathon.
Mara Yamauchi, who was runner-up in 2009 and is the second-fastest Brit in history behind Radcliffe is set to make her return, along with Olympian Liz Yelling.
World bronze medallist and 2010 London third-placer Aselefech Mergia is one of four sub-2:24 Ethiopian marathoners who will be in London. Olympic champion Constantina Dita of Romania also competes.
But not everyone in next year's race will be so experienced as there are some notable debutantes. Portugal's Jessica Augusto, who won the European cross-country title last weekend, is an interesting inclusion. She is yet to run a marathon but showed potential when winning the 2009 Bupa Great North Run.
Jo Pavey is also due to make her marathon debut, delayed from 2009 when she became pregnant, as is two-time European cross-country champion Hayley Yelling-Higham.
Defending champion and world and Olympic bronze medallist Kebede leads the entries on the men's side, and he is joined by compatriot Bazu Worku, who set a world junior record of 2:06:15 last year and improved to 2:05:25 this year.
Patrick Makau, the man considered by many to be a future world record-holder, is making his London debut. The Kenyan has one of the most impressive half-marathon CVs in history with seven sub-one-hour times and his three attempts at the marathon have seen him run 2:06:14, 2:04:48 and 2:05:48, the latter two gaining him victories in Rotterdam and Berlin respectively.
He will face his compatriot Samuel Wanjiru, the Olympic champion who recently won in Chicago to add to his 2009 London victory, which resulted in a course record 2:05:10.
Kenya's world champion Abel Kirui, who has best of 2:05:04, will be another to watch out for, along with world silver medallist Emmanuel Mutai.
Two-time world champion and recent Fukuoka winner Jaouad Gharib leads the North African entries, and he is joined by his Moroccan team-mate Abderrahime Bouramdane, who set his 2:07:33 PB at the 2010 London Marathon.
European champion Viktor Röthlin will be making his London debut, while two-time New York champion Marilson dos Santos returns to the setting of his 2:08:37 PB set two years ago.
Leading the British challenge will be Andrew Lemoncello. The Scot opened his marathon account with 2:13:40 in London this year and will be hoping to go a lot quicker in April, having recently been forced to drop out of Fukuoka.
The most notable names missing from the list are Haile Gebrselassie, who is committed to the Tokyo Marathon in February, and Paula Radcliffe, who has recently given birth and has suggested she will target an autumn marathon in 2011.
Race director David Bedford said the women's field is "undoubtedly our strongest ever", while the men's "rivals any of those we've put together in the last few years".
"We certainly expect the men's course record to be under threat again," said Bedford, "while the women's race looks likely to be one of the most competitive we've ever had."
Via a revised time bonus scheme, London is also making an attempt to secure more leading Brits following a choice by some, including Dan Robinson and Michelle Ross-Cope, to run the Brighton Marathon instead next year.
While the capital has been the No.1 marathon of choice for the top British runners in recent years, the Brighton Marathon on April 10 has attracted some with its prize money and bonus scheme.
However, London has reacted by introducing a new set of British-only time bonuses for finishers under 2:19:00 in the men's and 2:40:00 in the women's, rising to an $8,000 award for sub-2:11 or sub-2:31 performances.
ELITE ENTRIES (with PBs)
Men
Patrick Makau (KEN) 2:04:48
Abel Kirui (KEN) 2:05:04
Samuel Wanjiru (KEN) 2:05:10
Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) 2:05:18
Bazu Worku (ETH) 2:05:25
Jaouad Gharib (MAR) 2:05:27
Emmanuel Mutai (KEN) 2:06:15
Viktor Röthlin (SUI) 2:07:23
Abderrahime Bouramdane (MAR) 2:07:33
Yonas Kifle (ERI) 2:07:34
José Manuel Martinez (ESP) 2:08:09
Marilson Gomes dos Santos (BRA) 2:08:37
Dmitry Safronov (RUS) 2:10:12
Reid Coolsaet (CAN) 2:11:23
Eric Gillis (CAN) 2:12:08
Dylan Wykes (CAN) 2:12:39
Cuthbert Nyasango (ZIM) 2:12:40
Mike Shelley (AUS) 2:13:05
Michael Aish (USA) 2:13:21
Andrew Lemoncello (GBR) 2:13:40
Collis Birmingham (AUS) Debut
Mohamed Trafeh (USA) Debut
Women
Irina Mikitenko (GER) 2:19:19
Zhou Chunxiu (CHN) 2:19:51
Liliya Shobukhova (RUS) 2:20:25
Constantina Dita (ROU) 2:21:30
Askale Tafa (ETH) 2:21:31
Inga Abitova (RUS) 2:22:19
Lornah Kiplagat (NED) 2:22:22
Aselefech Mergia (ETH) 2:22:38
Bezunesh Bekele (ETH) 2:23:09
Mara Yamauchi (GBR) 2:23:12
Bai Xue (CHN) 2:23:27
Mariya Konovalova (RUS) 2:23:50
Xiaolin Zhu (CHN) 2:23:57
Aberu Kebede (ETH) 2:23:58
Yukiko Akaba (JPN) 2:24:55
Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 2:25:38
Magdalena Lewy Boulet (USA) 2:26:22
Liz Yelling (GBR) 2:28:33
Lisa Weightman (AUS) 2:28:48
Mary Keitany (KEN) 2:29:01
Fiona Docherty (NZL) 2:32:17
Tanith Maxwell (RSA) 2:32:33
Jo Pavey (GBR) Debut
Hayley Yelling-Higham (GBR) Debut
Jessica Augusto (POR) Debut
Nikki Chapple (AUS) Debut
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