From Mr Mike Aris

Liz McColgan swept to victory over 10 kilometres at the Bupa Great Midland Run in Coventry yesterday, and insisted that she still has the appetite and enthusiasm to surpass her outstanding past achievements.

Norman Fox says today's 10,000m is a crucial test on the way back from injury

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Norman Fox assesses the rival battles in today's London Marathon

Competitors in this year's Vienna Marathon will have to pound the beat at all times. Any attempts to harness horsepower, as was the case in last year's event, will set alarm bells ringing. And any unscheduled diversions will be instantly revealed.

Wilkes has noticed wan-looking MPs with dazed looks in their eyes. This is caused, I am reliably informed, by training for the London marathon. Each year around this time, these spidery dummies get down to their final training routine, running aro und the streets of London, breathing in exhaust fumes, and generally damaging their health.

AS THEY traversed the scree of the Piazzas d'Anarosa, an inaccessible peak in the Swiss Alps, Sarah and Andrew Gooda moved with care. Directly above them rose jagged cliffs, 1,500 feet of awe-inspiring rock from which occasional boulders fell, and with every step they dislodged more rocks which cascaded down the steep slope, starting small, noisy avalanches falling towards two snow-fed lakes several hundred feet below. At an altitude of 7,500 feet their breathing was laboured yet the pair were not mountaineers; they were orienteers taking their sport to the height of adventure in the Alpine version of the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon.

A YEAR ago Eamonn Martin stormed over Westminster Bridge to win the 1993 London Marathon. Today's event finishes in The Mall, with its regal backdrop of Buckingham Palace, but even Martin himself admits that it will be difficult to command a repeat performance. No one has yet won the men's race twice.

China's world-beating women runners will make their big city marathon debut in the London race on 17 April. Wang Junxia, who broke world records at 3,000 metres and 10,000m on the track last summer and has run the fastest marathon debut of 2hr 24min 07sec, leads the team who filled the top four places in last October's World Marathon Cup in San Sebastian. Known as 'Ma's Army' after their coach Ma Junren, the team will also include Zhang Linli, Zhang Lirong and Ma Liyan.

THE AUSTRIAN specialist Mondial (081-314 1181) is offering packages for runners who wish to take part in the Vienna Marathon on 10 April, a week before the London Marathon. A one-night package, with bed and breakfast at a three-star hotel, costs pounds 255 including return flight from Heathrow with Austrian Airlines. A three-night package, including a charter flight from Gatwick, costs pounds 279. The Marathon registration, which Mondial will process, costs pounds 25.

Runners climbing the Llanberis Pass during the National Trust Snowdonia Marathon, held to raise money for conservation schemes. Shane Snow, 27, running in his first race, won in 2hrs 35min 35sec and the first woman was Kathryn Drake, in 2hrs 57min 20sec.

(First Edition)

The sport of horse driving trials is modern, but has become established in Britain and has developed worldwide since the first rules were formulated in 1969. Sandringham, on the royal estate, is one of 14 national trials, each a qualifying round for the National Championships in Windsor Great Park in September. Eleven classes from horse and pony teams to small ponies will be contested when the trials open today with dressage, a test of the driver's skill and horses' performance. Tomorrow the marathon provides the spectacle of cross-country driving over a series of hazards and an obstacle course. The trials are completed on Sunday with the cone driving and the need for precision work, often a tense exercise.