Duo target wins

The world's oldest annual marathon is expected to take place in heavy rain and wind conditions.

Cheruiyot is the defending champion in the men's race but has been battling with headaches since falling at the finish line of the Chicago Marathon last October.

However, he believes that he can overcome that set back and put in a good performance on the day.

"I may have trained well but due to the headaches I can not say I am 100 percent. But I'll still give it my all. One of my strongest points is that I believe in myself and I'm confident of doing well," he told SportFest.

"Unlike last year, the field is very strong this year and despite my problems I'll take them head on."

Cheruiyot's main opposition is likely to come from his fellow Kenyans, with last year's runner-up Benjamin Maiyo, and Nairobi Marathon winner Hosea Rotich, amongst those expected to figure.

Meanwhile, Kastor will hope to become the first American woman to win in Boston since Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach's victorious run way back in 1985.

Kastor won in London last year and in Chicago back in 2005, and she has geared her training up to prepare herself for the hilly Boston course.

"I've always felt confident on the hills, but more so now that we've run them on pavement with this specific course in mind. I've definitely done some visualising out there&hellipvisualising myself on the Boston course," she said.

The main competition will likely come from Latvian Jelena Prokopcuka and Rita Jeptoo of Kenya.

Prokopcuka has won the last two New York marathons and was second at Boston last year, while last year Jeptoo won in Boston and was fourth in New York.