Former Olympic 10,000 metres champion Derartu Tulu has joined a star-studded women's field for next weekend's Bupa Great Manchester Run.
The brilliant Ethiopian, who is back on the comeback trail after maternity leave and injury, will be one of several overseas stars aiming to unseat Britain's Jo Pavey and win the 10 kilometres road race.
Tulu joins world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba, who clocked an impressive 32min 44sec for second place over the distance in Newport, USA, on Saturday.
Ndereba's fellow Kenyans Rose Cheruiyot - runner-up in the recent Bupa Great Edinburgh Run - and former Flora London Marathon winner Margaret Okaya also compete.
Pavey, who has just returned from an altitude training camp in South Africa, will also lock swords with Aniko Kalovics, the Hungarian she defeated by a second in a sprint finish last year.
Kalovics, who is thriving on a tough racing schedule, finished third in Edinburgh then on Saturday stepped up from 10km to 10 miles to place second in Berne in a time of 56min 44sec.
Tulu will be running only three weeks after the Madrid marathon, where she was runner-up, and, given her lengthy absence from competition, may find it tough to assert her authority against more in-form opponents.
But the two-time Olympic gold medallist, who was also third four years ago in Athens, is determined to get back into racing shape and continue her outstanding career, which has brought her many other top honours.
Tulu may have a slight advantage over newcomers to the Manchester event having finished behind fellow Ethiopian Berhane Adere in the inaugural race five years ago, where the crowd relished a thrilling sprint to the finish line.
"Pavey's obviously determined to defend her title but I'm sure she is aware next Sunday's field is perhaps a little tougher than in 2007," said Andy Caine, the meeting's elite athletes manager.
He added: "It will be interesting to see how not only Pavey but Kate Reed and Liz Yelling respond to the challenge of the foreign visitors."
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