Sonia set for Berlin date with Noguchi

SONIA O’SULLIVAN will race head to head against Olympic champion and undisputed race favourite Mizuki Noguchi at the Berlin Marathon on September 25.

The Irish and Japanese stars, who are absentees from the World Championships beginning in Helsinki tomorrow, will join a record field of 40,000 runners for this year’s race.

O’Sullivan, 35, is eager to make her mark at the 26 miles 385 yards distance.

Her major aim in Berlin will be to significantly improve her personal best time of two hours 29 minutes and one second which she achieved when finishing eighth in this year’s Flora London Marathon.