Confident Carroll on the comeback trail in London Marathon

MARK CARROLL will line up for Sunday’s London Marathon happy in the knowledge that, for the very first time, he has prepared specifically for a marathon.

The 34-year-old Corkman is, arguably, the best male middle distance runner this country has ever produced and he has all the records to back this up. He holds the 3,000m record at 7:30.36, the 5,000m record at 13:03.93 and the 10,000m record at 27:46.82.

Apart from the records, he has run 3:34.91 for 1,500m and 3:50.62 for the mile and, for years, was one of the best non-African athletes on the circuit.