De Castella Puts His Marathon Title on the Line

The swiftest men’s marathon field since the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles will line up in rustic Hopkinton today to race the 26.2 miles to downtown Boston in the 91st running of the Boston Marathon.

Among the favorites are Australian Rob de Castella, the defending champion, who clocked a personal best and course record here last year of 2 hours 7 minutes 51 seconds; Steve Jones of Wales, who owns the second fastest time in history, 2:07:13, only one second slower than the world record set in 1985 by Olympic gold medalist Carlos Lopes of Portugal; Juma Ikangaa of Tanzania, ranked No. 1 in the marathon last year, whose best is 2:08:10; Toshihiko Seko of Japan, who has run 2:08:27; two-time Boston winner Geoff Smith of Great Britain, whose best is 2:09:08, and John Treacy of Ireland, whose only previous marathon, 2:09:56, earned him a silver medal in the L.A. Games.

Top Americans include Ken Martin, of Arizona, whose best is 2:11:23; Dave Gordon of Oregon, who has run 2:11:41; Bruce Bickford, ranked No. 1 in the world at 10,000 meters in 1985, running his first marathon; Ed Eyestone of Utah, whose only marathon several years ago was a low-key 2:16; and four-time Boston and New York City Marathon winner Bill Rodgers.

The women’s race is expected to easily go to Rosa Mota of Portugal, who owns the third fastest time in the world, 2:23:29, and who captured the bronze medal in the L.A. Olympic marathon. Other women include 1985 Boston champion Lisa Larsen Weidenbach, from Michigan, whose best is 2:31:31; Jacqueline Gareau of Canada, who won at Boston in 1980 and who has run 2:29:26; and Odette Lapierre, also of Canada, whose best is a 2:31:48.

Joan Benoit Samuelson, who set the course record of 2:22:43 (a world record at the time) here in 1983 and holds the American record of 2:21:21, is injured and will not compete. World record-holder Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway, who set the world mark of 2:21:06 in 1985 and won Boston last year, is expected to run the London Marathon next month.

The weather forecast is for partly sunny skies with temperatures between 70 and 75 degrees, less than ideal conditions for fast marathon performances. Race officials said that 6,313 runners have registered for the race this year, up 1,400 over 1986.

The race will begin about 9 a.m., PDT, with ESPN’s prerace coverage starting at 8:30.