Alevtina Biktimirova doesn't fit the classic mold of a long-distance runner.

“;She's like a locomotive,”; said David Monti, editor and publisher of Race Results Weekly. “;She doesn't pull away from the station very quickly, but when she picks up her momentum and gets in a groove, she can be very, very tough.”;

The compact 26-year-old Russian continued her steady rise in the running world this year after winning the 2007 Honolulu Marathon in 2 hours, 33 minutes and 6 seconds.

Biktimirova finished second with a time of 2:25:27 in the Boston Marathon in April, losing a thrilling back-and-forth sprint down Boylston Street to Ethiopia's Dire Tune in the closest finish in the history of the race. She finished second in the Chicago Marathon in 2:29:32 two months ago.

Far from being disappointed, she gained confidence from the two strong performances that came on the heels of her win here last year.

“;Honolulu made me confident to run in Boston, because Honolulu is rolling hills,”; said Biktimirova through her agent, Andrey Baranov. “;I love this marathon.”;

“;(Biktimirova is) really on top of her game,”; said Dr. Jon Cross, marathon race co-director, who negotiated to bring her to Honolulu after seeing her run in Boston two years ago.

“;I just remember she looked like a tank running along,”; he said. “;She's kind of a sturdy-built gal and doesn't have great leg speed, but she has phenomenal endurance,”; said Monti. “;(In Boston) she dropped a 1:10 half-something half-marathon in the second half, and the second half is the hardest part of the race, so she is really strong.”;

Although Biktimirova enters the race as the favorite, race watchers are also high on Alice Timbilili, 25, who finished 14th in the 10,000 meters at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and 16th at the Athens games four years ago.

Although the Honolulu Marathon will be only her second 26.2-mile race, Timbilili is looking to finish the year on a positive note after a left thigh injury forced her to withdraw from the New York City Marathon last month.

Timbilili posted a 2:26:45 time in Paris earlier this year.

“;I think more telling is her half-marathon speed, 68:56, which is very, very strong,”; said Monti.

“;Timbilili is a track runner, with that great turnover and foot speed,”; said Monti. “;She's someone who in the final sprint to the end could probably clean Biktimirova's clock.”;

“;If I cross 30K (18.64 miles) and I feel my body is OK and I feel the pace is slow, I can try to go,”; said Timbilili.

“;The women's race this year is really great,”; said Monti. “;It's interesting and diverse and has some really top-quality players who have different backgrounds, completely, and it'll be interesting to see how they compete on this course.”;

Lyubov Morgunova, a three-time winner here and former course-record holder (2:27:33 in 2004), 2005 winner and ultramarathon specialist Olesya Nurgalieva, and Japan's Kiyoko Shimahara, who posted a 2:26:14 (Sapporo, 2005) also bolster the elite field.

The race would have boasted even more star power, but former marathon world record holder Margaret Okayo of Kenya dropped out after contracting malaria.

Both Biktimirova and Timbilili were unfazed by the heavy rain that soaked the island this week, but neither predicted breaking the course record of 2:27:19, held by Lyubov Denisova, who won in 2006 but later tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone.

“;Anyone who's been to the Honolulu Marathon knows that this is a uniquely difficult course,”; observed Monti. “;With (the runners cresting) Diamond Head two times — out and back — with high humidity, it's sometimes hot. Just because you were able to run a big time some place else doesn't mean that you'll be successful at all.”;