STEVE DAWES is chasing the £1,000 first prize in Sunday’s Sportingbet Guernsey Marathon.

He will go to the start line among the favourites having clocked a 2hr 32min. in his only previous outing over 26 miles, that being nearly three years ago in Amsterdam.

The time placed him third on the all-time Guernsey marathon listings, behind the Australian-based Peter Bourgaize, who leads the list on 2-23-54, and Dave Kreckeler, who posted a 2-29-44 as long as 44 years ago.

Dawes (pictured), who is toying with the idea of making a push for a marathon spot in the Guernsey Commonwealth Games team for Glasgow in 2014, is not setting himself any targets for Sunday’s race.

‘I’d just like to place as high as I can. I’m doing it off normal training. ‘I’m going to give it a bash and see what happens.’

His maiden marathon was, he said, ‘pretty much as I expected’.

‘I went OK for 20 miles and the last four were pretty painful.’

The Guernsey course will not be as flat as Amsterdam.

‘The first five miles will be pretty slow. There is a lot of climbing, but after that it should be quick.’