PARALYMPIC hopeful Derek Rae reckons being dressed to impress can spur him to look sharp on his Great Britain debut in tomorrow's London Marathon.
The 29-year-old Fifer, who lost the use of his arm in a motorbike crash five years ago, admits taking part in the IPC World Championships - which are incorporated into the London showpiece - will be a huge step up in class.
But, despite a rush of nerves, Rae says his special delivery from team chiefs has left him floating on Cloud Nine.
"The kit arrived at my work at a car showroom in Kirkcaldy but I didn't open it until I got home and my wife Susan was with me," he said. "There was something of a fashion show in the living room.
"Then we put it all up in the spare room and, no matter how many times I walked in there and saw all the GB kit hanging up, it still didn't feel real."
Rae will join David Weir in the British Para squad and after setting a personal best of 2:44:43 in London 12 months ago, his recent form suggests he can go even faster.
"I was close to my PBs in the Alloa half-marathon and the Tom Scott 10-Miler so I am in good shape," he wrote on his Scottish Athletics blog. "I know what I think I can run in London and I'm determined just to try and give it my best shot.
"On the start-list I have seen, I am ranked about sixth or seventh with a couple of guys at low 2.30s and one of them won the marathon at the Paralympics. But there is no need to think too much about that or get worried about expectation."
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