WHEN Derek Hawkins made the step up from the track to marathon distance last year, even he wasn't sure what to expect.

But any doubts were quickly banished as he ran an impressive 2.14.04 in his debut in Frankfurt last October, five minutes faster than the 2014 Commonwealth Games qualifying standard.

Unfortunately for Hawkins, 23, the qualifying period only began on January 1 this year so he will be lining up in today's Virgin London Marathon beginning his quest for a spot in Glasgow next summer. "The main aim is to get the Commonwealth Games qualifying time as early as possible," he said. "I will be hoping to run a similar time to the one I managed in Frankfurt, but it all depends on how the weather plays out. It's the wind I'm most concerned about."

He will rub shoulders with an elite field that includes 2012 Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, Kenya's world record holder Patrick Makau, and Wilson Kipsang, last year's winner.

Lee Merrien, the quickest British man in last year's race, is not running, leaving Hawkins, Tomas Abyu, Phil Wicks, Scott Overall and Phil Anthony to battle it out for that honour.

Hawkins, from Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, admits the build-up has left his nerves jangling. "It's difficult not to feel pressure, but I'm taking confidence from how training is going," he said. "Before Frankfurt I did the Great North Run which was my key build-up race and that went well, so I knew I was in good stead.

"This year my build-up race was The Hague half marathon and the weather was atrocious, -4˚C and 17.5mph head winds, so I didn't get out of that what I'd hoped. That makes it a bit more difficult to gauge where I'm at now. I can only draw from how training is going."

Hawkins, who has run international cross country at under-23 and senior level, had initially set his sights on the 10k in the Commonwealth Games but re-evaluated that plan early last year.

"For various reasons it just wasn't working out," he said. "When the qualifying standards were first posted, my aim was to focus on the 10k, but last summer it went so poorly. I was disillusioned with the track, it felt like several years of going nowhere with it. I had always wanted to try the marathon so thought it was the best time to give it a go and see what it was about."

With retired police officer father Robert helping to coach him, things clicked almost straight away and following his successful debut, Hawkins now hopes to compete in the World Championships in Moscow, although he is reticent to get too far ahead of himself.

"After Sunday I'll have a better idea of where I'm at," he said. "How the rest of my year will pan out depends on how London goes. If I get the Commonwealth Games time I won't run another marathon in 2013 other than hopefully Moscow."

In the women's race, Oban's Susan Partridge will also be pursuing a Commonwealth Games qualifying time. In the Bath half marathon last month she improved her personal best by 40 seconds which she hopes bodes well for today.

After a self-described sub-par performance in London last year, the 33-year-old admits to champing at the bit to get out there and run. "It would be nice to bank the time for the Commonwealth Games. I would hope that is possible," she said. "I would like to be able to run a marathon time that's a little more in keeping with my half marathon and how I think I can run. That is the main motivation and if it means I get selected for the world champion- ships as well that will be a bonus."

After fellow Scot Freya Ross and Helen Clitheroe withdrew, Partridge, alongside Amy Whitehead, have been left as the leading British contenders.