The 17th Lala International Marathon which will take place on 6 March, will be the Mexican Championships and the country's qualifier for the World Championships in Helsinki, said Héctor Guerrero, the President of the organizing committee.
Male runners will need to run the 42.195km race under two hours and 12 minutes. Women have to run under 2:32 hours.
The race has also been the Mexican trials for the past two Olympic Games in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, as well as other major events.
The Lala race is unique among the 11 marathons sanctioned by the Mexican Athletics Federation as it passes through two states. It starts in Durago and finishes in the Venustiano Carranza, located in the city of Torreon, Coahuila.
Lala will serve as the national championships for the fourth consecutive year and it expects around 4000 participants.
The course records belong to Adriana Fernández (2:30:30) and Andrés Espinoza (2:10:57), both set in 2001.
Last year's winners were Kenya's Thomas Omwenga (2:11.38) and 38-year-old Margarita Cabello (2:37.31).
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF
