Stuart Moran is hoping to put Sussex back on the map at the London Marathon on Sunday.

Moran has jetted in from his home in America to line up alongside 35,000 other runners who will be taking on the gruelling 26.2-mile course in the capital.

It is the first time the 32-year-old has competed in a marathon but he is confident of recording the best time by a Sussex athlete in the famous event for more than a decade.

Moran, of Brighton and Hove City, is better known for his exploits over 10km but has decided to go the extra distance in a bid to inspire a new generation of marathon runners in the county.

As a teenager, Moran was inspired to get into long distance running by the performances of Brighton and Hove City’s international duo Dan Rathbone and Dave Knight.

The pair were the last Sussex runners to break 2hr.21min for the London Marathon while Rathbone picked up a bronze medal for the third British finisher in 1997.

Compare that to last year when Dave Carter, of Phoenix, was the first Sussex finisher back in 86th place in 2hr.33min.21sec.

Moran said: “It is about time someone from Sussex ran a quick time at the London Marathon.

“In the early to mid-1990s we had a thriving marathon scene in Brighton with the likes of Dan and Dave regularly running fast times.

“I was a youngster when they were doing their thing and I really looked up to them. I would like to do something similar to what they achieved.

“I can’t think of the last runner from Sussex to break 2hr.30min and that is such a shame when you think what a force Brighton was not so long ago.

“It would be great if I could break 2hr.20min and inspire some young guys to get into marathon running. I like to keep in touch with the club and if I do well I’ll go down to the track to speak about how it went and hopefully that will motivate a few to put in the miles.”

Moran has a personal best of 30min.15sec for the 10km but admits he is entering something of the unknown over 26.2miles.

He has only ever run four competitive half-marathons, with a best time of 67min.58sec, but feels he is the perfect age to make the step up in distance.

A time close to 2hr.20min would probably be good enough for a top 25 finish and although that is an ambitious aim for a debutant he is confident he is capable of pulling it off.

Moran, who grew up in Southwick but moved to North Carolina eight years ago, added: “I am at the age where I needed to go and do it. At 32 if I didn’t run a marathon soon then I would be past it.

“I needed something different to motivate me rather than just concentrating on 10k. If it goes well I’m sure I’ll do more marathons and I should have another three or four years decent running at the distance. I feel I am in shape to run a good time but you never really know what is going to happen so I don’t want to make too many predictions.”