Baptised Andrew Lemoncello has faith in himself to deliver at London Marathon

AS A boy, Andrew Lemoncello used to look forward to his annual spring trip to London where human traffic, not cars, took over the streets and where the greatest glee during his sight-seeing expeditions was a glimpse of his mother, Phyllis, pounding her way between the hordes lining The Mall.

Her efforts set a family record in the London Marathon that Lemoncello recalls as "close to three hours". Next Sunday, her 27-year-old son will look to carve around 50 minutes off that mark on his debut at the 26-miles distance. It has been 18 months since the Fifer took the decision to quit steeplechase in the wake of a disappointing Beijing Olympics for sterner, longer tests on the road. A defining moment beckons.

For many of the costume-wearing, face-painted, sponsorship-driven runners who will line up at the Virgin-sponsored event, crossing the line is a goal itself. For Lemoncello, the marathon has become his cause and his career. At his base in the hills of Arizona, 25 April 2010 has been circled in his diary for some time.

"I've usually started off the season with a 10K without doing much training so I've thought 'yeah, I am definitely able to do a marathon'. It was just a matter of when," he says. Hence, he took time to re-build his physique. "I wanted to cruise through the year and then come in hard to 2010."

He is confident his slender frame is ready for the rigours. "A lot of people are warning me against hitting the wall and not going out too hard," he reflects. "I'm not worried at all. I know I've put the miles in. I know I'm strong enough to start running hard at the 20-mile point."

Mentally, the preparation has been equally detailed. Lemoncello has studied footage of past races, running past each landmark in his waking dreams over and over again. The familiarity will breed less contempt, he hopes. And he has sought inspiration from how former British hopeful Charlie Spedding plotted a route that took him to an Olympic bronze medal in 1984.

Having fortified mind and body, the soul has not been neglected. Two weeks ago, the former Stirling University student was baptised as a Catholic after a period of study and reflection. It was, in part, to tighten the spiritual bonds with his American fiance Julie, ahead of their wedding in November. Undetectably, it has also acted as a performance enhancer.

"It's strengthened me," he reflects. "There are a lot of times when I'm out on the road and I can go for a while just drifting away because I'm saying a prayer or something. There is strength there that I had never used before. When it gets painful, I can embrace it now and come out stronger. I never thought it was something I'd benefit from."

Lemoncello knows his time will be scrutinised by the UK Athletics coaches who took away his funding last year.

"There is a bit of pressure because people have seen that my training is going well," he admits. "I'm just going out to use it as an opportunity to see if I'm suited for the event. But I think I am. I just hope it pays off." Having come this far, there can now be no turning back.