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Radcliffe spent five months out through injury but has returned to win road races at both 10km and 5km in consecutive weekends and will attempt to make it a treble with victory in the famous 13.5-mile race from Newcastle to South Shields.

But the Briton will face tough opposition, not least from former winner Susan Chepkemei.

"Berhane Adere, Deratu Tulu and Sonia O'Sullivan will make it a very hard race for Paula," said Chepkemei, who won the event two years ago.

Kenyan Chepkemei is adamant she has not made the trip to finish runner-up to Radcliffe.

"I'm looking to winning and hoping my body will stand up to what will be a very fast race," she said.

Radcliffe, meanwhile, has hinted that she may run the marathon rather than the 10,000m at next summer's Olympics.

The 29-year-old won European 10,000m gold last year before shattering the marathon world record this April.

"At the moment it's leaning a little bit more towards the marathon in the Olympics, but I'm keeping my options open," said Radcliffe.

"I am hoping to get selected for both events so I can leave the decision a lot later. The training is similar for both."

Radcliffe is keen to end her season on a high note after missing last month's World Championships with injury.

Victory in Sunday's race and next month's world half-marathon championships would go a long way towards making up for that disappointment.

"The world half marathon is a world championship, at the end of the day, and it's important," she said. "I've won it twice and it's a quality event.

"It's still possible to break the world record. Every time I go out and race it's a goal to go out and run faster than I've done before."