Sonia O'Sullivan re-emerges in Irish athletics this afternoon more determined than ever to prove that at 29 she can eke out at least two more golden years of an outstanding career.

O'Sullivan will be on the start line for the BUPA five-mile international road race at Loughrea at 2.30 for what will be only her second competitive run since giving birth to daughter Ciara in London in June.

Barring a major upheaval of form, the indications are that she will celebrate her first appearance in this country in almost 18 months by winning from the Kenyan Esther Kiplagat.

If she does the certainty is that it will be one of the most popular successes of the year as she prepares to start her build up to the Olympic Games in Sydney in just under 12 months time.

"This is where it all begins - now is the time when I have to start mapping out the kind of programme which will ensure that I get to the Games in the best condition of my career," she said.

"I'll be leaving for winter training in Australia within the next couple of weeks and, as before, I hope to run three or four track races there before returning home in the spring.

"At this point I'm still looking at the options but I will definitely run a 10,000 metres race and probably a 5,000 metres as well. Apart from getting a qualifying time, I need to learn how to run a 10,000 metres race.

"I've only had one track race at this distance in my life. And I was so preoccupied in following pace in the European championship in Budapest that I didn't really have that much chance to look up and see what was happening all around me."

After finishing fourth behind Joyce Chepchumba, Tecla Loroupe and Paula Radcliffe in the Great North run in Newcastle last Sunday, O'Sullivan knows that she is in reasonable shape to run another big race now.

Apart from the fact that today's race is significantly shorter, the other big difference is that it is a mixed event and with both men and women going out fast from the start the favourite may be headed for another demanding examination of her fitness.

"It will be a lot different from Newcastle in the sense that that we will be running hard from the off and that will give me a reasonable idea of where I'm at in my training," she said.

Esther Kiplagat, who gave birth to her second child earlier this year, is best remembered in Britain for a brave challenge in the 1996 Great North Run in which, after making almost all the running, she was beaten in a sprint finish by Liz McColgan.

Third in the Lisbon half marathon last April, she has a formidable record on the track at distances ranging from 1,500 to 10,000 metres but at this stage of her career, she is not expected to beat O'Sullivan over five miles.

The men's race offers Kenyan John Mutai a chance of adding to his success in the Great North run a week ago. His time on that occasion of 60 minutes 52 seconds was one of the fastest in the race in recent years and provides the conclusive proof that the man who once finished third in the Dublin marathon is running as well as at any time in his career.

South Africa's Hendrick Ramaala, who was second in the world half marathon championship, is another who will run well while the British challenge is headed by Paul Evans and John Mayock.