KEY POINTS:
Lance Armstrong will get a little help from an all-star cast of distance runners past and present when he makes his marathon debut in New York tomorrow.
Armstrong, who won a record seven straight Tour de France cycling titles, will be paced by former marathon champions Alberto Salazar and Joan Benoit Samuelson, and reigning Olympic 1500m and 5000m gold medallist Hicham El Guerrouj.
The 48-year-old Salazar will run the first 16km of the race with Armstrong. The 49-year-old Samuelson, who won the first Olympic women's marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, will run the next 16km.
El Guerrouj then will do 10km with Armstrong, who will be on his own for the final stretch of the 42.2km race.
