When Zersenay Tadese competed for the first time outside his native Eritrea, he wore oversized footwear, which was a fitting beginning for a man trying to fill some of the biggest shoes in running.

Whereas Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele, the Ethiopians, are legends of the sport, Tadese’s star is still on the rise. He may get David Beckham-esque billing at home and start as favourite in Sunday’s EDF Energy World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham, but the best is yet to come.

The 27-year-old is going for a fourth successive title, but he has bigger fish to fry in the long term. The half-marathon world record, standing at 58min 59sec and owned by Sammy Wanjiru, of Kenya, is one goal. So is stepping up to full marathon distance, which many sagacious onlookers think will be his true metier.

Tadese’s debut in the Flora London Marathon in April ended sourly when he dropped out after 22 miles, but he looks more suited to the longer races. An Olympic bronze medal at the 10,000 metres in 2004 is not to be sniffed at, but he was forced to play second fiddle to Bekele at the World Championships in Berlin this year.

With Paula Radcliffe absent through tonsillitis and Tomas Abyu, the winner of the British trials, not taking up his place, the British contingent is led by Claire Hallissey and Andrew Lemoncello.