The six-time Paralympic champion lost out on the chance to make history last year when he finished a disappointing fifth in the race.

But he claims to have got his "hunger back" following a relatively quiet 2013 that saw him sit out of the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) Athletics World Championships in Lyon.

"I always have an 'off year' after the Paralympics and last year was no different," 34-year-old Weir, who equalled Tanni Grey-Thompson's record of six London Marathon titles in 2012, said.

"I needed to take the pressure off after the intensity of 2012, and I think I made the right choice to have an easier year.

"I'm not getting any younger.

"I've got that hunger back now, and I've been training really hard again because I still have the desire to overtake Tanni's record.

"I promised last year I wouldn't stop until I've done it, and now I'm fired up to win again."

David Weir will be hoping to write his name in London Marathon history by winning the event for the seventh time ©Getty Images


In his way, however, will be Switzerland's on-form Marcel Hug, who picked up five gold medals at last year's World Championships - including the marathon - before powering to victory in the New York Marathon in November.

Also challenging for the title will be three-time London Marathon winner and official world record holder Heinz Frei of Switzerland, Canada's 2010 winner Josh Cassidy and nine-time Boston Marathon winner Ernst van Dyk of South Africa.

In the women's race, three-time Paralympic champion Tatyana McFadden of the United States will be looking to defend the title she picked up last year in a course record breaking time.

The 24-year-old dominated the racing scene in 2013, winning six gold medals at the IPC World Championships, before completing a clean sweep of major marathon titles after adding the Boston, New York and Chicago wins to her London victory.

She also decided to swap her racing chair for sit-skis over the winter period, earning herself a spot in the US team headed to Sochi 2014 next month as she looks to add a cross country skiing gold to her already extensive trophy cabinet.

Tatyana McFadden rewrote history when she won six gold medals at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France ©Getty Images

McFadden's compatriots Shirley Reilly and Amanda McGrory will also be ones to watch at the 2014 London Marathon.

Reilly picked up the marathon title during the London 2012 Paralympic Games, while McGrory powered to victory at the London Marathon in both 2009 and 2011.

Flying the flag for Britain will be 2012 London Marathon champion Shelly Woods, who claimed silver at the Paralympics in the same year.

She will be joined by Japan's Wakako Tsuchida, who will be looking to regain the title she won in 2010.

The 2014 London Marathon will take place on April 13 and will again form part of the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup.

The World Cup this year features seven races in all, including a new men's wheelchair contest for racers in the T51 and T52 categories.

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November 2013: American wheelchair racer McFadden makes history with marathon grand slam
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