Another London Marathon filled the streets of the capital on Sunday. HUGH MacDOUGALL picks his five best performers in what has become a sporting institution.

THERE'S big money in the masochism of marathon running.

Some of the elite brigade can earn a good whack at it, while thousands of plodders willingly endure torture every year in order to help raise huge amounts for worthy causes.

The Flora London Marathon has become a fixture in the British calendar since the first race in 1981. London is top notch on the international marathon circuit, not counting multi-sports gatherings like the Olympics or Commonwealth Games.

It has produced many memorable performances and dramatic races and narrowing it to the top five winners means omitting some great names - for instance Norwegian Grete Weitz and Kenyan Joyce Chepchumba, who both won the women's race twice, Portugal's Rosa Mota adding London to her Olympic, European and World titles, Britain's Steve Jones whose record winning time in 1985 stood until 1997. And let's not forget Leeds-based Veronique Marot, who lived in York for some years, setting a British record when she won in 1989.

My top footman has to be Portugal's Antonio Pinto, one of only two male athletes to have won the race three times and who, in eight London runs, has only once finished outside the first three.

He was champion in 1992 and five years later he broke the course record with a superb run as he overtook Italian Stefano Baldini. Pinto also set a record when winning in 2000.

I put Paula Radcliffe in second place. Her London Marathon form is unique - three starts, three wins, three world records - but Pinto has a phenomenal record in the race over a longer period than Radcliffe, who wasn't able to run this time because of injury.

After the trauma of her Athens Olympics failure, she came up with another stunning London effort last year. Her winning time of 2hr 17min 42sec was astonishingly 74 seconds faster than the record she set in winning the race in 2002.

And that was despite her losing 15 seconds in the 23rd mile as she trickled to a halt for her never-to-be-forgotten and very public convenience break.

The one other man than Pinto to have won three times is a name which isn't a household name, Mexican Dionicio Ceron. Many consider his 1994 triumph as the greatest in the history of the race. He defied high winds to win in 2hr 08min 53sec. The following year he made up ground to overtake Pinto and then he outsprinted Australia Steve Moneghetti to win. In 1996, Ceron won in 2hr 10min.

He never came back to London after his third success, so is undefeated in the race. But I place him behind Pinto in the pecking order because of the man from Portugal's high level of consistency over more races, and behind Radcliffe because she has set world records each time and her career will go on.

Next is another legend of the 26 miles and a bit Sunday morning work-out, the great Norwegian Ingrid Kristiansen. She was unbeaten in the London Marathon, winning back-to-back in 1983-84 and again in 1987-88, including a world record of 2hr 21min 06sec in 1985.

In those days the women's marathon was a new phenomenon. Many didn't think women could possibly cope with long distance races like 10,000 metres and, heaven forbid, a marathon. Might sound silly now, but that's how it was.

The superb performances by Kristiansen and Weitz were key to women's long distance running becoming an accepted part of part world athletics. Liz McColgan, another of our brilliant London Marathon winners, was driven in her quest for success by her admiration of the great Norwegians.

Last, but not least (though no one who completes a marathon should have the word 'least' mention in the same phrase), I choose Moroccan El Mouaziz. In 1999, he left the Olympic and World champions and world record holder in his wake as he led almost from start to the tape. Two years later he beat star Kenyan Paul Tergat for victory.

Great performances. Great event. American Deena Kastor and Kenya's Felix Limo were this year's winners but it really is the people's marathon. Heroes and heroines every one.

Updated: 09:34 Tuesday, April 25, 2006