Kenya's Mary Keitany is relishing the prospect of lining up against Britain's Paula Radcliffe to become Kenya's second winner at the World half Marathon which will be staged in Birmingham on October 11. Keitany, 27, is keen to improve on the silver medal she claimed in 2007 in Udine, Italy in a race won by record-breaking Dutchwoman Lornah Kiplagat. With the Dutchwoman absent through injury, Keitany is savoring the prospects of victory. 'But there is still an obstacle to go through. I must beat (Paula) Radcliffe, the world marathon record holder (2:15:25). She will be running at home and that might tilt it to her favour, but this is not full marathon,' she told Xinhua on Saturday by telephone. Keitany ran the fastest half marathon in the world for a woman this year and the seventh fastest of all time, clocking 67 minutes at the Semi-Marathon de Lille in France in August. The 1:06:48 she recorded in Udine in 2007, however, remains her personal best time. But for Peninah Arusei, fifth at last year's championships in Rio de Janeiro, she has unfinished business and will take up the challenge with relish. 'We are well prepared and look forward to the race. I believe my form will do the talking,' she said. Athletics Kenya has since named Samson Katum as the team's coach and team manager. In the men's side, Sammy Kitwara wants to exorcise the ghosts that saw him miss out of the World Championships in Berlin by breaking Kenya's duck at the championships. Hounded out of Kenya's team to Berlin for running in a race in Atlanta without Athletics Kenya's approval, Kitwara has a point to prove as he seeks to silence his critics as he features for Kenya for the first time in an international championship. 'I was rightly denied the ticket to Berlin. But that was then and I have another chance and intend to utilize it to the maximum. I want to win the individual title,' he said. Kitwara sprinted to a 58:58 minutes victory at the Rotterdam Half-Marathon on September 13 to catch the eyes of the selectors and believes he is in his best form to end the domination of three-time reigning champion, Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea. Kenya has dominated global road running in recent years, winning the men's and women's team categories in the two editions of the World Road Running championships and also taking nine men's and four women's World Half Marathon team titles. Kenyan men have won nine of the 17 individual titles so far contested including victory at the inaugural World Half Marathon Championships in 1992. But the country is yet to win an individual title at either the World Road Running Championships (2006/2007) or the World Half Marathon Championships (1993-2003). Paul Kirui (2004) and Tegla Loroupe's (1999) won individual world titles but that now remains a distant memory. Romania (2005 women), Ethiopia (2005 men, 2004/8 women), and Russia (2003 women) have been the three countries who most recently have upset Kenyan domination. The latter two nations will be in Birmingham with strong line-ups as usual and there will also be strong teams from Eritrea and Qatar, while Japan, Spain, Tanzania, Uganda, and hosts England are just some of the other teams who will hope to be in the mix. A maximum of seven athletes can be entered in each race, of whom no more than five will be allowed to start, with three to score. Each race shall be scored separately. The team with the lowest aggregate of times will be judged the winner. 