European athletes have an outstanding record in the women's race at the New York City Marathon and could Italy's Valeria Straneo be the next to join an illustrious list?
All shall be discovered on Sunday morning when the event takes place again, 12 months after Superstorm Sandy forced it to be cancelled.
In that time Straneo, 37, from Alessandria, has established herself on the international stage in some style after winning silver at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow in August.
Now comes another major test when, once more, she faces Edna Kiplagat, of Kenya, who beat her to gold in Russia.
But Straneo will take it all in her stride as she thrives at being here, after her life transformed in 2010 when fatigue led to her being diagnosed with an hereditary red blood cell disorder called Spherocytosis.
It was on the opening day of the World Championships where her performance put her among the contenders for the European Athlete of the Year.
She led all at the stages before defending champion Kiplagat had just too much as the Luzhniki Stadium came into sight.
Straneo took silver in 2:25:58, missing out on gold by 0:14 seconds with Japan's Kayoko Fukushi third in 2:27:45.
But it is being here which means so much.
As she has said to nyrr.org: 'I really love running. It’s a passion for me, a real love. It’s incredible that now I can also do it as my job. But first of all, I really enjoy it.”
Speaking to the IAAF, Straneo said of Sunday's race in New York: 'I want to enjoy it but is pointless hiding the fact that I want to get on the podium.
'It will not be easy also because the people on start list will make it like another World Championships.
“However, to finish in the top three would be the icing on the cake of a great 2013.'
Even though a European man has not won the race since, ironically, Italian Giacomo Leone in 1996, history is very much on Straneo's side.
Since the first women's race in New York in 1971, Europe's success has been consistently brilliant.
The late, and so great Norwegian, Grete Waitz won the event a record nine times - no man has achieved this honour - with her first triumph in 1978 and her last in 1988.
A year later, her fellow countrywoman Ingrid Kristiansen took the title and 12 months after that it was the turn of Poland's Wanda Panfil before in 1991, on her debut at the distance, Liz McColgan was the winner, repeating the feat of Great Britain teammate Priscilla Welch who had won in 1987.
The record of European glory goes on.
Germany's Uta Pippig was first in 1993, Romania's Anuta Catuna won in 1996, followed by Switzerland's Franziska Rochat-Moser in 1997 and Italian Franca Fiacconi in 1998.
Russia celebrated their first victory in the women's race in 2000 as Lyudmila Petrova won and then in 2004, it was the first of three triumphs for Paula Radcliffe.
The Briton, who broke the world record in 2003 in London with 2:15:25 - the time still stands today - also came back in 2007 and 2008 to win in New York, with Latvia's Jelena Prokopcuka making it to the top of the podium in 2005 and 2006.
Straneo has quite a record to follow and it will be a tough morning in the USA in a field which includes the woman who won it back in 2011, Ethiopia's Firehitwot Dado, and has had two years now to wait to defend her title.
Once more Dado will face Ethiopian teammate Buzunesh Deba, who she beat by 0.4 seconds in 2:23:15 in 2011 while the race also includes Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo who won in London this year.
And, as Straneo will be well aware of, the all-powerful Kiplagat.
But a city marathon is not a Championship marathon, tactics are different, there is no finish in a stadium and times are often faster.
And it could be one of the best days of Valeria Straneo's career.