"This could be the last one, the last marathon I run, we will just see how it goes," Warrander said.
"I've sort of made a commitment to my family. This is probably the last competitive year. It would be nice to go out a winner."
A personal trainer in the Gold Coast, Warrander said his preparation for this year's race had gone well.
"It has been going really good. I'm in about the same shape, if not slightly better shape than last year. It's just putting it together on the day and getting it all right."
While many may feel the pressure to perform, Warrander says he tries to concentrate on what he can do rather than what the competition are up to.
"You always got that pressure knowing you're the champion.
"But I'm just going to get out there and enjoy it. If I get out there and do the best I can, I should come out with a good result."
He will need all of that experience for this morning's race with the likes of Nelson runner Phil Costley looking to add a third Rotorua Marathon win to his tally of 30-plus national athletics titles.
"I just have to focus on my own performance. Everyone gets carried away with who's running what. I just run my own race, you can't determine how another person is going to run," he said.
"If you run your own race and it works out the way you want it, it will be good. It's a good event and a good contest. I've run this race in all sorts of conditions. So it's going to be no different from previous events."
The Metservice last night was predicting the odd morning shower for the start of the event with a high of 18C and southwesterlies. The marathon for the elite runners is expected to get underway at 9am.