underway on Front Street tonight with the Bank of Butterfield Mile.

The 36-year-old Irishman, now residing in Philadelphia, is returning for a crack at a third successive title -- not to mention the elusive $10,000 bonus for the runner who can finish inside the four-minute mark.

Earlier this week, O'Sullivan stopped short of saying the latter task was impossible -- just next to it. This is a man who should know. He's run 98 sub-four minute miles in his career, including one in Honolulu last month.

And although his time of last year, 4:04.09, knocked a couple of seconds off his previous best in Bermuda, it was still seven tenths of a second short of the record set in 1992, the first year of the race, by American Joe Falcon.

There's no Tony Whiteman to bother him this year, with the biggest challenge likely to come from Somalian Ibrahim Aden and three Kenyans, Rueben Chesane, Johnstone Kipkoech and James Bungei.

Aden, 25, ran a personal best of 3:36.47 over 1500m at the Stuttgart Grand Prix last year, while Chesane, at 35 a year younger than O'Sullivan, was the 1994 Commonwealth Games gold medal winner at that distance.

Kipkoech, a 3000m steeplechase winner at those Games, has a best of 3:56.05 in the road mile, while Bungei has run two seconds faster.

They will have little time to get over their exertions before being back on the starting line-up tomorrow morning for the 10K. Kipkoech, 29, has a best at this distance of 28:03 -- almost a minute faster than last year's winner, fellow Kenyan Stephen Nyamu, who is not returning to defend his title.

Also missing from the event is last year's runner-up, Briton Paul Evans. But countryman Paul Freary, a winner of the half-marathon for the last two years, has given up the opportunity of a third successive triumph and opted for a new challenge in the 10K, a distance he has run in 29 minutes.

One man to watch though, will be 51-year-old Phil Barker, the English Masters runner who, although only 75 percent fit, expects to complete in under 33 minutes.

In the women's race the field has been weakened by the absence of last year's 10K winner, Elana Meyer, although there could be an interesting duel b etween Kenya's Salina Chirchir and Carol Howe, of Canada.

Chirchir finished third last year, giving her vital experience of the 10K course, and contested most of her listed races in 1997 at altitude, which could give her the advantage.

In last year's men's marathon, Russia's Vladimir Plykin came home in front in a time of 2:23.15 but with both he and his twin brother injured this time round the Russians will be pinning their hopes on Edward Toukbatullin, who last year finished third in the Hamburg Marathon in 2:12.

The Russians have indicated that Toukbatullin will be making an assault on the course record of 2:21.30, set by another Russian, Alexander Gurin, in 1996.

But Jerod Neas of the US could provide meaningful competition: he ran five marathons last year, finishing all in under 2:20. His best was 2:16.20 in the Detroit Free Press Marathon in October, when he came second behind Brad Hudson, who is competing in the 10K. Three weeks later he ran 2:19 in the New York Marathon.

Kim Goff and Roxi Erickson should again dominate the women's event, but they will be looking over their shoulders for competition from Ukrainian Yelena Plastinina, Russian Valentina Lyakhova and Austrian Ulrike Puchner.