Now that the dust has settled on an exciting night of KPMG mile races on Front Street, all eyes will focus on the three road races today and tomorrow where top overseas 10K, Half-Marathon and Marathon runners are expected to set the pace.And local resident Chris Estwanik will be planning to be right up there with them.Estwanik will put himself in the mix as he bids to defend his half-marathon title but he knows what to expect from those flying in.Kenyan Shadrack Biwot will run today’s 10K but is undecided whether to compete in the half.Fellow Kenyans Emmanuel and Julius Bor, Stephen Pifer of the United States and Jordan Chipangma of Zimbabwe ran last night and are expected to run again over the weekend.It is the kind of competition runners like Estwanik only get once a year on local soil, and the former Nike Farm Team is up to the challenge.“Shadrack is coming back so I will have plenty of people to chase,” the five-time Bermuda Marathon Derby winner told The Royal Gazette this week. “Last year I was able to steal victory in the 10K and Half-Marathon but this year it’s going to be a dogfight.“There will be plenty of competition and I will just go out and try and hang with those guys as long as I can. Even if I’m not able to defend my title hopefully I will be able to run faster because of the quality of the athletes that are coming here.”Estwanik’s wife Ashley is also only competing in the half-marathon as both prepare for April’s Boston Marathon. Ashley was the first local finisher and third overall in the women’s field in last year’s half-marathon after crossing the line in one hour, 25 minutes and 53 seconds.After the half-marathoners complete their race tomorrow, the marathon runners will head out for a second loop of the course with Kenyan Richard Kessio expected to lead the pack and aiming to break the dominance of Ethiopia, who occupied the top three places a year ago. Tesfaye Dube took the victory in 2:24.17 while countrymen Fikadu Lemma and Dereje Hailegiorgis were second and third.Russia’s Elena Orlova is back to defend her title in the women’s marathon and the forecast for rainy conditions this weekend could have an affect on the finishing times.In the women’s 10K, local pair Jennifer Alen and Rose-Anna Hoey will go up against a strong field of overseas runners, including Jamaica’s Mardrea Hyman (third last year) who will be looking to capitalise on the absence of Rolanda Bell of Panama and Korene Hinds of Jamaica who were first and second last year.Missing from the weekend’s festival is local runner Sean Trott who had an impressive second-place finish behind Estwanik in the half-marathon last year.