Reigning US 10,000 metres champion Jorge Torres will be missing from the line-up in this morning’s International 10K, apparently through injury.

But his absence shouldn’t detract from what is shaping up to be the most competitive of this weekend’s four events. Among more than 200 runners heading out from the National Sports Centre at 10 a.m. to tackle the testing course that loops out to Flatts and back will be a handful of elite runners including Kenyan Emmanuel Chamer who clocked 28:18 for a track 10,000 metres and 28:32 for a 10K road race during 2006.

This is his first time in Bermuda and he was unsure what time he might manage, having been warned the course was not flat and fast.

The 23-year-old Kenya national team athlete said: “I can’t predict what I could do on the course. I’m doing long training runs, but I hope I can run fast. The conditions look good.”

Spectators will have a second chance to see Chamer on Sunday as he intends to compete also in the Half-Marathon.

US athletes Clint Wells, Casey Burchill, Joel Williams and Fairmont to Fairmont race winner Carl Kinney all have sub-30 potential, with Colorado-based Wells the fastest on paper with a 27:58 track 10,000 metres on his CV.

Williams was due to run the Invitational Mile last night before this morning’s 10K. He ran 28:55 on the road in 2005 and is seeking to run close to 30:00 or just below this weekend.

Meanwhile, Wells of Boulder, Colorado, said: “My last race was in New York in September when I did 29:50. Since then I’ve just been training. I think I’d be capable of between 29:30 and 30:00 on a flat course, so we will see how that translates on this course.”

It has been even longer since Arizona’s Burchill last raced. He spent most of 2006 concentrating on his university studies. However, he has started “tuning up” for races after building up a strong training base.

“I want to go out there and finish strong and feel I’ve put in a good effort. I’ve never been to Bermuda before but this is a great place to start the season,” he said.

Burchill is a training partner of fellow Arizona State athlete Victoria Jackson, one of the leading women in the race. She turned professional last June and ran 32:54 in a track 10,000 metres.

The 2005 US track 10,000 metres champion Katie McGregor has the pedigree and potential to reprise her 2003 and 2005 victories. Her most recent outing was the New York Marathon where she was ninth woman in an impressive 2:32. “I feel I’m in pretty good shape with all the marathon training,” she said. “It has been a different type of season for me and I feel I have a lot of strength from last year.”

Both Jackson and McGregor have decided to also run Sunday’s Half-Marathon.

Defending 10K and Half-Marathon champion Silvia Skvortsova, along with fellow Russian athletes endured an eight-hour hold-up at New York’s JFK Airport en route to Bermuda because of “difficulties” with an airline, but she appeared calm about the weekend’s racing when she spoke at the Fairmont Hamilton yesterday.

“I’m in better shape than last year. I don’t worry about the other athletes, but I respect them,” she said.

Five-times marathon winner El Afoui Boubker (Morocco) likewise has respect for all his rivals. He admitted he was not at his best, although he would attempt to keep his winning streak going. But he said, whatever happened, he hoped to be invited back in 2008 when he said he would fully fit.

And when asked why he kept coming to Bermuda, Boubker said: “Every time I come here I have a feeling that I am in my own country. I like the Bermuda and its people.”