Two of the three men on the podium in last year?s Invitational Front Street Mile are aiming to be there again tonight.

Two-time winner James Thie relishes the thought of celebrating a hat-trick in Hamilton while his friend and rival Christian Hesch is keen to move up from third place.

Both agree that breasting the tape first will be a tough task amid a strong, international ten-man field, but, given their experience and training, each believes he can prevail.

?I?m really, really confident. I?m so excited to be back. I can?t believe the weather is as nice as it is.

?I?ve trained really well in the last ten weeks. Before Christmas I spent nine weeks training ? seven weeks in Colorado and the other two were in Albuquerque. They are all at altitude so you get the benefits when you come back down to sea level and there?s more oxygen in the air,? said Welshman Thie.

?It?s a form of resistance training. It?s really very tough at one point because you?re up at almost 8,000 feet doing the usual training but then you come back down to sea level and it?s a fantastic feeling.

?Things have gone absolutely superbly and I?m really excited about Friday night.?

Like Thie, Hesch has posted a mile best of three minutes, 59 seconds, and ? having been second twice and third last year ? he is ready to seize the spotlight from his pal and ?reverse the downward slide?.

?This year is probably the best year that I?ve come in fitness-wise. Every other year I have come in not quite sharp. It?s hard to be really sharp at this time of year but I?ve been running well lately,? said Hesch.

?The mile is probably a little short for me right now. If it was a 5K I could guarantee I would beat James but over the mile he is still going to be tough but I?ll be a lot closer than in past years.

I?ll definitely have a shot this year whereas maybe I didn?t in the past. Of all years, this will be my best year here.?

The California native, who was injured when he competed in the 2003 Bermuda International Race Weekend, has been healthy for the last five months and is raring to show his ability.

?I?ve been back in training almost a month now. On New Year?s I won the Midnight Run in New York and I knocked off Mark Carroll who is the Irish record holder for the 3K, 5K and 10K.?

Thie, 26, also expects to be pushed by the American ? and others.

?I think Christian Hesch is in great form but he is running a lot more longer distances. He will be thereabouts and the Kenyan guy who was second last year (Elkanah Angwenyi) is also a threat. There are a couple unknowns who I know are quality athletes too.?

Both athletes would love to break the four-minute mark but know that it will not solely depend on their skill.

?Breaking the four-minute mark would be the absolute dream. Obviously, the weather plays such an important part and we won?t know (what it will be like) until that evening whether the wind will hold off.

?The field this year I think is as good as it?s ever been. There?s as much quality as it?s ever had and that?s going to make it an even faster and more competitive race. That will help in getting us towards four minutes.

?It?s definitely possible to run four minutes on that course but it would have to be a fast race at the start,? noted Thie who plans to do a ?relaxed? 10K tomorrow morning.

The reigning champion cautioned that the Invitational Mile is a ?different race? each year and is not as simple as ?running four times around a track?.

?There?s a lot more tactics involved especially for some athletes when they see that Birdcage for the first time. It?s such a unique race and hopefully my experience in the last two years ? knowing how to win the race ? plays in my favour.?

Another factor which Thie plans to use to spur him on is the overwhelming crowd support along the harbour front.

?It?s a massive help. I couldn?t believe it the first time I was here. In the last 200 metres you can?t hear yourself think. It?s so loud. It?s amazing.

?I?ve been lucky to hit that tape first on two occasions so I?ve had most of the people cheering for me. It?s very special and I look forward to that again,? he said.

Hesch is hoping runners will be blessed by the good weather that has graced the Island in recent days as this would bolster his chances.

?If you put me on the track I could run four (minutes) flat right now. If we have the weather from three years ago I could just about replicate that but if we have last year?s weather then the results could be unpredictable,? said the 26-year-old alluding to the wretched conditions in which the 2004 Mile was contested.

Others lining up against Thie, Hesch and Angwenyi for the Mile are: Bashar Ibrahim of Kuwait, Juan Luis Barrios Nieves of Mexico, Aleksander Skvortsov of Russia, Kenya?s Eric Chirchic, Americans Nicholas Conway and Ian Connor and Bermuda?s Michael Donawa, who is likely to be used as the ?rabbit?.

Meanwhile, race secretary Pam Shailer has declared everything ready for the 30th edition of the annual athletics classic.

?Everyone is arriving and we?re ready to go. We?re still accepting late entries today between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. (at No.1 Passenger Shed) and we encourage the public to come out and support Race Weekend,? she said.