Things are getting serious for tonight's KPMG Front Street Mile, so serious infact that Bermuda's fastest resident miler Chris Estwanik tried a pre-morning practice run around the Bird Cage earlier this week.

His attempt was less successful that he would have liked and he now wonders if there might be a better technique.

Before that train of thought leads elsewhere Bermuda International Race Weekend's Peter Lever has indicated that glue might be applied to the road island obstacle that forms part of this evening's challenge to thwart anyone thinking of grabbing hold of it as they swing around.

And who can blame the organisers for doing so when a tasty $10,000 bounty is on offer for the first man to run a sub-four minute mile on the course.

Three of the men who will be racing for that prize met up late yesterday at a gathering of some of the elite athletes.

Estwanik is a lead local on the strength of a number of sub-4 times he has run. He officially retired from athletics in 2006, but the 27-year-old American is still capable of fast times, as he demonstrated two weeks ago posting the second fastest time ever for the Fairmont to Fairmont road race.

A former track competitor American Jon Rankin appears a daunting prospect for anyone looking to win the mile. Rankin ran a three minutes 53 seconds mile last year and was third in New York's Fifth Avenue Mile.

He and Bermuda's Michael Donawa, who is chalked as race rabbit, are both trained by Joaquim Cruz who beat British middle-distance legend Sebastion Coe to gold in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

"I've worked with Coach Cruz since 2006 and I've gained a lot and I'm a better runner since I trained with him. I feel I've benefited greatly," said Rankin.

Both he and Donawa share a sense of awe and wonderment at being fortunate enough to be coached by the Brazilian great.

Asked about how he feels he will fair in a mile road race rather than a track race, Rankin pointed to his strong performance in last year's Fifth Avenue race.

He added: "A mile road race is quite a unique experience. The hardest thing is to work out your pace. But it is still fun and it feels fast."

Donawa, younger brother of the Island's well-known distance runner Jay, has competed in the Front Street Mile on many occasions.

"We will run fast whatever the weather is like. You have to commit to it early if you believe you can do it," he said.

Estwanik is experiencing race weekend for the first time, having relocated to the Island after marrying Bermuda's Commonwealth Games runner Ashley Couper.

Ashley has called him in the US in previous years when she has taking part in race weekend, but Estwanik thought she might be exaggerating when she described how important the event was to Bermuda.

He said: "But now I understand what this race means to the country, it has such importance. People come out and really support this thing."

Two Kenyan athletes Florence Jepkosgei and Philip Koech, who will compete in the 10K and half-marathon, were tired but happy to have made the trip to Bermuda. The pair endured a extremely long air trip from Nairobi, via London and New York to reach the Island, and indicated that recent unrest in Kenya had affected their travel preparations.

It is six years since Lioudmila Kortchaguina, a Russian/Canadian, last took part in the running festival, a former Bermuda Race Weekend Marathon champion, she has opted to run the 10K and half-marathon this time around.

Although she had an injury in the autumn, she said: "I love to be here and I wanted to come back to show my daughter."