Top runners in the May 24 Marathon Derby have been given a $5,000 incentive to shatter the race records.

Sports R Us are offering the sum to the first male and female athletes to finish inside tough times set by the sponsors.

But to pocket the cash, the top male would have to shave one minute, 19 seconds off Kavin Smith's Derby record of 1:09:49, set in 1997.

And the top female would have to run under 1:19:07, significantly faster than Sandra Mewett's record time of 1:19:56.

Smith, still the Island's top road runner, would seem the one man in the field who could get close to the $5,000 prize standard of 1:08:30.

Last November in the Bermuda Sun Half Marathon, Smith ran the fastest time clocked by a Bermudian over the 13.1-mile distance, 1:08:51.

Not only will he have to knock 21 seconds off that time to win $5,000, but he will also have to run further -- the May 24 course runs 0.15 miles over the half-marathon distance.

Smith, who has in the past called for greater cash incentives for runners, welcomed news of the prize, but accepted it would require the race of his life to win it.

Asked if he could do it, Smith said: "I really don't know. I'll just have to see how it goes on the day, but I would not make a commitment to do it.

"It's a tough course and a tactical course, but I know how to run it. At the start it's very hilly so you can't afford to get excited and go out too fast or you pay for it.

"In the second half you have to run faster splits. It's often hot and dry so it's a tough race, but for me it's a fun race. It's the biggest race of the year for Bermuda and for me.'' Smith said he felt in great shape, despite cutting down on the amount of training he had done in past years and credited some of his success to his religion. "Ever since I accepted the good Lord as my saviour, I've been running better,'' he said.

Also in fine form is former Commonwealth Games marathon runner Brett Forgesson, another capable of challenging for the $5,000 prize.

Forgesson gave Smith his toughest local race of the year last Sunday, finishing just one second behind him in the Maple Leaf 10K.

Forgesson's wife Anna Eatherley is this year's top female road racer and her performance last weekend suggested she has a realistic chance of claiming the big money prize.

Eatherley smashed the Maple Leaf 10K record on the flat, fast course with a time of 37:16, but she played down her chances of winning the $5,000.

"If I tried to do it, I'd probably blow up,'' joked Eatherley.

"The prize is a good thing, but it doesn't make much difference to me, because I don't think about running for a time.

"May 24 is a half-marathon and a bit more and it will be hot. There's no way I could maintain that six-minute pace for that distance.'' Sports R Us manager Daren Mayeaux explained why the prize would only be given for times well under the current course records.

"It's a high cash prize and to win it, the athletes will have to get to the next level. This is an incentive for them to do that,'' he said.

"The money will enable the winner to go away and represent Bermuda and put us on the map.

"A lot of runners don't have goals, they just like to exercise, but I think we need to take it up a level from that.'' Kavin Smith: would need to run the race of his life to collect a cash bonus of $5,000 being offered by a local sports store to the first male who can finish in better than one hour, eight minutes and 30 seconds in this month's Marathon Derby.

RUNNING RUN