A higher calibre of overseas runner will be competing in next year's International Race Weekend, if organisers get their way.

New major backers are being sought to join forces with current main sponsor the Bank of Butterfield so bigger prizes can be offered to attract better athletes.

Planning to make next year's road running extravaganza an event fit to bring in the new Millennium has already started, in the immediate aftermath of last weekend's successful event.

The race committee met this week to discuss what could have been done better this year and to suggest improvements for next year, said chairman Philip Guishard.

"We are planning a bumper year 2000 event, but just what the changes will be we are not yet sure -- everything costs money,'' said Guishard.

Top priority would be to bring in athletes capable of being the first to run the Front Street mile in less than four minutes.

In recent years, milers entering the event have tended to be those with personal bests of over 3 minutes, 55 seconds.

"If we could get three or four with times just below 3:55, then we would stand a good chance of breaking four minutes,'' said Guishard.

"Inevitably, with the unique challenges of the Front Street course, it is going to need someone who has run around 3:54 to do it.'' This year's winner, American Karl Paranya, ran 4:06 to claim the $1,000 first prize. The bonus on offer to a sub-four-minute winner was $10,000.

Guishard accepted bigger prizes were needed to attract a top performer who would train specifically to achieve the time, but rejected any criticism of the sponsors.

"The Bank of Butterfield puts over $100,000 up for this event and we have never before had sponsorship at that level,'' he said.

The bank's three-year deal to sponsor Race Weekend will expire next year, but Guishard said the company had indicated it would be happy to share sponsorship with another major backer next year to boost the prize purse.

Guishard felt the 10K could also "be moved up to the next level'', as it now enjoyed international recognition and the $1,000 prize money needed to be increased.

Reflecting on the highs and lows of last weekend, Guishard had no doubt what had been the biggest disappointment for the organisers.

"If there was one thing which really upset us, it was not seeing Terrance Armstrong run in the mile. He was ready for the race and so were the Bermuda public.'' The Island's Commonwealth Games 1500 metres finalist was forced to withdraw from Friday's showpiece when his flight from the US was cancelled due to bad weather.

Armstrong has stated his aim to be the first Bermudian to run a sub-four-minute mile and his presence would have added to the crowds on the Hamilton waterfront.

Another to pull out of the mile late was Jerry Lawson, the US marathon record holder, who told Guishard "his training had gone beyond what it should have done and he needed to rest''.

But overall, Guishard was delighted with the way Race Weekend had panned out and he said he was grateful to the many volunteers who had made it a success.

There were two remarkable performances from senior runners over the weekend.

Local runner Harry Patchett won the over-50s category in the 10K, finishing 20th overall in a time of 37:18.

And in the half-marathon he went one better by breaking the age group record.

He also won the over-50s category and again finished 20th overall. His time for the 13.1-mile run was 1:24:52, comfortably beating Sidney Howards's 1:26:06, the previous best set in 1995.

American Joe Fernandez, 70, a regular visitor to Race Weekend, broke records for the 70-plus category in both the 10K and the half-marathon.

He ran 44:17 to finish 68th overall in the 10K and was 59th home in the longer distance in a time of 1:37:41.

John Nassenaar, who ran Saturday's 10K in 35:28, was the third Bermuda resident to finish and not Sylvester Jean-Pierre, as inadvertently stated in Monday's Royal Gazette .