Organisers of next April's inaugural International Senior Games were yesterday forced to defend their decision to first announce the ballyhooed `Dream Mile' event at a press conference in New York prior to yesterday's media gathering in Bermuda.

The race is set to feature living legends Jim Ryun of the United States and Australia's Ron Clarke, two of the premier distance runners in history.

Bob Robustelli, president of Robustelli Sports Marketing and the firm promoting the Senior Games as well as the annual Bermuda Bowl college football game, went so far as to apologise to the local media for the snub.

However, he stressed that there was no definitive reason for allowing foreign media to get the first details of a Bermuda event.

"What we tried to do was get them as close as we could and there really was no reasoning behind it, to be honest with you,'' he said. "We just felt we'd do it first in New York and then come to Bermuda and do it today, there wasn't any specific reason,'' said Robustelli from his office in Stamford, Connecticut.

Told that the situation could have been perceived as a slight to Bermuda, especially with the Games being promoted as an Island event, Robustelli responded by saying: "I appreciate what you're saying and naturally we do not mean to slight anybody and if we did we apologise.

"I think sometimes the way we look at it is that we need exposure in the US.

We feel, first for the participants of the games, that we need to get into The New York Times and all the major papers that we need to get it into.

"I do apologise if there was a crossover on it and I will be sure to discuss it with the powers that be here in regards to the situation.'' He added: "Most of the time, with the Bermuda Bowl and Senior Games, we're usually up front with Bermuda first and then go backwards. I think you know us well enough, we're on the Island to bring good programmes there and to work with the Bermudians and, again, if there was a problem then we'll be very sensitive to that the next time.'' Ryun and Clarke were two of the greatest distance runners in history, yet they have never met competitively. Finally, after all these years, they will face each other here next April.

There won't be much at stake, however -- and that's just the way they prefer it now. At their age -- Ryun is 48, Clarke is 58 -- they're running for fun and enjoyment.

The Games, where there will be competition in more than 20 sports, is supposed to be limited to athletes 50 years and older, but exceptions are being made for the Dream Mile and cricket.

"When I think of the great distance runners, I think of Ron Clarke,'' Ryun told reporters on Tuesday in New York. "His achievements haven't been matched.'' For the record, Clarke set 18 world records in eight different events between two miles and 20,000 metres and earned a bronze medal at 10,000 metres in the 1964 Olympic Games.

Ryun was not as versatile as Clarke, but just as effective. He broke the world mile record twice, and the 1,500 metre and 880 yard records once each, and won the silver medal for the 1,500 at the 1968 Games.

He still competes on the track and on the roads, but not with the zeal he had as a youngster.

"He doesn't take it as seriously as he did when he was 20 years old,'' his wife, Anne, said. "He wants to stay fit. As far as running fast times and winning, you get past that.

"You don't have to prove yourself. Now, you feel pain that you didn't feel when you were younger. That's when I say to him, `Jim, you're not old. When you're 95, you're old'.'' Clarke, who generally doesn't run competitively anymore, is making an exception for the Dream Mile.

He won't be lacking for conditioning, however. He stays in shape by running about an hour each day. And he has run health clubs in London for several years, where he has worked out, and is opening a huge tourist development resort and Olympic training centre in South Stradbroke Island off the Gold Coast in Australia, when he will have the opportunity to remain in condition.

"I'm not all that competitive,'' Clarke said. "I just like to run.

"People should be active, even through their 80s and 90s. They should run in the right spirit. I think competition among older people is great.

"It's the event, not the prize at the end. There should be less emphasis on winning and more on competing. When I ran, I was disappointed when the race was over. If I won, I knew I had beaten my best friends. If I lost, I beat me.

Afterward, I was already looking forward to the next event. Athletics is such a pleasure.'' Ryun has some of the same thoughts as Clarke.

"As you get older, you realise that everyone can compete,'' he said. "Age doesn't matter.

"I'm in running shape, but not in great shape. I enjoy training, but my body doesn't enjoy it.'' Ryun generally runs about five to seven miles a day, but he has some niggling injuries and now is reduced to cycling and cross training to stay in shape.

Despite his age, Ryun's accomplishments have not been forgotten, and there are those who still think he can run fast. For example, when he was in Stockholm, Sweden, last year for a mile race, he was asked about the possibility of running four minutes, 10 seconds.

"I didn't realise my legs had slowed down,'' Ryun said. "I ran a `blazing' 5:19.''