The KPMG Invitational Front Street Mile kicks off International Race Weekend tonight with British pair James Thie and Neil Speaight among the favourites to win the Elite Male Mile.

Thie and Speaight have both won the race in the past, with Speaight triumphing in 2007 and then coming third last year. Thie, who won back-to-back races in 2003 and 2004 missed out last year through injury, and will fancy his chances of claiming a third title.

They will face some tough competition from local runner Chris Estwanik, who has a personal best of 3:55 over the distance, and American Ryan Woods, who won eight road races in 2008, and has a PB of 3:43.7 over 1500 metres.

"I'm feeling really, really good," said Thie. "I missed the race last year because I was injured and it's great to be back. I flew in on Tuesday night and have been doing some running, and Neil Speaight and I also did a KPMG masterclass for some youngsters up at the National Stadium on Wednesday.

"We talked to them about running, and the need to keep fit and healthy, but we also did a practical session where we eneded up having them do a mile relay. They ran that in four and a half minutes, and it showed them what you can do with team work, but also how hard it would be to run a four-minute mile on your own."

The four-minute mile is not the magical barrier it once was in the sport, and yet it has never been done in Bermuda. As much to do with the conditions as the lay-out of the course, the $10,000 prize for doing so remains in the bank.

"It's never been done in Bermuda before, and the record is 4:02.06 set by Leonard Mucheru in 2002, but he was in fantastic shape, and ran a 3:55 the next day on the track in New York which tells you how well he was running at the time" said Thie.

"I think in Bermuda you would need everything to be perfect, for the weather to be perfect, for your fitness to be perfect, and I think you'd also need a couple of runners to sacrifice themselves to get the pack out.

"I think though that as long as it's a great race then everyone will be happy. Obviously breaking four minutes would be a big thing, but last year half a second separated fifth from first, so it's going to be close."

For Thie, who has a personal best of 3:57.86, the time he runs is less important than coming first – the win's the thing.

"Really it's all about crossing the line first, that's what matters," he said. "You can lose seconds when the pack bunches up together. Neil and I have talked about it and I think the winning time will be somewhere between 4:10 and 4:07, but I won it in horrendous conditions in 4:18 and it didn't make any difference to the way I felt.

"That's the feeling you want. I can't wait to get out on Front Street again."

This year there will also be an elite women's mile for the first time, and the event has attracted some big overseas names.

Jamaican Kenia Sinclair will be among the favourites for that race, having finished sixth in the 800 metres at the Olympic Games in Beijing last summer. She has a personal best of 1:58.16 over the distance and won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2006.