RECORDS, according to the old clich?, are made to be broken.

But as another International Race Weekend approaches, it seems those set in the Island's premier road running festival more than 20 years ago won't come any closer to being cracked this weekend than they have over the past decade or more.

Yet to suggest, as some have, that the long-standing records might not be legitimate, that perhaps there was a flaw in the official timing or the courses weren't properly measured, is clearly wide of the mark - an insult to not only those who treasure those records but to the thousands of international and local athletes who have competed over the years.

Road running, maybe more than any other sport, is very much an individual pursuit where finishing time means so much more than finishing position. To the vast majority who compete, their place in the field is of far less value than their time.

Everybody likes to set personal goals and to that end performance is normally gauged by what the clock reads when an athlete crosses the finish line and not by how many runners are in front or behind.

Thus, such a suggestion, attempts not only to invalidate records set by some of the greatest runners the sport has ever witnessed, but also the personal records of hundreds of others.

In the case of the International 10K, there's little doubt that when Englishman Geoff Smith (28.14) and Norway's Grete Waitz (31.41) romped into the record books in 1982, the course was accurately measured and the time properly recorded.

Both were then considered two of the world's leading athletes. And they were pushed to those limits by a quality international field far deeper in talent than the Island has seen in years since. More than a dozen runners that year went under 30 minutes, an occurrence that has never been duplicated.

The course itself was measured by American Dave Katz who previously had been held responsible for the accuracy of the New York Marathon. It's difficult to imagine he would have made a mistake.

And in any case the local 10K route has, bar very slight changes at start and finish, followed exactly the same route since it was first run in the late 1970s - from National Stadium to Flatts via Middle Road and back to the Stadium via North Shore, Palmetto Hill and Frog Lane.

As for the marathon record set by Englishman Andy Holden (2:15.20) 23 years ago, no-one has come close to threatening his mark. There might be an argument that the course he ran was slightly less arduous than the two-loop 26.2 mile route now employed.

But again that course adhered to the then measuring standards laid down by the IAAF.

In the 1980s road running was enjoying a worldwide boom in popularity and Bermuda was fortunate enough to have attracted some of the fastest distance runners on the planet.

Since then there's been a steady decline and while world records have continued to be lowered, many have been set on courses tailor-made for fast times - unlike Bermuda's which, particularly in adverse weather conditions, are considered abnormally tough.

It should come as no surprise that the records of Smith, Waitz and Holden remain in tact.

Athletes such as Kenyan world record holder Tegla Laroupe, who will compete in tomorrow's 10K, continue to offer International Race Weekend five-star quality.

But even she would admit that breaking a mark set by the legendary Waitz would require an extraordinary performance.

BTFA president Judy Simmons says she has no intention of having the old courses remeasured. And she's right.

Bermuda's fastest times were set by very special athletes. And it's going to take a very special effort to see them erased from the record books.

AS mentioned, numbers for the weekend races are down this year. And while the continued economic slump in the US might be partially responsible, that doesn't tell the whole story.

The extortionate entry fees demanded by Bermuda Track and Field Association are a more likely reason for runners shying away.

BTFA registration has doubled in the last year to $50 and entry fees for the 10K, half and full marathon posted after December 1 are costing a further $50.

That amounts to an awfully expensive T-shirt.

STILL on Race Weekend, it would be a welcome change this year if those responsible for the local TV and radio coverage showed a little more respect for our international guests.

Year after year it seems the various on-course commentators, from the Front Street Mile through to Sunday's marathon, fail to identify runners correctly and when they do, become completely tongue-tied in their struggle to pronounce names - particularly those of Russian and other Eastern European origin.

Calling out numbers as the runners pass by, or referring to them by their first name because the surname is too difficult to pronounce, is of little help to those trying to follow the event.

A little research and a lot more preparation would be much appreciated.