Marcus O'Sullivan and Said Aouita plied their trade upon the track and on the road.

No more.

These days the Bermudian runner would like nothing more than to beat such running legends and tonight he gets a crack at doing exactly that when he lines up on Front Street among a group of elite runners for the Bank of Butterfield Mile.

The loquacious Irishman O'Sullivan, with 90 sub-four minute miles over an illustrious career, is among the eight-member field and is favoured to repeat his victory of a year ago, when he edged Tony Whiteman by nine tenths of a second, clocking four minutes, six seconds.

Much more low-key -- and not nearly as decorated -- is Armstrong. However, he is no less determined to show that he too is of world class standard.

Armstrong has a converted best time of between 4:02 and 4:03, which, if duplicated tonight certainly would put him in prime position.

"I can't say that I look up to them,'' said Armstrong, fifth a year ago in 4:15.7. "I used to as a youngster, but now I aspire to be on the same level as them.

"I respect everyone as athletes, but to look up to them would mean that I'm below them and I want to get to the same level.'' Still, the local will be hard pressed to keep pace, especially with tonight's event being only his second race of the year.

Last week saw Armstrong compete in New York as a member of the Reebok Enclave racing team during the New Balance Games.

Racing on an indoor track, he placed third in the mile in 4:11, a performance which he said raised the ire of coach Frank Gagliano.

"Being only my second race there's no guarantee what my conditioning will be like and how I'm going to stand (tonight),'' continued Armstrong, who only arrived home yesterday afternoon from his base in Washington, DC. "I have only the one race since last summer and basically I'm training in preparation for next season on the track and I'm not looking to peak or anything for this race.

"It'll be more of the same as always, sit back, get a feel and see what I have left at the end.'' Emphasising that he was unaware of the form of any of those listed to compete, Armstrong tipped O'Sullivan and Englishman Paul Freary for the title if it boiled down to a sprint finish.

Regardless of how he fares, Armstrong is glad to be back among his family, friends and the people of his homeland, noting it to be a special occasion whenever he visits.

"It means a lot to me coming home,'' he said. "People respect me as a runner and I love to perform well here for them and for me.

"They cheer me on and really get behind myself and the other local runners like Jay Donawa, Kavin Smith ... "It feels so good to know that there's so many people behind us and that I'm out there representing my country.'' While Armstrong successfully found his way to Bermuda, his Haitian team-mate Pascal Bernier, also scheduled to compete in the Elite Mile did not. Bernier missed yesterday's flight from Washington, but is expected to arrive today.