Kavin Smith is picking his races these days. Reasons vary from wear and tear to lack of incentive to weight of expectation, but the upshot is that the Island's leading distance runner will be missing from International Race Weekend for the second successive year.

Smith, who turns 35 in less than a fortnight, has not raced since the CAC Cross-Country Championships, held at Port Royal Golf Club on November 17 and 18, when he helped Bermuda to a third-place finish in the men's team event.

But the seven-time Marathon Derby champion has no desire to mix it up with the best that the race committee has to offer, in terms of elite overseas runners, not to mention Jay Donawa, the national cross-country champion and heir apparent to Smith's mantle as King of the Road.

"My consideration for running took me up to CAC championships," Smith said yesterday. "I'm run out and now I'm just on the down-low."

Donawa, who won the traditional season-opener, the Princess to Princess Race, stands out as the premier local runner entered in the International 10K, but Smith appears more concerned about being right for what he considers a priority on May 24.

"I have had bad Achilles and it is time to give my body a break," Smith added. "It has been a problem for almost five years but when I start running again, I'll put a lot in like I always do."

But, for him to begin his training with a view to peaking in January, Smith gives the impression that the $200 on offer to the top local in Saturday's race does not cut it.

"Every time you speak about incentives, you hear about runners being greedy or wanting too much or whatever," he said. "But yet we are always looking for ways to bring overseas runners to run in January. We'll encourage them to come and run faster, but what about us?

"What it took for me to accomplish in the last year cost major sacrifices in my life. I work 40 hours a week or sometimes more, I've got train in the morning, I've got to train at night-time, I've got to train lunchtime, I've got to find time to go to sleep — That sacrifice allowed me to get where I was . Now how am I going to get to the next level?

"The lack of incentive is not a thorn in my side but it stands out. I've already shown that I run regardless. I might make my statements, but I still run my best.

"I grew up during a transitional period but what about the new athlete who has grown up in the time of incentives. With Bermuda being economically run, in my opinion, money talks, but only in certain circles.

"It's not only me. People talk about road running falling off. I've won May 24 by over eight minutes, normally by five minutes. Why? Why isn't the next man putting more in it?"

What also riles Smith is the response he receives from the public when, as expected, elite runners rise to the head of the class every January.

"If Kavin goes out there and has a bad day or does not do as well as he normally does, he gets beat up for it," Smith added. "You gets people saying, 'What happened? You couldn't stand up against the foreign boys.' But those foreign boys brought their level with them. I had to enter it and you don't do that on your first run.

"I'm not bitter. I'm going to be 35 soon but I can still go out there and throw down. The main determining factor (for missing International Race Weekend) was my health. I was born with my Achilles out of alignment but thanks to the running technique I had, I was able to run so long without injury."