list of foreign entries expected to grace local shores for International Race Weekend next Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Baretto, from Mexico will be out looking to emulate last year's stellar performance in the ADT Bermuda 10-K where he blew away the field, including then defending champion Ed Eyestone, while Russian runner Krestyaninov again tackles the ADT Bermuda Marathon.

A 1988 Olympian, Baretto set a blistering pace along with Russian Alexander Saprykin with and 29:23 clocking was just over a minute outside the record of 28:14 held by Briton Geoff Smith. His personal best time is 27:50 all of which warrants him carrying the tag of favourite.

Other notables in the 10-K field are Steve Boyd (Canada), Albaro Palacios (US), and Pan American gold medallist Ivo Machado Rodriguez of Brazil, and Mexican Mario Guiterrez.

"The word is certainly getting around about our races here in Bermuda,'' said organiser Peter Lever. "The athletes also seem to like the way we house some of them with other runners.'' Krestyaninov similarly spoiled a returning champion's `homecoming' in '92 when he beat American Robert Yara by almost three minutes to win in a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes and 55 seconds.

Yara, a consistent 2:20 performer, is back for revenge and Krestyaninov will also have to watch out for another American, Gary Gargasz, has a career best of 2:15:24 and ran a 2:16:42 at Grandma's, Duluth last year.

Leading the female list in the absence of last year's champion, Valentina Shateika, is another runner from the former Soviet Union, Firiya Sutanova.

With Sutanova, who was the Russian champion in 1991, boasting an impressive 2:34:16 as her personal best the race record of 2:42:47 appears to be in serious jeopardy.

Add to that the possibility of England's Gillian Horovitz being here to challenge her along the way and the female section should prove entertaining fare.

Not to be forgotten are Kim Goff and local marathon queen Sandra Mewett.

Goff, hailing from Rhode Island, has 39 full marathons to her credit including four in 1992 while Mewett possesses the best time for local women, running under 2:38 in Houston, Texas in 1989.

Competition from the Hamilton Spectator Indoor Games and the Bali Mile, where $1,000,000 is being offered for anyone breaking the world record, have made it hard for recruiting top name athletes for this year's Bank of Butterfield Elite Mile.

Of the 12 foreigners pencilled in so far the threesome of Michael Bartoszak (Poland), Dave Reid (Canada) and Todd Lewis (US) are on record of having broken the four minute barrier for the mile. There is $10,000 up for grabs for the person that does so next Friday night on Front Street.

Not seeking an unprecedented `three-peat' is Dutchwoman Wilma van Onna, winner of the 10-K for the past two years. Instead the field contains several new faces all of which have a reasonable shot.

One of those, Anne Marie Letko has impeccable credentials having won the 1991 World University Games 10,000 metres and recently running second in the Barbados 10-K in 33:13. There is substantial bonus money for those able to break any of the existing marathon records -- $10,000 for open male and female and $5,000 for the local records.

There will be a meeting of all International Race Weekend volunteers at Police Recreation Club next Tuesday at 5.45 p.m. Official T-shirts will be distributed.

RETURN VISITORS -- 10K champion Marcos Baretto (left) will be back, while former marathon winners Sergey Krestyaninov and Robert Yara (right) will again do battle.