four-minute thing'' is going to stay in the Bank of Butterfield vault for some time.

The much-ballyhooed prize, which is being offered to the first runner to complete the mile under four minutes, will remain an elusive one because "the course record is 4:04 and that's got to tell you something,'' Freary said matter-of-factly.

"I remember a year ago seeing the course and course record, too, and I thought to myself, `these guys are pretty good.' Guys like Steve Cram and Joe Falcon have tried it, so I thought if they weren't running sub-four it's a pretty tough course.'' Still, Freary -- who finished a respectable fifth (4:12.9) during his first foray in the International Race Weekend event a year ago -- will be in hot pursuit of the five-figure dollar prize when he lines up at the starting line on Front Street tomorrow night at 8.50 p.m.

The native of Bolton, England, who also finished first in last year's Princess to Princess race and was eighth in the 10-K (32:15), arrived in Bermuda on Monday night with two goals firmly entrenched in his mind -- to finish in the top three in the mile and top five of Saturday's 10-K.

But it will be Michal Bartoszak of Poland and Joe Falcon of the United States who will be feeling most of the heat tomorrow as they resume their super-charged rivalry.

Bartoszak was the winner a year ago in 4:05.1, with Falcon winning in 1992 in 4:04.16, the course record.

That suits Freary, 25, just fine as the wiry, soft-spoken Englishman prefers to chase his goals away from the spotlight.

"It's just a case of running my own game,'' Freary said between bites of chicken and french fries and sips of orange juice during lunch yesterday.

"But I thought everything was great last year and I really enjoyed it. The crowd, the size of it, I was really surprised when I got down there. It was amazing, I didn't expect that many people. And I really wanted to come back.'' Freary's ambitious plan for a top-three finish is hardly unexpected when measured against the year that followed 1993 Race Weekend. Just last month he made the English cross-country team and helped his country to a strong showing at an event in Turin, Italy.

"The last few weeks I've been keeping the mileage down and doing the harder kind of work, so that's all under the belt now,'' he said. "Just a few strides now to loosen up to keep the legs moving.'' Freary keeps those legs moving at least three times each week as one of 15 Bolton Harriers, who train together and run every Sunday in the northwestern English town. "Strength-wise, I think I'm in good shape. I've been doing more hill work recently. Last year I didn't do as much on hills.

"Next track season I want to concentrate on the 5-K with a view of dropping down to 1,500 metres. I mean I've got the speed, but being so close to four minutes in the mile I think it's just the stamina I'm lacking. So the idea is to step up training and come down for short races.'' The son of former British 10,000 metres record-breaker Mike Freary, the runner is also hoping to crack England's Commonwealth Games squad with an eye towards his first Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996.

Since arriving in Bermuda, however, Freary has done track work at National Stadium and took a glance at the 10-K route he will be running on Saturday -- on his rented motor bike.

"I had forgotten a lot about it (the route),'' he said. "I seem to remember it from last year and that it was really fast the first five kilometres out to Flatts and then we turned and it seemed to be really tough. But I went down yesterday (Tuesday) and it's like a big climb at a mile and a half. I think maybe I had a slower bike this year,'' he said, laughing.

"(Belgian runner) Eddy Hellebuyck said he's going to run 28 something, which is real fighting talk.

"But, seriously, I think having run it last year will be a big advantage for me. When it starts to hurt you're kind of ready for it. I'll be trying to hold back during the first half. Once you get to North Shore that's when it gets a bit tough.'' Mile-wise, the blue-eyed Freary has produced his best time on track (4:01) and on the road has clocked 4:05, "but in England courses tend to be winding, not many straight miles like the one here. One course record for the mile there is something like 3:26, but I wouldn't run it. It's just too dangerous, so steep downhill.'' The only danger he faces tomorrow is the infamous crosswinds along Front Street, which often play havoc with the outcome. The early forecast for tomorrow is cool temperatures (in the mid-60s) with rain and wind gusts in the 15 to 20-knot range.

"Michal (Bartoszak) really went out hard last year,'' he said. "He obviously wanted to break four minutes. I think I was 2:22.3 halfway and he was up a little bit, so he was really on for it.'' Freary, nails chewed almost completely, hopes to some day leave his civil service job and run full time, "but right now I've got to pay the bills and I still haven't won that $10,000 yet. Heck, I haven't even won the $1,000.'' At 105 pounds and six feet tall, he is achingly thin, with his next stop the Miami Mile.

"I wouldn't like you to dwell on it, though,'' he told a reporter. "I don't want the Bermuda organisers to think that I was kind of using this as a stepping stone for that. Bermuda was the priority for last few months I've been aiming at.'' And if all goes well this weekend, Freary will be aiming at "a beer on Saturday night, but no more than two.'' Runners are reminded that registration and number pick-up begins today at 4 p.m. at Number One Shed.

PAUL FREARY -- Realistic about breaking four-minute mile on Front Street.