The Irish return home this weekend to take on hundreds of participants in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country, the 26thMeyo Invitational, inside the Loftus Sports Center on Friday and Saturday.
The meet will feature roughly 50 teams that represent different conferences, including the Big Ten, SEC, Big East and the ACC.
The 'Meyo Mile' will feature runners attempting to break the four-minute barrier, a noteworthy accomplishment.
"People from all across the country come in and everybody tries to break four minutes," freshman distance runner Josh O'Brien said. "Historically we have a professional runner who paces the run. For fans that are interested, you might not ever see this again in your lifetime," O'Brien said.
In each of the past two seasons, senior Jeremy Rae earned first place in the mile run while cracking the prestigious four-minute mark. Rae turned in a time of 3:59.31 last year, falling just short of his 2011 time of 3:59.62. The senior is injured this season and no member of the Irish will participate in this mile sprint.
The Irish will be looking to turn in a strong performance this weekend in preparation for the Big East championships.
"Coach [Joe] Piane has been stressing that we get in a good week of practice," O'Brien said. "We need to be sharp and prepared come race time. Our previous training is designed for us to do well in this meet. We have worked on faster repeats to sharpen up our form."
The Meyo Invitational begins Friday and runs through Saturday, concluding with the men's 4x400 meter relay.
Contact Rich Hidy at rhidy@nd.edu
