Tradition counts for nothing when it comes to the immediate task of winning the Wanamaker Mile. The Irish may have an enviable record in the race but Mark Carroll knows he won't have it easy when he attempts to defend his title in Madison Square Garden this evening.

"You have two Kenyans who are always hard to beat," says Carroll. "But I think it's definitely there for the taking. It is a very deep field compared to some previous years, but the important thing is to run my race and not get caught up too much in the early laps."

Last year, Carroll added his name to the long list of Irish winners, clocking three minutes 58.19 seconds. The legendary boards in the Garden have now been replaced by a synthetic Mondo track, and that has given greater advantage to the pure 1,500 metre runners.

Carroll - a 5,000 metre specialist - has been fine tuning his speed. Last weekend in Boston, the European Indoor champion clocked 1:48.93 for 800 metres and that should prove useful when it comes to fending off his opponents.

But it won't be easy. Included in the field are four finalists from the Olympic 1,500 metres - Bernard Lagat of Kenya, who took the bronze medal, as well as Jason Pyrah of the US, Kevin Sullivan of Canada and Daniel Zegeye of Ethiopia. Laban Rotich also of Kenya is another leading contender.

"That 800 metres time shows that my speed is not too far off," adds Carroll. "The training is still being geared towards the 3,000 metres at the world indoors in Lisbon. But I'm confident going into this that if I run smart then it's possible to win."

Also making the trip to New York is James Nolan, who finished runner-up to Carroll last year in 4:00.06. Nolan has yet to race indoors this season but has just fine-tuned his speed with a fortnight's training in Tenerife.

Daniel Caulfield provides the only other Irish interest on the men's side when he runs in the 800 metres. He clocked 1:48.06 when winning in Boston a week ago and in that sort of form, the US-based Dubliner could surprise the leading American Trinity Gray and veteran Johnny Gray.

Regina Jacobs returns from a long lay-off to seek a win in the women's mile. The American pulled out of the Sydney Games suffering from a mysterious respiratory infection but is reported to be back to her best. Ireland's 1,500 metre Olympian Sinead Delahunty is among the entries.