Only three other high school athletes have ever done it, and they were all older than Rae.

When the organizers of Thursday's event learned Rae was planning a trip to an American meet this weekend to try and break the barrier, they watched him race last week and decided he was ready for the big stage.

"We turned away guys a lot faster than Jeremy. But this is a unique situation, and that's why we decided to send out the invitation," said Dave Reid, one of the event's organizers.

"It's going to be nothing like he has ever experienced, but he seems like he can handle the pressure. He has a good head on his shoulders and he understands what's happening. This is not just a meet with some good guys – they are all good guys."

The pressure on Rae will be immense. He'll be racing in front of more spectators, more cameras and more top runners than ever.

But if ever there was an ideal setup to post a new personal best time and break the barrier, this is it.

With a field of 15 runners in the one-mile race, Rae will have more than a dozen rabbits to chase as he tries to do what so few juniors have done before.

"I understand they're all at the pro level and I haven't even been through university yet. So I understand I'll come through last, but I'll be hitting my own splits and I'll have my own agenda. And I won't be far off. There's no goal to place well, it's all just about time," he said.

Time will be everything Thursday night.

If everything stays on schedule, Rae's race will start at 7:55 p.m. and by 8 p.m. he'll either be celebrating a milestone or thinking about how he could have made up mere seconds.

"I watched him run the other day (at the provincials) and he ran a 3:45 (1,500m). That's close to a 3:42, which is a four-minute mile, and I don't think he's going to be outclassed," said Reid, who himself missed breaking the barrier as a junior by just three-tenths of a second.

Rae's 3:45 at the provincials – the second-fastest time in the history of the OFSAA event – converts to a 4:03 mile. And the 1500m final Friday came less than 24 hours after the qualifying race.

"The fact I led the whole thing and with the (qualifying) heats the day before, I wasn't exactly 100 per cent. I think I do have a good chance if I feel as good as I did at OFSAA. I think I have the best chance out of anyone in North America."

Rae, who signed a scholarship deal with the University of Notre Dame in Indiana recently, trained Monday night at Oakes Park, with longtime coach Mike Young from the Niagara Regional Athletics.

He might do a little light jogging today and Wednesday, but mainly he'll be resting for his big night.

"It's going to be amazing. I'm really thankful I have this opportunity. I was planning on doing it in Chicago, but the fact I'm going to try and hopefully do it on Canadian soil just means more to me," he said. "And TSN will be showing it live, so friends and family will be able to watch it."

With apologies to Lakeshore Catholic, he won't be going to school Thursday.

"I was thinking about going to school, but I would have to wake up a bit too early, so I don't think I'm going to go that day," he said.

There's a pre-race gathering for all of the athletes at a hotel near the track, but Rae said he'll likely pass on that, too.

"If I hang around with the pro athletes, I'll probably get too nervous. I'll be racing against three Olympians from Beijiing and they're all guys I look up to. I won't beat them, but to be within 10 seconds of them is really exciting," he said.

Mike Young, who has coached Rae for about six years at Niagara Regional Athletics, said one thing that makes Rae a great runner is his endurance during runs and his recovery after them.

“He has a big aerobic capacity – his oxygen uptake is high. He can run at his maximum for a long time,” Young said.

Rae trains with Young about three days a weeks. Sessions include sprints to build speed, weight training to build muscle strength and long runs. Rae runs about 50 kilometres a week, which is a bit lower than most of his competitors.

sports@nfreview.com

With files from Sun Media