On May 7 at about 9 p.m., following the annual All-City track and field meet at Santa Rosa High, two elite mile fields will compete for a purse of nearly $6,000. Included among the men’s runners will be three professionals who have run a mile in under four minutes and another, former Cardinal Newman and Oregon standout J.K. Withers, who has a run a 4:03. In addition, Aeron Arlin Genet will attempt to break the women’s Masters (over 40) mile record of 4:46.29. Genet was part of a team that set the Masters world record in the 4x800 meter relay in Boston earlier this year.

As of March, 347 Americans had broken the four-minute barrier since Cal’s Don Bowden clocked a 3:58.7 in 1957.

Aldridge joined the club in 1981 — becoming the 111th American to do so — but he never did it in Sonoma County because the area doesn’t host elite-level meets.

Aldridge and Greg Fogg, co-owners of Heart & Sole Sports in Santa Rosa, have wanted to change that for several years. And their desire became a reality when local track enthusiast Peter Massi gave about $3,000 to attract top runners. The rest of the purse was contributed by the Empire Runners Club.