High school standout Ryan Hall will attempt to become the second prep athlete to crack the four-minute-mile barrier and running fans will get a chance to watch plenty of world-class competition on Saturday as the eighth edition of the New Balance Maine Distance Festival kicks off at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.

The meet begins at 5:15 p.m.

While the meet does offer four events for high school stars – 800s and mile runs for both boys and girls – Hall will instead compete against the elite men’s runners in his quest for a four-minute mile.

With a best time under 4:03 and a 3:45 1,500-meter under his belt in last year’s elite Maine Distance Festival race, Hall is hoping the vets pull him under the mile’s magic mark.

Hall, who ran for Big Bear (Calif.) High School, will face Maine native Erik Nedeau, Olympian Jason Lunn, and NCAA 5,000-meter champ Jonathon Riley of Stanford.

Several athletes in the meet are hoping to take advantage of the generally comfortable Maine temperatures and enthusiastic Maine crowd to run times that will qualify them for this summer’s World Championships. The Worlds will be held in Edmonton, Alberta, in August.

Other highlights of the meet, which packs race after competitive race into a three-hour time period:

. Nicole Teter and Jen Toomey finished third and fourth in the women’s 800 at the recent U.S. Championships, but are hoping to run fast enough to quailfy for Edmonton. Jamaican Michelle Ballantine has the same goal.

. Worlds qualifier Otukile Lekote of Botswana and the University of South Carolina will battle with meet record holder Jess Strutzel in the men’s 800.

. The high school races will again give Mainers the chance to take on some of the best runners in the Northeast.

Hampden Academy’s Oriana Farley will race against Chantelle Dron of Manchester, N.H., Kim Whipkey of Portland’s Deering High, and Emily Sheffield of Marshwood of Eliot in a competitive girls 800.

Kyle Massey of Waterville defends his 800 crown against Erick Colon, who has run 1:54.9 this year, while high school teammates Matt Maline and Phil Gaeta of Oakton High in Virginia take aim at Ben Fletcher’s meet record (4:15.64).

The girls mile will feature North Yarmouth Academy’s Bridget Gagne, Canadian Caroline Tucker, and Carolyn Shea, the Class A state champ.