New Zealand's Nick Willis walks off the track after winning the men's special mile run at the Drake Relays athletics meet, Saturday, April 27, 2013, in Des Moines, Iowa.

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Training as a world-class runner while trying to raise an infant son can be a tricky proposition, so Ann Arbor's Nick Willis, a former University of Michigan runner, has found a way to do both:

He’s bringing some of the country’s best competition to him.

Willis, a silver medalist for New Zealand in the 1,500 meters at the 2008 Olympics and ninth place finisher in 2012, has organized the Running Institute Mile to be run at 8 p.m. Sunday at Saline High School.

Nine runners will be on the start line, eight of which have run the mile in less than four minutes -- a field that doesn’t often come together outside of Europe or Oregon.

“There’s not a lot of track put on in the summer anymore, it’s really a sport that’s based around the high school and the college calendars, most of the Americans go to Europe to race in the summer,” Willis said. “This is quite unique indeed.”

Willis has two goals for the race. The first is to tune up for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships that start Aug. 10 in Moscow. The second is to try to clock the fastest mile ever run in the state of Michigan, a distinction currently held by former Michigan runner Kevin Sullivan, who ran a three minute, 55.87 second mile in 2000, which broke Ken Popejoy's 27-year-old state record of 3:57.0.

The Running Institute Mile marks the second time in recent years that local runners have taken a stab at a sub-4 minute mile. In April 2010, former Michigan runner Lex Williams and Eastern Michigan runner David Brent organized the Washtenaw Invitational Mile to try and accomplish the feat, but were thwarted by strong winds on race day.

Even though Willis is originally from New Zealand and has rarely competed in the state since running for the University of Michigan, being able to set the state’s mile record would be significant. Sullivan, he said, is one of the main reasons he came to Ann Arbor in the first place.

“It would be nice to have a crack at that,” Willis said. “It would be a great thing for people to come to Saline High School to say they hopefully saw the fastest mile ever run in the state.”

And if the state’s fastest mile ever is to be run on Sunday, Willis knows most of the crowd will be expecting him to be the one that does it. He's lived in Ann Arbor for 11 years now, and said friends are often asking him when he will be competing locally. Along with Willis, among the star-studded field will be former All-Americans Liam Boylan-Pett, Brian Gagnon and others.

Willis is hoping to have 1,000 people in attendance. Admission is free of charge.

“There’ll be quite a lot of pressure on me, because I’m the hometown local favorite,” Willis said. “I’m getting on in my years now, and there’s a lot of young guys coming through, but most of the home crowd will be expecting me to win. It’s a good pressure for me to face as I get ready for the world championships.”

The venue at Saline High School also serves multiple purposes. Willis said the 20-minute drive from his house mimics the ride from a meet hotel to a competition venue.

But more importantly, having the race in Saline allows him to avoid a long overseas trip for a tune-up race. His wife, Sierra, gave birth in early July.

"I wanted to be home for as long as possible for the world championships so I could be with my newborn son and help my wife as much as possible instead of leaving here for many weeks,” Willis said.

For Willis, the race also marks the end of a recovery period. During a race in Shanghai on May 18, Willis clipped the heels of another runner and fell at the finish line. The result is a calf injury and a “slow, long rehab.”

“I’m getting pretty fit, and this race will be the final test to my fitness before I have to race against the very best guys in the world,” Willis said. “But I’m quietly confident that I’m coming just in time to perform for when it matters.”

Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.