In a bid to increase safety and attract more teams to the event, the sixth and final-leg runner will instead finish at the Portobello Domain.
In an impressive field, 16 teams of six will slug it out over 30.4km when the handicapped relay gets under way halfway along John Wilson Memorial Drive at 11.30am today.
The Caversham team of Ben Anderson, Geoff Anderson, Allister Meffan, Jonah Smith, Sam Hopper and Ken McDonald looks like the combination to beat.
Smith, who finished fourth overall in last week's Dunedin half-marathon in 1hr 17min 18sec, will run the fourth and longest (7.1km) leg of the race.
It will be a family affair for the first two legs with father and son starting the favorite off.
Ben Anderson, who recorded the fastest time in the Port Chalmers to Dunedin road race earlier this month in 44min 1sec, will run the first leg, while his dad, Geoff, will tackle the 3.2km second leg.
The Alexandra Harriers team of Ewan Fallow, Brendon Pauley, Emma Smith, John Watson, Peter Sarson and Glen Chisholm should pose a strong challenge.
The club won the relay in 2011, ending an 18-year drought since a team (Waimate) outside Dunedin won the relay.
Fallow and Sarson were in the winning team in 2011 and are back for another crack.
If they need a strong finish, Chisholm, who finished third in the Dunedin marathon last weekend in 2hr 43min 38sec, will run the final 7km leg from Cape Saunders Rd to Portobello.
Sarah Chisnall, last weekend's open women's Dunedin marathon winner, will run the 4.7km third leg for Ariki's women's team, while Mel Aitken, last weekend's masters women's marathon winner, will run the fourth leg for Leith.
Runners and supporters can expect a fresh southerly and rain to develop during the race.
- Robert van Royen
