A strong Hill City-University team will line up in a new-look Lovelock Relays event in Dunedin today.
The team, one of two entered by the club in the senior men's section of the event, includes the top three place-getters at a senior interclub 1500m track race at the Caledonian Ground in February.
The 375m grass track at the University Oval No2 ground will provide a different challenge, but the team has form on its side.
Oliver Chignell won the February event in a time of 4min 2.12sec, edging out relay teammates Jarrod Monk (2min 2.44sec) and Sam Bremner (4min 5.98sec).
Monk also came fifth in the national track and field championships in Dunedin earlier this year in 3min 56.21sec, while Kirk Madgwick, also in today's line-up, came tenth in 4min 6.66sec.
The team also includes Matt Ogle, who won the 400m event at the February interclub meeting, and Caden Shields, who came sixth in the national half-marathon championships in Christchurch last year.
The Leith Harrier team includes promising young athlete Nathan Hill, who broke a 25-year-old Otago-Southland 1500m record earlier this year when he ran a time of 4min 7.76sec.
His team also includes Rob Creasy, who finished third in the Three Peaks mountain run in Dunedin last year, and Jason Palmer, who came fourth in last year's Christchurch Marathon.
There will be five teams in the senior men's section and just two teams in the senior women's section.
Balclutha-born former Olympian Robbie Johnston will line up in the masters men's race.
Johnston competed in the 5000m at the 1992 Olympics and the 10,000m at the 1996 Olympics.
He also competed in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Vancouver.
The race has been moved from the University Oval's main ground, due to upgrade work being done to the venue's embankments.
That meant the track had slightly different dimensions and no official records could be broken tomorrow.
There will be 190 athletes across 54 teams at the event and all Dunedin clubs will be represented.
Lovelock Relays
When: Today, 1.30pm
Where: University Oval No2, Dunedin
Social/mixed 1.30pm
Under-13, primary school 2pm
High school girls and boys, masters women 2.15pm
Senior women, masters men 2.45pm
Senior men 3.15pm
