The six-member team of Callan Moody, Nick Rennie, Oska Inkster Baynes, Dave Ridley, Matt Gibbons and Daniel Balchin are all members of the eight-man team that triumphed on the Takahe to Akaroa course to win the national road relay title last October.
Should New Brighton Olympic win the senior men's title today, it will be the fourth time Balchin has been in a successful team, having won on three occasions with Caversham from 2010 to 2012. Along with Moody, Balchin is no stranger to the Dunedin athletics scene.
His most recent victory locally was the half marathon section of the Dunedin Marathon last September, while in 2011 and 2012 he won back-to-back senior men's titles in the Edmond Cup Steeplechase at Wingatui.
Moody is another athletic talent lost to northern centres in recent times, as a key member for successful Ariki teams between 2009 and 2012.
After much success as a junior athlete, in his first year as a senior in 2009 he won the Edmond Cup Steeplechase and and finished runner-up in the Otago cross-country championship a month later.
Moody carried this form over to the road were he won the half marathon section of the Dunedin Marathon.
Wanaka-based Inkster Baynes is another athlete who has featured locally in middle-distance events during the summer track and field season.
Aside from the interest in how the champion New Brighton Olympic team will perform, a three-way battle looms to fill the other two spots on the podium.
Defending champion Ariki can expect another strong challenge from Caversham and a resurgent Hill City University team, which could be the wild card among the top four teams.
Interest will be on the new-look Hill City-University senior women's team, which despite the absence of all four members of its successful team last year, could still be considered favoured by a narrow margin.
Its team of Mary Gray, Sarah Summerlee, Bella Bloomfield and Susannah Lynch could have enough fire power to hold out what could be a strong challenge from an Ariki team yet to win a senior women's title in this event.
Ground conditions are expected to be ideal, despite the recent wet weather.
Harrier manager for the organiser of the event, Hill City-University, Tom Heller said that the ground is in ''good nick''.
''It won't be rock hard, but it will provide very good footing. It's testament to all the drainage work carried out on the ground.''
The event being held for the 77th time, celebrates Jack Lovelock, a member of the University Club while he studied in Dunedin and who went on to win the 1500m at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.
The senior men's (6x1500m) race record of 24min 12.6sec has stood since 1971 and the senior women's (4x1500m) record of 19min 24sec was set in 2010.
