Covid has depleted the field but there will still be some good competition at the Lovelock Relay this afternoon.
The annual event at the University Oval has attracted six teams for the senior men’s race and eight for the senior women.
Hill City-University will be chasing a seventh straight senior men’s title in the 6x1500m relay event.
There is no Oli Chignell — he posted the fastest time of the day last year — and many of the teams have been left short of runners due to the pandemic.
Janus Staufenberg is back to anchor a solid Leith men’s team, while the Whippets team from Christchurch is making the trip to Dunedin for some competitive racing.
Hill City-University did the double last year with victory in the 4x1500m women’s race.
Liliana Braun, Zara Geddes and Lila Rhodes are all back on deck for the HCU women.
Nine masters men’s teams, three masters women’s teams, two secondary schoolboy teams and five social teams will be in action on a busy day at the University Oval.
Thirteen primary school teams will also launch a global athletics programme to inspire children to get active.
The Lovelock Relay follows the Shunters and Grunters event last week.
It paid tribute to Kevin Murphy, a stalwart volunteer at the Lovelocks and other local events, who died last year.
