It has re-emerged following a four-year hiatus.
Initially it was Covid which forced the runners from the road, and then traffic management issues meant the event just did not fit with the modern world.
Suddenly it was not a good look to have runners dodging vehicles as they jostled for position.
The Port Road Race looked like it might have come to the end of a long and storied history.
The annual handicapped event was first contested in 1902 and featured three decent hill climbs during the first 5km of the 12km course.
It was last run in 2019 but has been reborn thanks to the installation of the Te Aka Ōtākou Tānga shared pathway.
The new course is 10km and a lot flatter.
Athletics Otago development officer Sue Brydges said the event had "been put together last minute".
"We’ve actually decided to make it a free event and are asking for a koha for Mental Health Awareness Week," she said.
"But basically the traffic management plan got too hard to do it on the original course, so it was pretty much parked.
"But with [installation] of the cycleway it has allowed the event to occur again."
Brydges hoped the race would retain some of its spirit.
It is still a handicapped race which she said was an encouraging format runners enjoyed.
"The idea is everyone kind of finishes at the same time in Magnet St."
The race had been held every year since its inception, except during and after World War1 (1915-20), and in 2013 when the road was blocked by a landslip, so it was a real disappointment when it was forced to stop.
Alan Moir’s holds the 12km course record of 37min 40sec.
That was set in 1974 and looks set to remain permanently etched in the record books unless the old course is brought out of retirement at some stage in the future.
"We might have to rebrand it because it is not the original race but it still has the history.
"We need to acknowledge the past but adapt to the future.
"You just can’t run the race on the road like we did before."
The race has been opened up to walkers and there is also a 5km course and 2.5km course for younger competitors.
The main races will be competitive. In the men’s race look out for the likes of Janus Staufenberg, Oliver O’Sullivan and Grayson Westgate, while in the women’s Claudia Sole and Alice Cuthbert shape as potential front-runners.
