There will be no horsing around at the Leith cross-country relays on Saturday.
The 41st edition of the event is tipped to be a good one with big numbers and mixed track conditions at the Dunedin Pony Club grounds.
Forty to 50 teams are expected across the four races, varying from 4x2km to 4x4km. There will be runners as young as 7 to some aged over 70, racing around the paddock.
"It’s got a huge participation and fun element because it’s very different — it’s a real cross-country," Leith president Chris Sole said.
"There’s a bit of everything. There’s climbing, a log jump, there’s a ditch and there could be mud.
"It could have a mixture of everything.
"At the moment, underfoot conditions — [I know] because I ran it a few days ago — are in excellent condition.
"The grass is really firm, fast."
There was "everything to look forward to in terms of variety and ability and fun — it’s really a lot of fun".
Leith won the senior men’s replay last year, finishing in 59min 43sec, while the senior women’s title went to Caversham with its time of 34 min 34sec.
"The team element’s a big thing because we don’t often have lots of team events in running because most of the running events are individual.
"Here you have participation and the ability to encourage your fellow team members and that creates quite a bit of excitement and fun."
The fourth Ponydale Challenge will be held concurrently with the relays.
It is an individual race for those up for the test.
Athletes will run, or walk, as many 2km laps as they can within the three-hour period, and one lap can go towards their time for their relay team.
Matthew Adams won the challenge last year, completing 16 laps in 2hr 36min 44sec.
