Haere Mai, welcome to Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB. These spectacular courses take in the most stunning scenery imaginable, featuring eight different lakes, waterfalls, and the lushest native New Zealand forests. Whether you choose the T21, T50, T102 or the TMiler, the friendly trail running community welcomes athletes of all abilities …
MORE
Haere Mai, welcome to Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB. These spectacular courses take in the most stunning scenery imaginable, featuring eight different lakes, waterfalls, and the lushest native New Zealand forests. Whether you choose the T21, T50, T102 or the TMiler, the friendly trail running community welcomes athletes of all abilities with open arms. Courses are all point-to-point, on mostly non-technical runnable terrain. They are designed with the aim of seeing everyone succeed. Join in Rotorua and experience this special land and its people.
Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB is designed to showcase what Trails Full of Heart is all about – stunning natural landscapes, connection with land and people, runnable trails and supported courses – all with the goal of getting you across the finish line.
Whatever distance you choose, you will enjoy a beautiful course, on mostly non-technical, runnable terrain. The courses and generous cut-off times are deliberately designed with the aim of seeing runners of all abilities reach the finish line.
Every course is also designed to capture the stunning and diverse landscapes of the Rotorua region. You’ll run past lakes and waterfalls, and journey through the lushest green native New Zealand forests.
For those new to trail running, the T14 or T21 is a great option. Both courses are non-technical and have all the fun of the other distances, with less of the run! In good weather, your road shoes will do the trick just fine.
If you’ve completed a road marathon or a few half marathons, then the T50 is very achievable. Most runners find the soft underfoot trails kinder on their bodies than road running. With well supported aid stations, there’s no support crew required.
For seasoned marathon runners or endurance athletes, with the right training and preparation, you’ll love the experience of running our T102 course. 102km of stunning trails and an endurance experience of a lifetime, running point-to-point from Kawerau to Rotorua.
For anyone ready to put their mind and body to the ultimate test, our TMiler is one of the most scenic and achievable 100 mile runs in the world. Starting at the geothermal wonderland of Te Puia, runners complete a loop around the iconic lakes of Rotorua, as well as beneath the mighty maunga Tarawera, Ruawahia and Wahanga.
All courses are built with achievability in mind, and our trails are full of heart – welcoming you and encouraging you on your Tarawera journey.
LESS
Trail of my dreams, big race energy
UTMB Tarawera takes you through so many beautiful and unique areas of nature. Geothermal geyers, forests of ferns, redwoods, lakes, etc. It is absolutely gorgeous! And no chance of a … MORE
UTMB Tarawera takes you through so many beautiful and unique areas of nature. Geothermal geyers, forests of ferns, redwoods, lakes, etc. It is absolutely gorgeous! And no chance of a snake or bear encounter in New Zealand. A good portion of the race was shaded as well. The race course itself was pretty moderate for a 50k trail race. The vibe of the race is exciting and supportive- it attracts big names due to UTMB, but they’re also encouraging to newer runners. The race was well organized, aside from a bit of congestion at some of the aid stations. I thought the race shirt and merch options were pretty good too. If you decide to do this race, book your hotel early. I did it quite late and it was hard to find something (and we couldn’t find anything with A/C!).
If you want to know more, lots of details are in my blog post: https://www.abroadwithgod.com/2024-tarawera-ultra-trail-50k-race-report
The best Trail journey I have ever run
The start line at Te Piua is something pretty special. The destination is incredible, the community and people are even better. It was amazing to see the amount of volunteers … MORE
The start line at Te Piua is something pretty special. The destination is incredible, the community and people are even better. It was amazing to see the amount of volunteers out in the middle of the bush ready to help me out.
My first 102KM race...in a foreign land
The Tarawera Ultramarathon is a point-to-point destination race in the North Island, which starts in Rotorua (148 miles from Auckland) and ends in Kawerau. I heard about this race from … MORE
The Tarawera Ultramarathon is a point-to-point destination race in the North Island, which starts in Rotorua (148 miles from Auckland) and ends in Kawerau. I heard about this race from listening to Ultra Runner Podcast interviews. It’s very prestigious, being the second stage in the Ultra-Trail World Tour. And the videos I found online showed a spectacular course — with trails running through forests, and beside lakes and waterfalls!!!
It is summertime in New Zealand in February, with temps in the 50-75F range. On the day before the race, we attended a Powhiri Welcome at Te Puia — admission for TUM runners and family was free. In the afternoon, we picked up our bibs, dropped off our drop bags, attended a race briefing, and listened to a panel interview of elite athletes. I got to meet a few of them during these events.
The race started at 6am on Saturday. I started conservatively; by mile 20, I started feeling fatigued; the middle miles with the super technical trails and nonstop rollers pretty much sucked the life out of me; and I had to dig deep the last 25 miles just to get through it. I crossed the finish line after 1:30am. Kudos to the organizers and volunteers for staying so late until the very last runner crossed the finish line. After the race, we were given a beautiful wooden medallion.
The aid stations had plenty of food, much of which were familiar — bananas, apples, peaches, grapes, watermelons, oranges, potato chips, sweet snacks, and PB&J sandwiches. The aid stations were themed; the ones I saw at night had lights and music. All the volunteers were most helpful and encouraging.
This was my first 100K race, the longest distance I’ve ever run and, by far, the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, physically and mentally. It was hard being so far away from home and friends — I had no pacers, but I had my husband as my crew chief. I am so grateful for his steadfast support and belief in me.