The Kepler Challenge Mountain Run is the premier

mountain running Mountain running is a sports discipline which takes place mainly off-road in mountainous terrain, but if there is significant elevation gain on the route, surfaced roads may be used. In this it differs from fell running; also its courses are more ...

event in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and follows the 60 km

Kepler Track The Kepler Track is a circular hiking track which travels through the landscape of the South Island of New Zealand and is situated near the town of Te Anau. The track passes through many landscapes of the Fiordland National Park such as rocky m ...

through the

Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of , and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. The park i ...

. It has been held annually since 1988, and draws competitors from throughout New Zealand and around the world. Around 450 runners enter the event with nearly all completing the demanding course.

Route

Starting at the Control Gates of

Lake Te Anau Lake Te Anau is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of , making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the larg ...

the route follows an easy first 6 km before it takes a steady climb to the Luxmore Hut. The next 12 km offer wonderful views of the South Fiord along the undulating tops before a spectacular descent to the Iris Burn Hut. A gradual 17 km journey down the Iris Burn brings competitors to the Moturau Hut on

Lake Manapouri Lake Manapouri is located in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake is situated within the Fiordland National Park and the wider region of Te Wahipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. Māori History According to Māori people, ...

and from there a 6 km run to the last checkpoint at Rainbow Reach. The home straight follows alongside the Waiau River and back to the Control Gates. Kepler Track, New Zealand (57)

Records

In 2013 the men's record was beaten by

Martin Dent Martin Dent (8 February 1979 in Woking, UK) is an English-born Australian Olympian marathon runner, who ran at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He made his season best time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 29 seconds in the marathon in 28th place. Dent at ...

with a time of 4h33m37s surpassing the record of 4h37m41s was which held by Phil Costley, who in December 2005 beat Russell Hurring's previous record of 4h41m32s (set in 1993). Zelah Morrall smashed the women's race record repeatedly, last in 2003 by a further 10 minutes her best time being 5h23m34s. A number of competitors should complete the course in less than 5 hours. Others may take up to 11 hours. As of 2006, Murray Thomas, an engineer from Alexandra has run in and completed all 19 Kepler Challenges, while Alan Reid, a school teacher from Greymouth at the time (now Lumsden), and Peter Dunne, who works for Badminton NZ, have each run 18. From 2010–2012

Vajin Armstrong Vajin Armstrong (born ''Luke Armstrong''; 12 May 1980) is an ultra-distance runner from Christchurch, New Zealand. Armstrong is a disciple of Sri Chinmoy. He and his wife Prasasta manage a musical instrument shop. Races and results *2010–201 ...

finished first three years in a row.

Ruby Muir Ruby Muir (born 1 July 1991) is an ultra-endurance runner from New Zealand. In 2017 she won the national women's cross-country event. Life Muir grew up in Whenaukite on the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand and attended Mer ...

has been the first female finisher six times. In 2009, one of the competitors, Malcolm Law, completed the run as the last stage in a "7-in-7 challenge", in which he became the first person to run all of New Zealand's 7

Great Walks The New Zealand Great Walks are a set of popular tramping tracks developed and maintained by the Department of Conservation. They are New Zealand's premier tracks, through areas of some of the best scenery in the country, ranging from coastline ...

in 7 days (a total of 360 km, or 9 marathons), in aid of the Leukemia and Blood Foundation of New Zealand. Also in 2009, Murray Thomas returned from overseas to complete his 21st challenge, Ray Willett (Te Anau) completed his 21st challenge and Alan Reid completed his 21st event from 22 starts (Alan withdrew during the 2006 event due to injury/knee surgery issues). Kepler Challenge and Luxmore Grunt finish line Te Anau

Kepler Challenge and Luxmore Grunt finish line Te Anau

Community support

Such an event requires a large support team to operate the checkpoints, provide communications, first aid and other services. Nearly 200 local people contribute in some way to ensure that the event runs smoothly. Thousands of voluntary hours go into organising the race but it is worth all the effort to make it a major highlight on the

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...

Calendar. The event organised by the ''Kepler Challenge Mountain Run Trust and its Organising Committee''. The Trust is a charitable entity and uses any surplus to fund local community projects.

Luxmore Grunt

The Luxmore Grunt is held on the same race day as the Kepler Challenge but is much shorter being only 27 km in distance. Competitors follow the same route starting at the control gates but then turn around at Luxmore Hut and head back down to the start/finish line. This event was limited to 150 runners annually but since 2013 has been increased to 200 because of its growing popularity.

References

External links