Tarawera Ultra-Trail is a trail running event series hosted annually in Bay of Plenty. It is held annually in February and takes place in Rotorua, New Zealand. The event includes a 14 km, 21 km, 50 km, 102 km and a 100 mile ultramarathon trail race.
Event history The race was created by Rotorua local Paul Charteris in 2009. The inaugural race was over an 85 km distance and was won by New Zealanders, Kerry Suter and Jean Beaumont. Kerry backed up his 2009 win with a further win in 2010, this time over the new distance of 100 km.
The race was previously a in the Ultra-Trail World Tour. It has featured different distances throughout the years. In 2014, the 50 km race was added. The 2016 and 2017 races featured a trail marathon distance. In 2017, the 100 km race was extended by 2 km to a complete distance of 102 km. In 2018, the inaugural 100 mile race was added to the event.
The 2022 race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The 2023 edition saw another round of major changes come to the race, with announcements of a new 21 km race and the race joining the UTMB World Series. The 2027 edition will feature a 14 km race.
Course records The 102 km course ran from Rotorua to Kawerau from 2009 to 2017. The old course records were set in 2017 by Americans Camille Herron (8:56:00) and Jim Walmsley (7:23:32). The course changed direction in 2018, starting in Kawerau in and finishing in Rotorua. In 2018, 100 miles was added to the events. The courses have had deviations over the years due to inclement weather. The records for the current course are held by New Zealanders Ruth Croft and Daniel Jones, both set in 2025.
Results and past winners
102 km Winners
Year Women's Winner Time Men's Winner Time Notes 2009 10:14:15 8:12:00 85 km course 2010 11:29:12 9:48:20 Course updated to 100 km 2011 11:36:35 8:33:50 2012 10:26:28 8:51:08 2013 10:30:11 8:53:34 2014 9:02:23 8:27:06 Shortened course due to weather (approx. 73 km) 2015 9:02:42 7:44:57 2016 10:34:26 8:00:53 2017 8:56:00 7:23:32 Distance officially changed to 102 km; Rotorua to Kawerau course record 2018 10:08:45 8:27:41 Course direction reversed (Kawerau to Rotorua) 2019 9:28:04 8:22:52 2020 9:39:49 8:03:29 2021 9:21:03 9:39:29 2022 Event cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions 2023 9:26:08 7:27:55 Joined UTMB World Series 2024 9:14:14 7:46:42 2025 8:24:34 7:17:42 Course records set for current route 2026 8:41:11 7:31:27
100 Mile Winners
Year Women's Winner Time Men's Winner Time Notes 2018 21:11:14 19:38:32 Inaugural 100-mile race 2019 17:25:45 16:18:54 2020 20:30:15 15:53:30 2021 20:18:19 18:04:34 2022 Event cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions 2023 18:20:21 14:41:41 2024 18:25:32 15:01:31 2025 17:40:37 15:16:54 2026 19:58:28 16:26:17
References
Notes