🏃🏃♀️Motatapu Results & Some Fools On Horses
"None of this pre cooked Hellers rubbish, think Ferg Butcher grade."
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
We’re just like Fools & Horses. I’m the fool and there’s a lot of horsing around.
Here’s what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃🏃♀️Motatapu Results
🐴Only Fools & Horses Recap
🟣CurraNZ Wants You
🎯Things You May Have Missed
📰SK News Desk
🏁Upcoming events: Xterra Festival, Blazed Hills, Run Mt Hutt
⛰️💊Mountain Skag of The Week
Note: Due to the length, some email browsers will hide some of the content - make sure you click ‘view entire email’ or click through to substack.
Motatapu Results
It’s been a busy summer of racing down south. Motatapu kicked off the first day of Autumn with a perfect day of racing.
Let’s kick into it.
Motatapu Ultra:📏52.5KM | ⛰️3300M
Women’s podium:
🥇Hannah Wall - 6:57:52
🥈Ashley Hawks - 8:04:55
🥉Lisa McFarlane - 8:35:33 (check other results)
Wow. Hannah ‘The Sausage Sizzler’ Wall backed up her impressive Shotover Ultra CR victory with an equally impressive win here at Motatapu.
After her Shotover victory, she said, “Screw ‘here for the woman’s race’ I’m here for the men’s!”. Well, just like 2 weeks ago, she found herself competing for the overall podium.
Through the first 25km, she had piled on 37 minutes over Ashley Hawks from Murica🌭 with Lisa McFarlane a further 20 minutes back.
By the 44K mark, the fat lady could be heard bellowing across Arrowtown as this thing was over, barring injury. Her lead was now close to an hour with 8km remaining.
She went on to claim her 2nd victory in 3 weeks, 1:07 ahead of Ashley Hawks, with McFarlane comfortably in 3rd, another 30 minutes back.
What a spectacular few weeks for Hannah. Saturday’s result was the 2nd fastest time, only behind Ruth Croft(2018), and only the 2nd female time under 7 hours.
It was a quick turnaround from your CR-breaking win @ Shotover Ultra - what was the plan going in, and how does it feel to dominate two of the most hardcore Ultras in the country in 3 weeks?
“The plan was to just rest and eat for two weeks before doing it all again.”
“I was going out to race the lads but there was some quality sausage in the field this time around, none of this pre cooked Hellers rubbish, think Ferg Butcher grade.”
“Majell was back for round two, he put in a solid effort and won the Shotover moonlight ahead of me two weeks ago, it was cool to toe the line with him again. So the sausage sizzling was kept to a minimum with me spending the race entirely alone (tear).”
“That didn’t stop me looking back from time to time, worried I’d be taken from behind. But at the 45km mark I began to relax and just enjoy myself. We had perfect weather for running while the stoke and energy of the aid station crews was so high, this really is a special event.”
“I enjoyed every second. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to put the legs up, eat 200g of straight salt, not race for a while and focus on some serious mountain missions. Peace✌️.”
Men’s podium:
🥇Dean Stewart - 6:30:06
🥈Majell Backhausen - 6:34:08
🥉Douglas Golding - 6:40:54
Dean Stewart went one better than at Shotover Marathon to get one over Majell Backhausen, who also backed up his CR-shattering run in the Shotover Ultra.
Through 25km, Stewart was in the ascendancy, 10 minutes ahead of Backhausen and Douglas Golding, who were only seconds apart.
This was not over by any stretch; 10 minutes on such a brutal course can be gobbled up faster than a game of Happy Hippos.
At the 36.5km mark, the race started to get interesting. Backhausen had carved off 4 minutes in the last 11.5km with Golding still hanging off his scent. With 15km to go - did Stewart have enough in the tank to hold on?
44km passed by, and Stewart had stemmed the bleeding. Backhausen came through 6 minutes back, with Golding 2 minutes behind him. With 7.5km to go, there was plenty of space for a boilover, but Backhausen was starting to run out of real estate.
Stewart held it together over the final 7km. This was a big win over a quality field for Stewart, who added this to his second place at the Shotover Marathon two weeks ago.
It looks like you took an early lead and never gave it up. How did things play out at the front?
“I headed into it pretty hungry for a win after a good confidence building race at the shotover.”
“Managed to get a good gap early on but not big enough to get comfortable.”
“Awesome course up on the ridge line and kms in the river. I knew the final 20kms of flat would be the make or break with quads feeling pretty munched so kept the hurt on and stoked to get over the line first.”
Motatapu Off-road Marathon: 📏42.2KM | ⛰️1022M
Men’s podium:
🥇Benje Patterson - 3:04:11
🥈Edward Eaton - 3:13:36
🥉Ben Hennessy - 3:22:01
Local Legend (the good kind, not the Strava version) Benje Patterson added the Motatapu Off-Road Marathon to his long list of podium appearances. Last year, he placed 3rd in the Miners trail behind Ross Gollan and Dan Jones. In 2023, he was 3rd behind Weston and Lewis Latham in the Ultra.
At the 17 km mark, he was already 5.5 minutes ahead of Edward Eaton. The question wasn’t if he would win, but if he would dip under the magical 3-hour mark.
Eaton ran hard but couldn’t make any inroads. He had Ben Hennessy up his jacksy only a couple of minutes back through the first half of the race.
It turned into a slow-motion drag race, with Patterson gradually pulling away from Eaton and Eaton away from Hennessy.
The final result was a comfortable 9-minute victory for Patterson, one of the most consistent performers in recent years.
Women’s podium:
🥇Marina Ferguson - 3:28:20
🥈Ella Scott - 3:34:31
🥉Emma Gutheinz - 3:39:59
The women’s race unfolded similarly to the men’s. At 17 km, Marina Ferguson, in her very first marathon, had established a 5-minute lead over Ella Fry, with Ella Scott and Emma Gutheinz in close pursuit.
Over the next 10km, Ferguson extended her lead to 8 minutes. Scott and Gutheinz moved past Fry to run together in 2nd/3rd.
They couldn’t find a way to bridge the gap, but they powered their way clear of the rest of the field.
Ferguson held on to win by 6 minutes over a fast-finishing Scott. In the final 7km, Scott found another gear, moving 5 minutes clear of Gutheinz, who took the Bronze.
Miners Trail: 📏15.7KM | ⛰️927M
Women’s podium:
🥇Hayley Holmes - 1:39:04
🥈Dympna Boland - 1:41:12
🥉Jess Harwood - 1:41:35
In the tightest race of the day, Hayley Holmes kicked clear of Dympna Boland and Jess Harwood, who duked it out down Tobins Track to decide who got what flavour medal.
Men’s podium:
🥇Luke Wilson - 1:13:46
🥈Jack Mckay - 1:17:30
🥉Lee Cook - 1:18:35
Luke Wilson from Team Kinisi backed up his Ben Lomond VK victory 2 weeks ago with an authoritative win in the Miners Trail.
Luke was kind enough to fill us in on how his race went:
How did the race play out at the pointy end?
“I was mostly just going off last year’s times to try and gauge where I should be at key points of the uphill, as no one really came with me too hard off the front, so had to try and push myself to keep the intensity up.”
“It’s a pretty runnable climb which is cool, and then just really enjoyed the fast flowing descent without taking on too much risk. Shoutout all the volunteers out on course too, they made it a great event!”
You took out the Ben Lomond VK and now Miners Trail- what’s next up for Luke Wilson?
“Off the back of 5 months out injured at the end of last year, and just getting back into things in January, lots of Kinisi Froyday mornings (meet at 7am on the summit) were thrown into the uphill training plan for VK and Miner’s.”
“Focus ahead is on Dunedin 3 peaks (or +1) at the end of March, and see where I’m at in what will hopefully be a fairly stacked field! Just stoked to be back running; I love running, and racing adds that extra layer of spice to everything.”
Thanks for that, Luke. All the best in staying healthy for 3 Peaks.
Click here for the full results.
Check out their Instagram or Facebook for more coverage
This Week’s Newsletter Is Brought To You By…
It’s 54 days to the Faultline Ultra
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🤢DNF’d Tarawera and are looking for revenge
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He’s running training groups for the Faultline 50km, 100km & 100-mile races, delivered remotely so it’s available to anyone around NZ.
For $50 (one-off payment), you will get:
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CLICK HERE to sort your sh💩t out!
Only Fools & Horses
Okay, I forgot to put a preview in last week for this. I think my mind just erased it from existence, probably because I’m petrified of horses and horsey people.
But since Steve Tripp sent a ‘heavy’ around to my house to remind me has always been such a big supporter of the newsletter, I thought I better put something in.
📏40KM | ⛰️900M
Runners podium:
🥇Margie Campbell - 3:33:58
🥈Richard Campbell - 3:33:58
🥉Julia Chamberlain - 3:57:24
16 horses and 54 runners started the race.
Margie & Richard Campbell were the top runners in the event, finishing 40-odd minutes back from the winning horse rider Jorja James(2:50:10)
3 riders DNF’d while the top 6 riders all made it through before the lead runners. After that, it was a cluster f🤬ck of ‘Tally Ho’s’ and horse sh💩t.
Interestingly, there is a $500 prize for any man or woman who beats all the horses. Because no one did this year, both prizes have been jackpotted to $1000 next year.
I can already see Dan Jones & Ruth Croft lining up in 2030 for a sweet cash prize😝.
A big shout-out to Pascal Saker, who “rode” the entire event dressed as the Black Knight. He managed to finish last in both the horse & running fields.
Can you imagine the face of the Tail End Charlie when he realised it wasn’t just a gag for the start line?
There’s a special place in heaven for Tail End Charlies😂.
It looks like this one gets a pass mark - no humans or horses died, and it seems like a lot of fun was had.
Especially at the after party!
DJ Rocky Allen & Julia Chamberlain leading the live entertainment. Photo: Rad Spiers
Click Here for the Fool Results
Check out their Instagram & Brad Spiers for more coverage
CurraNZ Sceptic Giveaway
Can you sniff out BS 400 meters away?
Do you pride yourself on being brutally honest but fair?
And let me guess—Prince Nabutu has never gotten $1 out of you?
Well... CurraNZ Wants You!
They’re looking for the most sceptical yet open-minded trail runners in the TRNZ community to trial their purple little pills, which MAY support recovery, performance, energy, and... maybe even help in other departments…
If you’re keen, it’s simple:
Sign up as a Paid Subscriber (if you’re not one already.)
It’s $5 a month. WTF can you buy for $5 these days?
Comment or reply to this newsletter with your gut reaction when you hear “CurraNZ."
5 lucky winners will be announced on March 17th.
You’ll need to follow their testing guidelines, which involve running DOMS-inducing training and then repeating it while taking CurraNZ. I’ll be following up to find out if your mind is blown—or just your hammy.
Things You May Have Missed
The Spectacle Now Has A Date …
With Kepler on the 6th of December. Classic😂. Last year, it took out The Wild and f🤬cked off The Valley Ultra. It’s a pretty good strategy, really. Snap up all the disappointed people who slept through their alarm and missed out on Kepler.
Based on last year, one of the first significant changes we will see is that the 100 miles & 100km races will start earlier. The goal is for the trail races to all be wrapped up by Saturday evening in time for the road races & concerts.
This potentially will be quite a shift considering that the 100-mile race started at 5 PM from memory.
Will You Be My Valentine
Aka be my pacer at Tarawera?
In more date announcement news, Tarawera Ultra-Trail announced this week that the 2026 race will take place over the weekend of February 14&15th
Shannon-Leigh Still Trucking
It’s been a while since we had a Shannon-Leigh update. Yes, she’s still at it. Today will be Ultra #428. She’s now over double the previous record by Candice Burt of 200
2025 Southern Lakes Done & Dusted
NZ’s biggest multi-stage race, the Southern Lakes Ultra, concluded over the weekend. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for the final results and wrap-up.
I don’t feature this in the main results because it’s too big a beast. If you ran the Southern Lakes Ultra this year, feel free to get in touch. I would love to include a recap from a runner’s perspective.
SK News Desk
It’s been a hectic start to the year on the race results front, so the SK News desk was left abandoned.
Don’t think there aren’t missions going down because it hasn’t been featured in the newsletter.
Here’s a list of all the successful sub-24-hour SK Traverses I can remember from 2025.
SK Valleys:
🥳Gordan Pal: 23:22
January was all about the Valleys. Gordan Pal kicked things off with his solo adventure.
🔥Sam Hansby & Weston Hill: 11:53
Next up? Just 2 NZ representative trail runners teaming up. Sam Hansby & Weston Hill. They ‘cruised’ through to the second-fastest time behind Dan Jones.
💪Kirin & Chris Fahey: 19:48 (Was the fastest couple FKT)
Kirin & Chris Fahey were next, setting the married couple FKT #lifegoals
🍻Alex Jones & Tom Middlemiss 19:40 (New fastest couple FKT)
However, this didn’t last long, with Alex Jones & Tom Middlemiss breaking their time by 8 minutes only a week or so later.
Some snaps from the Valleys crew, ripped from the SK Facebook page
SK Tarn Ridge:
🤯Charlie ‘Young Buck’ Ruck: 20:21
Charlie Ruck, who held the record as the youngest to complete the SK Valleys (now Ed Capie), is now the youngest to complete the Tarn after an earlier failed attempt.
🥳Andre Van Barneveld: 23:15
Now for potentially the oldest Tarn SK. Andre Van Barneveld, who is visiting from Ireland, had his sights set on an SK for his 55th birthday.
He’s just published this Mission Report, which is a fantastic read.
Spoiler alert: Crutches were required.
That leaves Brendan Varty, AKA The Masterton Kid.
👑KS Carkeek- 19:19
💪KS Main Range- 21:02
He is now the second-ever person to run all 4 traverses in both directions, etching his name next to the legendary Tim Sutton.
He’s done all this in 15 months. While running a farm and raising a family🤯.
I can almost hear Andrew McDowall squealing from here (but the audio quality isn’t that great),
“I TOLD YOU IT WAS EASY”
However, it hasn’t come without setbacks. Brendan has had 2 failed attempts with a lot of character-building thrown in. In fact - there have been multiple failed attempts in 2025 across the board.
This is your reminder that, even though we celebrate the immense missions that people achieve across the country, it’s vital that you understand your limits and experience in the backcountry.
If you want to know more about the SK, follow this link.
This information is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be considered financial mission advice. Please consult a licensed financial backcountry professional for personalized guidance tailored to your specific situation.
Upcoming Events
Xterra Festival - Kapiti Coast
Saturday, March 8
The Xterra Festival will be held on the tropical Kapiti Coast at QE Park, Paekakareki. There are all sorts of shenanigans going on with 10 different races. Triathlons, Half triathlons, Mtb races, Duathlons, 14km trail race and a half marathon. But I don’t give a sh💩t about those.
Let me present to you the main event:
It’s time to renew my rivalry with David ‘The Flying Doctor’ Haunschmidt. He narrowly defeated me by an hour in a tightly fought contest at the Jumbo Holdsworth Trail Race in January.
That might sound like 1-0, but I’ve done some digging and hacked into the hospital database.
It turns out that he didn’t have a broken foot at the start of 2024. It was all a ruse to dodge me at the Tararua Mountain Race. A DNS is as good as a DNF; therefore, I declare that it’s actually 1-1.
David … it’s time to settle this. I’ll see you out the back of the bike sheds on Saturday*. Get your CurraNZ ready. You’re gonna need them.
*FINE PRINT: This is a handicap race. Vote in the poll below what you think is a fair handicap for a trail marathon with 1000m of gain.
Click Here for more event details or check out on Facebook
Blazing Hills - Raetihi (Gateway to Ohakune)
Saturday, Saturday 8
Now, I can’t say I know much about Blazing Hills. If I heard the name on the radio, I would think it was Raetihi’s version of Burning Man… or the latest Reggae music festival.
Well, if you bought tickets thinking that - you would be very disappointed!.
Blazing Hills is set on a private farm just out of Raetihi, AKA the ugly stepbrother of Ohakune (For you South Island Folk, that’s about 2 hours from the big water thing in the middle of the map kinda where the big mountain thing went boom and us Norfies pretend to go skiing and snowboarding.)
It’s the 2nd year of the event, which looks to have some great local community support.
Events on offer:
21km📏 | 867m👆
11km📏 | 408m👆
6km📏 | 253m👆
If you’re into your obstacle course racing, there are also 3 different distances + if you’re trying to impress Da Gram (or your Gran), you can do the full monty and run all 3 - that’s 20km with 90 obstacles🤮.
Looking through last year’s pictures, it looks like a good old fashion farm dash. Both the 21km & 11km head up Heartbreak Hill, which looks spicy and no doubt has great views over the plateau.
One of the underrated things about grassroots events like these is that they usually have way better spot prizes than the bigwigs. For example, I’m scrolling through their Facebook page, and I can see that two season passes are up for spot prizes for Turoa😎!
If you’re looking for something different, this could be a fun weekend away. You can even camp at the old Raetihi school, which closed in the 80s but is maintained by the community. It has a pool and tennis court, which is nice and handy for the event hub.
Click Here for more event details or check out on Facebook
Run Mt Hutt - Canterbury
Saturday, March 8
Run Mt Hutt is a good, solid, practical name. It’s the latest offering from CJM Events, which also hosts the Aotearoa Ultra and South Island Ultra. It seems they’re getting more specific in naming their events as they go along.
This one is pretty straightforward.
No Ultras, no loops, no faff.
Run up up up up up until you vomit, steady yourself, run up some more and then sprint back down as fast as you can, being careful not to slide in the vomit.
Events on offer:
25km📏 | 900m👆
12km📏 | 408m👆
The headline race is the 25km - Starting in the Awa Awa reserve; you run up through native bush for 4.5km before hitting the Alpine Zone and continuing up Mt Hutt Road.
Rinse and repeat for the 12km; you go halfway up.
I like what they’ve done with this event. With the explosion of backyards and other trail events, this offers something a bit unique, something many people can do on a whim without months of training and planning etc.
Fingers crossed, the Canterbury community will get out and support it.
Late Entries are still open for the event.
You can also check out on Facebook
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
This week’s drag on the #mountainskag pipe is from Olivia Lawrence.
“Rees-Dart + Cascade Saddle yesterday. What a day! Cascade Saddle was well worth the 19km detour.”
”Felt like a bit of a bird watching day, spotting 4 takahē in Rees Valley (recently released there by @docgovtnz ), 2 kea at Rees Saddle, then into Dart Valley with a kākāriki, several tītpounamu, pīwakaka, South Island robins, and tomtits.
82km, 3276m elevation gain, 89 units of #mountainskag”
Honourable mention to Jamie “The Fat Woodpigeon” Calder, who sent in his ripper and I quote:
“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. No it’s not Mos Eisley, it's Upper Hutt from the trig atop Mount Climie.”
“I know this isn't of the usual quality you get dude but it’s my backyard and I can see my house from here.”
Remember, Mountain Skag comes in many forms. Some find the pure stuff like Olivia; others find a trace in an old cigarette butt, mashed up in a puddle on the top of Mt.Climie😝.
Tag @trailrunning.nz (NOTE THE “.”) and use #mountainskag, DM on Instagram, or email trailrunningnz@gmail.com to enter.
Every entry has a chance to win the monthly giveaway of a Mountain Skag T-shirt or hat.
Next week, we will have results from Blazing Hills and see whether I can go up 2-1 vs The Flying Doctor.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
PS. It sounds like the National Champs at Dunedin Peaks 3 + 1 is going to be an absolute banger. Can’t wait to see how it shakes out.
It’s your DJ name 😂 hip spelling for a hip kinda guy (sorry my bad ❤️)
Sounds like it's just getting easier :p