🏃♀️🏃Mt. Difficulty Handicap Race Results
“...run through the entire field like a trail-running salmon swimming upstream"
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
Welcome to the Manflu edition of Trail Running NZ. Apologies if the usual sub-par journalism standards dip down to woeful. But the circus must go on …
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃♀️🏃Mt. Difficulty Ascent Results
🏃♀️🏃Bridge 2 Bridge Results
🎯Things You May Have Missed
🌲Northland 100 Winners
💩Worst Run Ever: A Cautionary Tale
🏁Upcoming events: Dead Cow Gully
⛰️💊Mountain Skag of The Week
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Mt. Difficulty Handicap Race Results
Saturday, June 14
180-odd disciples of vert gathered at the base of Mt Difficulty for the annual pilgrimage, greeted by about as good as it gets for winter running conditions😎.
But just when you thought it couldn’t get more difficult... it turns out race director Terry Davis unknowingly hired the same rogue marshal from the infamous Wellington Marathon stuff-up (you know, the one who sent the front pack on a scenic detour😉). Guess where they’ve moved for retirement? Cromwell.
The 25km and 44km fields set off together, but a wrong turn 5km in sent a decent chunk of the front-runners off course. Some clocked an extra 4–5km before realising. Oof😣.
Still, who doesn’t love an impromptu handicap race?
📏44KM ISH | ⛰️3000M
Women’s podium:
🥇Charlotte Hand - 6:04:24
🥈Julia Chamberlain - 6:23:00
🥉Hannah Presswood - 6:35:54
You’ve gotta hand it to her. Charlotte Hand isn’t just on form, she’s on fire🔥. Fresh off her win at The Bay and a podium at 3 Peaks + 1, she stormed Mt Difficulty in a decisive victory.
Last year’s champ, Julia Chamberlain, had to settle for silver this time, crossing the line 18 minutes later. Hannah Presswood from Real Health Nutrition continued her recent streak of strong results, rounding out a stacked women’s podium.
Charlotte took the time to answer a few questions for us:
How did the race play out at the front?
“Because we started with the 25km runners too I didn’t actually realise I was at the front until about 16km in.”
“I just ran my own race-the first half surviving not thriving up those gruelling climbs on all fours and the second half happy to be on some runnable terrain and get some faster kms under my belt.”
What was your favourite part of the Mt. Difficulty course?
“My favourite part which was more of a love/hate was climbing mt difficulty. It’s such a wild ascent climbing over 1000m in 3km straight up a slope on all fours at times scrambling. Blue bird views at the top with a touch of snow, ice and mud. Would have benefitted from some bear crawl exercises at the gym for this race!”
“Bloody impressed by all the people doing it… such good morale out there yesterday from all the runners. Everyone was super cheerful and supportive yahooing each other on.”
Men’s podium:
🥇Matthew Gummer - 5:41:29
🥈Bernard Campion - 5:42:27
🥉Shane Armstrong - 5:51:13
Saturday morning, the men’s race had two certainties:
There was going to be pain.
There was going to be a new name on the trophy for the first time since 2022
With back-to-back champ Hamish Elliott MIA, the throne was up for grabs, and a surprise trio seized the opportunity.
Bernard “The Pie Champion” Campion, Matthew Gummer, and Shane Armstrong found themselves at the pointy end thanks to the course chaos. From there, it was game on.
The trio traded blows through the guts of the course, before Campion laid down the hammer on the long 10km descent, putting a gap into Gummer.
But it wasn’t enough.
Once the gradient eased and turned runnable, Gummer hit the afterburners, surged past Campion, and snatched the win🤯.
Armstrong would hold on down the hill to take the Bronze.
I managed to get a message through to 2nd place, Bernard Campion, in between bakery visits on Sunday.
Here’s what he had to say:
It looks like it was a tight race up front. Did you know you were in the lead when you let Matthew pass you only a few kilometres from the finish?
“Yeah I learned from supporters / marshalls at the top of the first big hill that Matthew and I were in the lead. Many people did a wrong turn after only 2-3 km. Matthew and me too, but we realised sooner that we were wrong and backtracked, while others did 4 km extra.”
“I opened a bit of a gap on Matthew in the biggest climb to the top of Mt Difficulty, but took a bit more time at the top to enjoy a hot pie and a chat with the marshals, and Matthew and Shane caught me back in the downhill. Then for a while it was Shane and I in the lead to Slapjack Saddle, but Matthew overtook us again at the aid station.”
“I’m a bit of an aid station epicurian, I guess . I caught Matthew back, opened another gap in the next climb, but he was never far behind and could always keep me in sight in the long 10 km downhill and overtook me in the last 1.5 km.”
“Matthew was better at digging deep and better on that kind of flat-ish runnable terrain. In retrospect I might have won if I hadn’t had that pie at the top, but I would have regretted missing the pie more.”
“Overall pretty happy with my run. The training plan of not tapering at all, having two pies two day before the race and two double scoop ice creams the day before the race worked perfectly.”
What is it about Mt Difficult that brought you back for another round of mayhem?
“There is so much that appeal to me at Mt Difficulty: - long & ridiculously steep climbs - technical and steep downhills (in the first half of the course)”
“Terry always put on a great show for everyone - a hot pie at the top of the course - central Otago always delivers Stunning views all around - Patagonia ice creams are arguably the best in the country (I wish they could sponsor me)”
📏25KM ISH | ⛰️1700M
Men’s podium:
🥇Maximillian Yanzick - 2:38:27
🥈Liam McKenzie - 2:46:16
🥉Andrew Kirkcaldie - 3:01:40
Maximillian Yanzick and Liam McKenzie also took the scenic route, accidentally veering off course just 5km in and ending up at the very back of the pack heading into the first gnarly technical climb😣.
But turns out, when you're the fastest guys on the course, a little detour doesn’t matter much.
They clawed their way back through the field, before Yanzick dropped the clutch, pulling away to win his 2nd Mt. Difficulty 25km title by a commanding 7m49s over McKenzie.
Andrew Kirkcaldie rounded out the podium with a sneaky strong run, just 7 seconds slower than last year but jumping ten spots up the leaderboard to 3rd overall.
Max was generous to give us the lowdown of his day:
How did things play out at the front of the field?
“Things at the front got off to a rocky start — mostly because I wasn’t there. I took a wrong turn early on and had to run through the entire field like a trail-running salmon swimming upstream. Nipple Hill was where I really had to dig in and start making moves — nothing like a steep, awkwardly named climb to kick things into gear.
Does Mt. Difficulty live up to the name?
“Thankfully, I didn’t burn too many matches getting back into the lead. Mt Difficulty? Yeah, it’s not just a clever name. The course is brutal, the vert’s relentless, and it absolutely lives up to the hype — but that’s what makes crossing the line first feel so damn good.”
Women’s podium:
🥇Sarah Jenkins - 3:18:12.
🥈Jessica Rathgen - 3:27:08
🥉Isabella Reid - 3:33:51
This could be fake news... but it looked like last year’s champ Isabella Reid was one of the early wrong-turn casualties, which opened the door wide for 2023’s third-place getter, Sarah Jenkins.
Jenkins didn’t need a second invite. She charged into the lead and never looked back, storming home to take the win by over 9 minutes ahead of Jessica Rathgen.
Reid rallied to snag a spot on the podium for the second year running, 6 minutes behind Rathgen. Not quite a repeat, but still a great salvage job.
Here’s what Sarah had to say about her day out:
How did the front of the race unfold?
“Had an epic day, the weather was fantastic, and vibe out there was great as always.”
“Bit of a blunder early in the race with the leaders of the pack taking a wrong turn only 3 or so kms in, thankfully I only ran an extra 600m before realising - which probably played out in my favour.”
What was your favourite part of Mt. Difficulty?
“Big big fan of the technical stuff - so for me so much of the race is a highlight.”
“Was also pretty cool to have my coach Sam Manson breathing down my neck in the last few kms and out sprint him at the finish - (even if he did run an extra 4/5kms at the start) I’ll still take it.”
Someone whose day didn’t go as planned was Richard Saint. He just caught his knee while climbing up one of the steep climbs🤬, fertilising all the ground around him.
This was his fix-up on course, running out another 7-8km to finish. Judging by the after photos (which I won’t post due to squeamishness), it looks like it needed 15-20 stitches.
I’ve also heard reports of a chopper rescue for a broken leg. All the best to that person; that is rough. A sobering reminder that it only takes one quick mistake to change the course of your race, and that it always pays to have a proper first aid kit, rather than a barely there box tick for mandatory gear.
Also, I don’t want to get involved in a family dispute, BUT I’m all for people calling people out and general sh💩thousery:
PSA: Steve Tripp would like everyone to know that he beat his Stepson, Rocky Allan, most likely for the last time, despite being three times his age.
For the full Mt. Difficulty & the Rustic Run results, click here
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Bridge 2 Bridge Results
Saturday, June 14
Look, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know much about the Bridge 2 Bridge Ultra, and I wasn’t planning to cover it.
But after being tagged in a few result posts over the weekend, I figured I'd better take a look and add it in.
Turns out, Bridge 2 Bridge is run by the crew at CJM Events, the same mob behind a bunch of South Island races, most notably the South Island Ultra.
I didn’t get time to dive deep into the results, but I did manage to catch up with both the men’s and women’s champs to hear about their day out on the course.
Women’s podium:
🥇Samira Sultan-Rouse - 5:47:34
🥈Bing Ling Li - 6:01:52
🥉Anne Harvet - 6:02:21
Samira Sulton-Rouse has had quite the 2025!
🥈Northburn 100k
🥇Faultline 100Mile
Now she’s stepped down the distance and gone and won the Bridge 2 Bridge 60 65K.
Here’s what Samira had to say:
This race is a bit of a change up for you - what was the plan heading in and how did your race play out?
“A big change! I started racing ultras in 2022 and they’ve all included a fair bit of vert - I wanted to make the most of my fitness after Faultine miler & have a play with some speed. Full trust in coach Simon Cochrane & actually really enjoyed the speed work in my short training block. Nice to mix it up.”
“Pacing plan was tricky for me as usually lean into longer races which mean lots of energy preservation (slow running!) My plan was to stay in low 5’s which I mainly stuck to. 75 grams of carbs per hour stuck to that too with no issues.”
“When I was told on course that there was a 5km detour I got pretty pissy for a good 30min & slowed down considerably. I was out of fluid and expecting the aid station - I got very stuck in my head.”
“I decided to remain focused on my initial 60km goal which I missed out by a few minutes but still stoked. Finished that last 5km strong, official time 5.47 (Garmin 5.44) but either way for 65km I’m over the moon with the win & course record.”
Whats the bridge 2 bridge course like and what’s your overall impressions of the event?
“Bridge to Bridge follows the Waimakariri river from Oxford way & finishes in Kaiapoi. It was a mix of shingle road, stop bank, single track & a touch of road. A couple of ford crossings up to thigh depth and mainly forest/river/farm views.”
“I did find it monotonous at times but guess that’s part of the challenge. CJM - The organisers do an awesome job of celebrating all distances with really generous & fun prize giving. They are a smaller grassroots event so it’s pretty relaxed, CJM run quite a few races & this is my second one with them. I think they would appeal to first time Ultra runners especially to get a taste for longer distances.”
Thanks for that Samira! Sounds like you had a great run, despite the bonus 5km.
Men’s podium:
🥇Ehsan Lorestani - 5:13:39
🥈Taye Pugh - 5:47:13
🥉Charlie Taylor - 5:57:16
One man who has been racing up a storm in the last 12 months is Ehsan Lorestani. I reckon not a month goes by without me seeing his name near the top of a results list.
Here’s what Eshan had to say about the Bridge 2 Bridge race:
Bridge 2 Bridge isn’t that well known - give us a quick rundown on the course and your impressions of the event.
“Yes it’s not that well known but their group put lots of effort on the event which can be compared with Kepler challenge . Course is mostly flat along the river , among the native bushes , 4 river crossings and because of the recent rain one of the rivers wasn’t safe to pass so they made a diversion which added 6 k to 60.”
“My intention was to put this on top of my weekly mileage and see how my body cope with the pressure and as I’ll be racing Kepler again and that has 40 k flat in the forest it could be a good gauge for that too.”
What was your plan heading into the race, and how did it play out?
“I was chasing the course record which didn’t happened because of the diversion and also 50 k PB (3:43) My plan was to run a trail marathon in 3 hours and leave enough in the tank for the rest , all went to the plan but I had 60 grams carb per hour and nothing left for that extra 6 k.”
Thanks for that, Eshan. It looks like you passed the test with flying colours.
For the full Bridge 2 Bridge results, click here.
Things You May Have Missed
Mountain Skag Has Found Instagram
The relaunch of our new-look Mountain Skag gear is nearly here, and in a rare moment of peer pressure, we’ve decided to join the cool kids on Instagram.
Don’t worry, it’s not going to be a spammy “BUY OUR SH💩T” feed (Only occasionally 😂.)
The plan? Reposting what everyone is up to out and about in our incredible backyard. Whether it be a shot from the summit, or a shot with a full stomach at the Bakery on the way home.
Nancy Jiang Wins Twisted Fork 30K
Nancy Jiang’s build to Western States continued over the weekend with this impressive win at the Twisted Fork 30K in Utah. This event has just been brought back into existence by the Singletrack Podcast crew💪.
Hanmer Springs Joining The Ultra Calendar
I recently got tagged in a post from an account called “Hanmer Adventure Run”.
“Introducing the Hanmer Springs Adventure Run—a bold new chapter born from the legacy of the Hanmer Springs Alpine Marathon. This event is a celebration of trail running in one of Aotearoa’s most scenic regions.”
📍 Course maps drop Wednesday next week
🏃♀️ 55km Ultra
🏃 24km Adventure Run
👟 7km Adventure Fun Run
Will this be the new Oxford Odyssey? Interestingly, they’ve wedged themselves into a busy summer schedule. At least they were smart enough not to schedule it the same weekend as The Valley Ultra. Anyone know anything about whos running it?
Auburn Extended Forecast Looking Mild
It looks like Dan Jones, Caitlin Fiedler & Nancy Jiang might “get away” with another “mild” year at Western States. I’m sure it will still feel hot as hell if the forecast holds.
☢️Northland 100 Free Entry Winners☢️
On Saturday, July 19th I’ll be heading up to Whangārei to take part in the inaugural Northland 100 (You can read more here)
Last week, I kicked off a wee giveaway looking for three lucky legends who are keen to join me at the Northland 100.
The results are in.
Drum roll please …
🎊Brion Matthews
🥳Andrew McDowall
😎Stu Meiklejohn
Congrats! You’ve won a free entry into your poison of choice at The Northland 100.
Worst Run Ever: A Cautionary Tale
This week's story is more of a cautionary tale than a Worst Run Ever.
Either way, it feels like it belongs here!
“Back late last century before collapsible bottles and hydration vests existed, when Cactus Henrys were the backpack of choice for all self respecting Tararua runners, and camelbaks were the new kid in town, a team of four hardy females were doing a 12hr rogaine in the Wairarapa.”
“There was limited safe drinking water in the farm terrain and it was a hot day. When out in the hills all day, you sometimes need to answer the call of nature. Well, one of my team mates had to do number 2s.”
“We waited for her, then set off again. A few minutes later, she lets out a loud expletive when she realises that she accidentally crapped on her camelback nozzle. But being a real trooper, she wiped it on the grass, then had a good drink. Moral of the story - always know where your camelbak tube is when answering the call of nature.”
Harriette
Thanks for that, Harriette!
I’m sure they weren't the first ones or the last to get into this predicament.
Upcoming Events:
Dead Cow Gully, Straya
Saturday, June 21 … ?
Stone the crows and put the lippy on the croc, next week, we’ll be heading to Straya🦘 to update you on the early happenings, and hopefully, not the happenings at Dead Cow Gully.
I ran out of a bit of time this week, and I also covered this a little bit last week, so here’s the TLDR:
Dead Cow Gully is the backyard Sam Harvey ran 101 yards
He’s heading back with 19 other Kiwis, all looking for big PBs (Sam’s talking a world record 150.)
3 other runners have gone over 100 yards
There are also 22 x 50+ Yard runners in the field. (Remember Sam Harvey wen’t from 40 yards to 101).
Next Monday it will ONLY be on the start of the 3rd day, so hopefully there won’t be too much to update!
Follow AerobicEdge and Dead Cow Gully on Instagram for the latest updates.
#Mountain Skag Winner Of May
Congratulations to the insatiable vert addict Jennifer Tregurtha.
Your Skag delivered the biggest hit in May.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
Joshua Lloyd delivered the goods this week with this literal line of Mountain Skag in the Ruahines.
That’s going to be hard to beat!
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.
We will return next Monday with a Dead Cow Gully Update and the big Western States preview.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
PS. On Thursday, you’ll all be getting a bonus edition of TRNZ - a combined post with Daniel Jones, I managed to snag some of his time to answer a few questions before the big dance at Western States.
Woot woot- will be good to catch up with the legend himself.
What’s DCR? Don’t Chase Rangas?
I'm so stoked by this. Massive thanks. I'll try to do you proud: how about I rep my mountain scag t-shirt before the race, and save my DCR one for if I DNF... 😂