"...some unexpected challenges that tested me both physically and mentally. In those moments, the encouragement from fellow runners and marshals kept me moving forward."
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Northburn Results
Another Northburn is in the books. And boy did it burn. I saw a lot of excited positive social media posts in the week leading into the weekend. It’s like people had forgotten what race they had signed up for.
“You’re not at Tarawera anymore Dr. Ropata.”😝
What did I see on Sunday?
Well, let’s just say my Nortburn Bingo card was all ticked off😂.
“Blisters” “Stomach” “Wrong Turn” “F🤬ck Terry” “Brutal” “I learnt a lot” “Dead Quads” “My souls still out there” “F🤬CK, I’m still out there” “Sideways rain” “Southerly” “Cold AF”
It turns out the only thing harder than the Northburn 100 is getting a handle on the results!
There’s grassroots then there’s ‘Just on paper results, sh💩t someone just spilt their coffee’ grassroots😣.
I tried to watch the live tracker, but my little peanut couldn’t make sense of it all.
Alas! I even had Agent Presswood sneak a couple of snaps of the results for me, but this numpty didn’t know that disappearing images were a thing😫.
So apologies, I’ve let you all down. I only have the podiums for the 100-mile race and nothing else. I’m sure they will be up in the next day or 2 so I’ll link to them next week.
Northburn 100miles | ⛰️10,000M
Women's podium:
🥇Konoka Azumi - 27:27
🥈Jean Beaumont - 28:16
🥉Sandra Sturgess - ???
Konoka Azumi got back in the saddle after February’s Tarawera DNF and landed straight back on top of the podium. From what I can tell, Azumi took the early lead, with Naseby 100 Champ, Maggi Forsyth keeping in touch in 2nd through the first 2 loops.
Unfortunately for Forysth, a wrong turn sent her down a Northburn wormhole which saw her drop from 2nd to 4th. Predictably it was Mrs Northburn herself, Jean Beaumont who took advantage, chugging her way into 2nd behind Azumi.
When these two last met at Northburn in 2021, only 8 minutes separated them, with Azumi taking all the lollies.
It would end the same on Sunday, with Beaumont not being able to close the gap, with Azumi claiming a 49-minute victory.
Sandra Sturgess from Matamata (I think?) had a strong race to hold on to 3rd - apologies I don’t have a time for you Sandra!
Konoka was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for us:
How did your race go and did this feel extra special after this year’s Tarawera result?
“This year's result at Tarawera was disappointing and took my confidence away. However, I realised that my love for running remains unchanged. That's why I came back here—to purely enjoy my running journey.”
“Northburn holds a special place in my heart, as it was the first miler I ever ran. This year's race was particularly challenging, with strong winds and icy cold rain. I tried to focus on staying calm, steady, and positive all the way to the finish line.”
“Loop 3 was especially tough, with some unexpected challenges that tested me both physically and mentally. In those moments, the encouragement from fellow runners and marshals kept me moving forward.”
Konoka Azumi
Men's podium:
🥇Mark Doohan - 23:45
🥈Dean Stewart - 25:28
🥉Andrew McDowall - 27:27
In 2019, Mark Doohan finished the Northburn 100M in 37:04 (24th). In 2021, he finished in 27:45:52 (8th). In 2023, he WON with a time of 24:59 Last year, he defended his title in 24:21.
Well … the trend continued as Doohan took another 36 minutes off his PB to beat a hard-charging Dean Stewart to claim his 3rd consecutive Northburn 100 title.
Now I don’t know too much about how the race panned out but I did get a message from Adam Keen that Doohan & Stewart had run into the start/finish area at the end of loop 2 together.
From what I can tell, Stewart bolted out into the lead on Loop 3, before Doohan reeled him back in and spat him out the other side. He would go on to complete the Northburn three-peat, winning by a margin of 1h43m.
It might not have been the result Stewart came for, but it caps a strong first quarter of the year after taking 🥈2nd at the Moonlight Shotover Marathon and 🥇1st at the Motatapu Ultra.
Andrew McDowall avenged his DNF from last year to grab another podium finish in his 105th Northburn attempt, finishing 4th overall after having a drag race with Konoka Azumi into the finish.
Congratulations to everyone who lined up to take on Northburn. There are a few of you who had great days - feel free to submit your runs to that ‘other newsletter’😉.
The rest of you? It’s been far too long since we had a new ‘Worst Run Ever’ sent in - I’m sure a few of you need to put pen to paper!
This Week’s Newsletter Is Brought To You By…
The Tararua Mountain Race Saturday 12th of April, 2025
Race the historic tramping route ‘The Southern Crossing ’ with the support of LandSAR.
A rāhui is in place covering the Tongariro Crossing following the death of a man on the track on Friday. This wasn’t another tourist going wandering in jandals - the man collapsed and couldn’t be resuscitated.
The crossing will reopen at 6 am on March 26; alternative routes are advised.
Jim Walmsley took out the 120KM Chianti Ultra by UTMB in Italy over the weekend, beating out frenemy, Kilian Jornet. But Kilian got what he was after, a Golden Ticket to Western States.
If our boy Danny Jones is going to win Western States this year, he’s going to have beat the best there is, injuries and sandbagging aside, this will be the strongest field ever assembled. I can’t wait!
Mission Desk
Last week featured a Q&A with Anthony Grant previewing his self-made mountain miler, running from Queenstown to Wanaka via 8 major Peaks which he was attempting over the weekend.
So how did he go? …
HE CRUSHED IT!💪
I haven’t talked to him yet, but I’m sure he will be stoked with that effort.
“I gotta say, you can do a whole lot with a bit of grit and some good people around you.”
The nights are getting longer, and there’s a bit more shrinkage, but the season is never over.
There were several SK attempts over the weekend with 2 successful attempts going into the history books.
💪Alex Lark - 23:24 - Tarn SK
This is what Alex has to say about his big day out:
“It was claggy most of the day and it was my first time in the northern part of Tararuas - it was relentless and humbling experience realising how tough the route there is!”
“Does my arm look long in this shirt?”
“And the time split that guys like Tim S out there are simply amazing! Got couple of glitches with nav but quickly corrected the mistakes thanks to loaded GPS track in my Garmin.”
Fun Factor at an all time high!
“Still can’t get in my head how one can do the main range under 24, but that’s definitely will be the next priority/training focus for next summer. There is only one way to find out if this is possible …”
Done - 23:24.
Top work Alex. It sounds like we might have a Main Range recruit come Spring!
Next up …
💪Jim Murphy - 21:16 - Tarn SK
Jim is the partner of Bridget Johnson, who you may remember as being the first person to successfully attempt to complete all 11 great walks in 11 days.
Well, Jim was the head crew and logistics officer for that adventure, so you know he’s got a good amount of hall passes up his sleeve!
Take it away Jim:
“Yesterday brought to a successful (if exhausting!) end to my multi year project :to complete the three classic SK lines in a solo/unsupported manner (sub-24hrs).”
“My weather forecasting had Saturday looking calm with winds picking up later in the day, so I opted for a 1AM start from Putara to keep ahead of winds later on.”
Doing it for the views …
“The weather was already unsettled as soon as I broke up onto the tops, though, and my time along the ridges was mostly a montage of windblown clag mixed with moments of sublime views.”
Finally some views! Around Waiohine Pinnacles
“While these conditions forced me to play it very conservatively on the descents, I was met with a lovely late summer afternoon as I dropped into the valleys, and I finished at Kaitoke under calm star-encrusted skies.”
“It’ll take a little while to process all of the feelings around finishing this long project, but I hope that this might inspire others to find the epic adventures that can be had right in your backyard.”
“Huge thanks to the amazing SK community (especially to Tim!) and to Bridget, Callum, Ali, and Liz.”
Well done Jim - You’ve become the 14th person to complete all 3 SK Traverses under 24 hours.
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
3 Peaks Mountain Race
Sunday, March 30
This year is the 42nd running of the Dunedin 3 Peaks Mountain Race. Just like Western States, the origins of 3 peaks are a bit different. It actually started as a battleground for Flat supremacy.
Each Flat had to drink a keg of Speights and carry it around the peaks of Flagstaff, Swampy & Mt. Cargill before setting alight a couch to signify they’d finished.
There were a lot of different strategies over the years. Some groups drank the whole keg to lighten the load before the run, others used it as a mobile aid station.
Flat’ The Jungle’ finishing their keg before setting off on the 3 Peaks
The fun police have long since put an end to the OG Keg race, but 3 Peaks lives on, here’s what’s on offer these days:
📏55KM | ⛰️2700M
📏26KM | ⛰️1350M
📏11KM | ⛰️150M
The 26km event this year is a sell-out at over 420 entries. It’s great to see this event go from strength to strength - but all I care about this year is 3 Peaks + 1.
Once again it’s the NZ Short Trail Champs, and it’s shaping up to be a doozy! - you can read the Athletics NZ Preview here.
A headless photo seems appropriate for Athletics NZ
Last year, Ali Wilson edged out Hannah Fletcher and Backwards Cap Barnesy was chased down in the final stages by Cam Kerr in a back-and-forth race.
Neither champion will be returning this year, with Wilson clocking trail running and moving on to Hyrox🤢 and Kerr preferring to check in on the carnage from up a 2000m peak around Queenstown somewhere.
Let’s take a look at some of the contenders who could be standing on the podium come Sunday.
In the Women’s race:
Katie Morgan - If she’s on a start list, I’m locking her in as a favourite. The 2023 champion and 3 x Kepler Champ is returning to take a shot at the title … as a sponsored runner with Merrell (Finally!).
Julia Chamberlain: The current NZ Long Trail Champ and more importantly, the inaugural winner of Only Fools & Horses. Is she her to become the undisputed NZ Trail Running Champ, unifying the belts or is she here to horse around?
Mel Brandon: The WUU2K 65K CR holder has the wheels to replicate her Wellington Scottish teammate’s (Ali Wilson) success from last year. She only has 2 Ultras under her race belt but has been training hard for the Faultline 100K, so this will be a great litmus test.
Mel Aitken: She’s coming off a strong performance at Tarawera 50 (8th - 4:30) and is always a threat no matter the race.
Hannah Wall: The Shotover & Motatapu Ultra Champ is on the start list. She said that she was gonna take a break from racing for a while after Motatapu, I guess ‘a while’ is contextual right? If she is racing, she will be dangerous.
In the mix: Lydia Patillo, Ella Chibnall, Billie Haresnape,Elspeth Knewstubb
In the Men’s race:
David Haunschmidt: The Flying Doc has won a lot of races … but never the National Title. He’s had some great results in 2025, without necessarily being at the peak of his powers. All will be revealed whether he has raced himself back to full fitness.
Hamish Elliot: 2024 Coast 2 Coast Champ & this year’s runner-up. He might be more at home in multi-sport but he’s the owner of a 2:34 marathon and is the back-to-back winner of Mt. Difficulty.
The last time Elliot came up against Haunschmidt was at the Routeburn - finishing 3rd, 11 minutes back from Haunschmidt.
Dan Balchin: Easily the fastest pair of shorts on the start line, he ran 2:15:55 at the Churchur Marathon in 2022 and he was the first person to get his name on the Kepler Trophy without the name Jones in 30 years. Will out-and-out speed be enough?
Matt Adams: The Jumbo Holdsworth Champ should be coming in full of confidence. After several close, but no cigar performances in 2024, Adams put it all together to win a highly competitive Jumbo Holdsworth Trail Race earlier this year (including beating Ryan Woolley & David Haunschmidt.)
Ryan Woolley: The Woolley Mammoth is coming in hot after throwing down a 3:43:59 at the Tarawera 50, which somehow was only good enough for 9th place (insanity!). He was also 🥈2nd at Jumbo Holdsworth, 🥇1st at the WAI2K 50 and was 🥈2nd behind Sam Rout at The WUU2K 65K.
In the mix:
Ryan ‘Have you heard about Bitcoin’ Carr, Thomas Callan, Chester Holt-Quick, Sam Manson
If you want to give yourself a bout of FOMO, check out this wicked snap from Adam Keen of current CR holder of the 55KM, Weston Hill.
Weston Hill, leading Dan Jones on his way to setting the CR in 2023: Photo: Aerobix Edge
Click here for more details on 3 Peaks Mountain Race.
PS. Shoutout to Tamsen Walker who I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching her Insta Stories updates at Northburn. As I write this she’s out on her 2nd night in the miler, with only 20km to go but still seems to be loving life!
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Great report. 6/6 for Hazel at Northburn?
Love your mission desk photo