Hundreds tick Tarawera Trail off bucket list

Runners and walkers set off from the Tarawera Trail Marathon and 50km start line at Pohutu Geyser, Te Puia. Photo / Stephen Parker

For organisers of one of the hardest trail runs in the country, seeing the reactions of participants as they cross the finish line makes it all worth it.

Yesterday,hundreds of runners took part in the Tarawera Trail Marathon and 50km event, in which they were required to navigate a wide range of trails and obstacles on their way from Te Puia's Pohutu geyser to Hot Water Beach.

Event organiser Paul Charteris said there were lots of "super happy" people completing the event.

"There were lots of people doing that sort of distance for the first time and people were just so accomplished and proud of themselves. There were lots of tears on the finish line this year, not of despondency but of joy and relief - the accomplishment of knocking off something major in their lives," Charteris said.

He said, as an organiser, seeing people successfully challenge themselves was a highlight.

"People at the finish hugging their friends and family, with huge sobbing tears coming out. Of course you don't know everyone's story, but you know they've come from somewhere and they consider this to be a really important journey in their lives, when you see that sort of emotion."

There were concerns about the weather in the lead-up to Saturday, after a very muddy event last year, but the rain held off.

Auckland's Jennifer Overend emerges from a cave during the 23km Tikitapu Trail Run. Photo / Kurt Matthews/photos4sale.co.nz

"It was outstanding, it was really, really good. We were looking at the weather forecast all week, trying to work out what it was going to do, and there was a big, ugly rain system coming in.

"We had to announce compulsory jackets for our entrants, but then the rain just managed to hold off, they were perfect running conditions and we had a good day overall.

"We had a lot of runners from out of town who had never done this before and they said the scenery was stunning - they had no idea this existed in their backyard. There is eye-popping scenery at every turn, it's pretty unique."

One runner overjoyed to cross the finish line was Rotorua's Lynette McRae who finally got her 50km medal, after failing to make the cut-off time at the event last year. She said she was "ecstatic".

"I made it, I got my 50km medal and it felt great. It took me 11 hours and 55 minutes but I got to the end in one piece. It's taken me two years to get this and it was awesome to get to the finish.

Papakura's Kenna Richmond (left), Donna Richmond, Taryn Richmond and Auckland's Cornell Allen take in the scenery during the Tikitapu Trail Run. Photo / Kurt Matthews/photos4sale.co.nz

"I entered the marathon but the goal was to do the 50km, you have to make sure you're at the right time when you get to the turn-off. I had to be there by 10.15am and I got there at 9.45am so I knew I had plenty of time to go out and do the 50km," McRae said.

Crossing the finish line at Hot Water Beach was a moment she will never forget.

"I was absolutely ecstatic, my friend was at the finish line waiting for me and I had another friend coming in behind me. There were some tears at the end. The achievement for me was completing it, it is now one of my prized medals and I'm feeling really, really good. I'm a bit sore today though.

"It's a really good event and there's some awesome scenery. I met lots of great people out there and I got lots of encouragement from other participants as well as all the volunteers. You couldn't ask for anything better and it's definitely a challenge worth doing," she said.

At the front of the pack, the fastest man in the 50km race was Richmond's Graeme Taylor who finished in 4h 11m 23s - 3.5 minutes ahead of Tauranga's Kunaal Rajpal. Auckland's Rhys Johnston finished third.

Meanwhile, in the women's 50km, Auckland's Nancy Jiang backed up the Kawerau Queen of the Mountain title she won last month with another win, in a time of 4h 39m 3s - 37 minutes ahead of Hawke's Bay's Dulia Daly. Wellington's Emma Bassett finished third.