"I came to New Zealand to do my PhD in Auckland, in exercise physiology," he said. "So the race today was very relevant."
He said he had already planned to do the 100km Tarawera Ultra Marathon next year and thought this event would be a good build-up.
"I have registered for the 100km event in February and I knew Paul [Charteris]," he said.
Ramonas won the 50km event in 4h 5m 33s, 14 minutes ahead of second-placed Timo Meyer and 31 minutes ahead of Dennis De Monchy in third.
Race favourite Vajin Armstrong from Christchurch rolled his ankle early on in the race and had to withdraw.
The event started at Te Puia and finished at Hot Water Beach on Lake Tarawera, going through the Buried Village. Ramonas said the course was beautiful, especially running alongside the lakes and forests.
"When the environment changes it makes it much more enjoyable and it was a fun race."
Ramonas said running ultra marathons helped him with his studies, especially with understanding how the body functions for long-distance athletes.
Smail said she was rapt to win the 50km women's race on Saturday.
She said her goal going into the event was just to finish, rather than to cross the line first.
"I just wanted to try and get through it. Before the race, I told my husband I might stop at Buried Village and he sent someone out there just in case," she said with a laugh.
Smail said it was the furthest she had ever run and she entered after organiser Charteris talked her into it.
Smail is a former New Zealand cross-country mountain bike champion and national mountain bike marathon champion.
She said, despite winning the running event, that biking was still her main sporting discipline.
She finished in a time of 4h 45m 30s, 18 minutes ahead of fellow Rotorua athlete Shannon-Leigh Litt and 35 minutes ahead of Lesley Turner Hall in third.
About halfway through the 50km race, Lett slipped and broke her hand. She still finished the race and later said she was determined to stay positive and make it to the finish.
Marathon rivals trail behind Morrisey
Bay of Plenty runner Chris Morrissey blitzed the field in the marathon distance during the inaugural Tarawera Trail Marathon and 50km race.
Morrissey, from Tauranga, is well known in local running circles as a top mountain runner.
He has won the Kawerau King of the Mountain race nine times, and used his mountain running experience to his advantage on Saturday.
He crossed the finish line in a time of 3h 29m 35s, 15 minutes ahead of Ondrej Brambus from the Czech Republic.
Morrissey said the course was excellent to run on.
"It's great that Paul [Charteris] and Tim [Day] have designed the course that is in the same area as the Tarawera Ultra but only uses about one per cent of the same trails."
Holly Howes was the first women over the finish line in the marathon distance recording a time of 4h 51m 24s. Aimee Cooper finished in second place a further seven minutes back.
