Ultramarathon: Champ to tackle Tarawera

Sweden's Jonas Buud is entered in the Tarawera Ultramarathon in Rotorua next weekend.

From the snowy, -25C trails of Sweden to the lakeside, forest trails of the Tarawera Ultramarathon in Rotorua, current 100km world champion trail runner Jonas Buud is looking forward to the change of pace.

The Tarawera Ultramarathon is being held next Saturday on a world-class 100km trail run from Rotorua to Kawerau. It is also part of the Ultra-Trail World Tour, a series of the 12 most prestigious ultra-running races in the world.

Currently visiting New Zealand for the first time, Buud has an impressive record, culminating in the 100km World Championships last year.

That victory also placed him as the 12th fastest runner over the 100km distance of all time. Buud has also won the Swiss Alpine Marathon, one of Europe's largest ultramarathon races, eight consecutive times.

The Tarawera Ultramarathon will be Buud's first ultra race after winning the world title in the Netherlands in September last year.

"I've run smaller races since the world championships, but this will be my first big race since then and I'm really looking forward to it.

"I saw video footage of the Tarawera Ultramarathon on YouTube and thought it looked tremendous. The spectacular views and pristine environment, it just looked like a really great race and different to what I usually run," Buud said.

"I've run every type of trail but I like flat trail running the most, which is what the Tarawera Ultra is, so I'm really looking forward to it.

"The heat will be the biggest challenge for me, having come from minus 25 degrees and 50 centimetres of snow in Sweden, but the distance and course is perfect for me."

Buud has spent the past week in New Zealand acclimatising .

Tarawera Ultramarathon organiser Paul Charteris said Buud's presence, alongside another 19 of the world's elite trail runners, was testament to the profile the race had built.

"We are extremely lucky to have the trails we do in New Zealand and the Tarawera Ultramarathon makes the most of all the best bits of New Zealand's scenery, terrain, culture and heritage," he said.

"It is fantastic that Jonas is joining us this year and he will be a tough competitor to beat."

Elite men to keep an eye out for alongside Asics-sponsored Buud are Jason Schlarb, Mike Wardian and Ford Smith (USA), Ryan Sandes (RSA), David Byrne (AUS) and Vajin Armstrong (NZ).