2026 Race Results
https://trailrunningnz.substack.com/p/wild-wilson-wins-wararua-wountain
Tararua Mountain Race Results
Saturday, March 14
There was a lot of nervous refreshing midweek around the lower North Island as mountain runners searched for a more favourable forecast than what was loaded for Saturday’s Tararua Mountain Race.
“The Tararua Mountain Race
20 per cent chance of sun,
10 per cent chance of no wind,
100 per cent chance of blood, sweat and tears.”
Well, I guess it does kind of say it on the tin!
With a couple of pearler days forecast for Sunday and Monday, smoke was seen rising from the high points of Wellington on Thursday as lycra sacrifices burned around the region in hopes the Sunday weather window would move forward.
It would seem the weather gods were pleased, as the reborn Tararua Mountain Race got away for the 3rd time early Saturday morning in“good enough, we’ve got LandSAR on the tops”kind of weather.
Southern Crossing:📏36km | ⛰️2300M
Women’s podium:
🥇Ali Wilson - 5:58:01
🥈Allira Hanczakowski - 5:58:35
🥉Sarah Hodgson - 6:24:47
Ali Wilson Races, Ali Wilson Wins …Just!
I pickedThe Smiling Assassin aka Allira Hanczakowskito take her 2nd title in 3 years, butAli “Cat” Wilsonhad other ideas, signing up just days before the race. Baller move😎.
Actual footage from the TRNZ intel hotline Thursday when I heard Ali Wilson was racing
Wilson may have signed up late, but Hanczakowski countered with her own power move, running out of the early 6.30 am wave and posting a time for Wilson to chase.
H-dawg had a rip snorter of a morning, taking 15 minutes off her 2024 title winning time. With the hard work done, she shot off to work and waited to see if Wilson could return serve.
With Wilson starting at 8:30 and limited coverage, she was left to race the Ghost of Hanczakowski across the range. Unfortunately, it looks like there was an issue with the splits, which makes it difficult for me to weave a half-truth, half bs race narrative,BUTwhat I can tell you is it came down to the wire.
With all the different waves starting to finish at the same time, it was an exciting watch waiting to see if Ali would beat Allira’s time. It was a bit like watching an Olympic time trial where it comes down to the very last run.
Now the timing on the results website could be a little bit iffy, as the event used Webscorer GPS, which I don’t really understand the dark forces at play that make it work. But Allira’s time matches up with her Strava (5:58:26), so I’m just gonna roll with Ali Wilson winning by 34 seconds, plus or minus a few hairs.
Either way, it’s great to see 2 of Wellington’s finest perform on the big stage and duck under the 6-hour mark💪. Fingers crossed we can line them up at the same time sometime soon!
Sarah Hodgsonalso had herself a day, coming over the bridge to take Bronze in a time that has been good enough for the win in recent years.
Here’s what Ali had to say about being back in the starting blocks:
We haven’t seen you on the starting blocks in the trail scene since your 2nd place at UTA last year- how did it feel to be back redlining it in one of the toughest races in the country?
“When an inclement weather forecast is predicted in The Tararua's, there's no better day (or place) to return to a start line.”
“The past year I've been focussing on my health (and returning to adventure racing). I enjoy running but motivations and perspectives change with each year that passes. I'm grateful I can turn up and still push myself to the same level. The TMR was a good test to see where the legs are after a few weeks of structured training.”
The big news last week was that you’ve signed with the Merrell performance team. Firstly, congratulations, and secondly, I’m guessing that means we’re going to see some more Ali Wilson appearances over the next few months?
“Yea I'm stoked that Merrell have had me join, I feel like Cinderella- the shoe's fitted and I can't speak more highly of them, or the team behind Merrell NZ. I'll be on a few more start lines in the coming months in NZ and Aus, no trips to Chamonix after I turned down my OCC spot, bike packing adventures in Peru took priority.”
Thanks for that Ali! Excited to see what comes next.
Sarah Hogdson and Ali Wilson on the TMR podium. Ali might have signed with Merrell, but Mountain Skag is where it’s at 😎
Men’s podium:
🥇Luke Brown - 5:18:48
🥈Brendan Varty - 5:24:13
🥉Paul Lenihan - 5:56:57
Last week I predicted the Masterton Kid akaBrendan Vartywould come out on top. Well, I had the region kind of right; turns out my crystal balls need some fine-tuning.
It wasLuke Brownfrom the endurance Mecca of Eketahuna who lifted the historic trophy in a showdown with one of the Tararua’s frequent fliers.
Brown and Varty set the early pace, quickly establishing that this was going to be a straight shootout. The last time these 2 raced, Brown finished 2m12s clear at the Jumbo Holdsworth Trail Race.
Somewhere along the wormhole of Marchant Ridge, Brown pulled away from Varty and ran into Alpha Hut (19km / 1300m-ish) with a substantial 8-minute lead.
Brown maintained his lead across the sloptastrophe that is the Dress Circle and into Kime Hut. 12km to go and 8 minutes back. It wasn’t Mission Impossible, but Varty would need to channel his inner Kilian on the descent to stand any chance of snaffling the title.
Varty clawed back close to 2 minutes on the rocky descent into Field Hut, keeping himself in the fight. But it was too little too late as Brown finished the job, running into Otaki Forks for the first time as the 2026 Tararua Mountain Race champion.
The final margin? 10 minutes. Varty also took 10 minutes off his PB and finished close to half an hour ahead ofPaul Lenihan, who put together a killer back 9 as he jumped from 7th to 3rd in the back half of the race.
Here’s what Luke had to say about his TMR experience:
This was your first time racing TMR - What did you think of the course and what were the conditions like out there?
“Saturday was my first ever Tararua Mountain Race and my first time completing the Southern crossing. The course had abit of everything, the majority of the course to Kime hut was boggy and hard to run but it definitely made it interesting!”
“Having rolled my ankle a couple of times before Kime hut it made it hard for me to try and pump down the nice track back to Otaki Forks.”
What does it mean to you to win one of NZ’s most iconic mountain races?
“Super stoked to win the Southern crossing race and I'm looking forward to more.”
Brendan Varty, Luke Brown and Paul Lenihan. Is that another Mountain Skag T on the podium?
Thanks for that Luke. What an absolute beast. Running the Southern Crossing for the first time and coming away with the win.
Other notes:
Ehsan Lorestaniset a new CR by 10 minutes in the Kime Climb at 2:51:46.
Maddy Watsonwon the Field Dash in her last race (for now) on Kiwi soil before heading back to Glasgow.
The 1990 founder,Brent Harrisonmade it to the finish line festival and was honoured at the prize giving. Here’s a picture of Brent and current RD Andy Carruthers. 2 absolute legends.
I ran the shorter Kime Climb as a last hit out for the quads leading into Ring of Fire in 2 weeks. I loved every minute of it, and would highly recommend it next year for anyone who wants to be involved in the event that can’t quite stomach the thought of dealing with all that mud on the crossing.
Now that the Otaki Forks road is open, the atmosphere at the finish line was awesome. War stories being traded in the sun over a sausage and plenty of people swimming in the river as everyone got their moment in the sun running over the swing bridge into the finish. A++ would trade again.
