L‍OCATION ‍Upper Mangatawhiri Campground, Waterline Road, Hunua

TIMES

Friday Evening

5:00pm to 8:00pm - all welcome

Saturday Morning

4:00am to 4:50am - Ultramarathon

7:00am to 7:50am - Marathon

9:30am to 10:50am - 22km Run / Walk

60km Ultramarathon only

This event is unapologetically tough, you will need to have a good level of fitness, experience and toughness to enter this event - let alone make the finish line. This is part of the appeal!  

As part of the entry process you will need to tell us “why you are tough enough for the Hunua Hillbilly Ultramarathon”. There are no clear guidelines given here as we know you all have varying backgrounds – but some suitable examples would be: 

• I’ve done Taupo Ultra 100km/TUM/Northburn/Hardrock (enough said) 

• I’ve entered Trail Marathons for years, I’m always towards the back but I always finish. This one might be a push for me to make the cut-off, I know this and am ok with the fact I might not finish it (first try)  

• I’m a beef farmer on the hills which back onto the event. I’ve never done anything like this before, but I spend all day every day traipsing up hills for work and regularly go for big running adventures in my weekends.

Note: there is no event qualification required for the Marathon or 22km events.

Friday  

3:00pm  Campground open 

5:00pm - 8:00pm  Registration open

8:00pm  Campground closed for arrivals. 

Saturday   

4:00am - 4:50am Registration open  - Ultramarathon

4:45am Ultramarathon Event briefing 

5:00am  Ultramarathon Event start 

7:00am - 7:50am Registration open   - Marathon

7:45am Marathon Event briefing 

8:00am  Marathon Event start 

9:30am - 10:50am Registration open - 22km Run/Walk

10.45am 22km Run/ Walk Event briefing 

11:00am  22km Run / Walk Event start 

3:00pm Kōkako Kids Dash Event start

3:30pm - 8:00pm Live band paying - Coopers Run

4:30pm Event Prize Giving - 22km Run & Walk

8:00pm  Event closed - course cut-off for all courses

8:00pm Event Prize Giving - Ultra and Marathon

10:00pm  Lights out Description text goes here

Drop bags are to be dropped off on Friday afternoon/Saturday morning when you register. You are to provide the bag for your gear, we will have labels available if you need them. They will then be transported to the following locations.  

• Ultra

  • Check point #1 – 22.2km  

  • Check point #2 – 42.2km  

• Marathon

  • Check point #2 - 24.4km

This is gear everyone must carry with you for the full duration of the event.

While some of this gear may seem excessive, we ask you to bring it for your safety. You may not need it while you are running but if something happens and you have to stop you will need it. The event is on very exposed, rugged country and it can be very cold if you have to stay in one spot. 
Please see below for your distance specific list. These will be checked at Registration prior to you collecting your race number.

60km ULTRAMARATHON

• Long sleeve top (polyprop or wool)

• Seam sealed water proof jacket

• Beanie (polyprop or wool)

• Gloves

• Survival blanket/bag

• Headtorch

• 1 litre of water minimum (2l recommended)

42km TRAIL MARATHON

• Long sleeve top (polyprop or wool)

• Seam sealed water proof jacket

• Beanie (polyprop or wool)

• Gloves

• Survival blanket/bag

• Headtorch

• 1 litre of water minimum

22km RUN/WALK COURSE

• Long sleeve top (polyprop or wool)

• Seam sealed water proof jacket

• Survival blanket/bag

• 1 litre of water minimum

ULTRAMARATHON

The overall time limit to complete the Hunua Hillbilly Ultramarathon course is 15 hours.

The course will close at 8pm, there are also intermediate check points along the way that you must reach in time. These have been worked out specifically around the terrain in each of the 3 sections of the course (which are all quite different) to give you the best chance of making the finish line closure at 8pm sharp.

It is worth noting that some sections of the course are much tougher/slower than others, so try and avoid cutting it too close to check point cut offs, as you may be disappointed.

All 3 cut-off’s will be strictly adhered to and as part of entering the event you agree to being withdrawn if you fail to meet an intermediary cut off or don’t reach the finish line in time. (You are however allowed to be disappointed! We would be disappointed if you were not.)  

• Check point #1 – 22.2km – 4.5 hours/9:30am

• Check point #2 – 42.2km – 10.5 hours/3.30pm 

• FINISH CLOSED – 60km – 15 hours/8:00pm 

We feel that it is worth pointing out that we don’t expect everyone to make it to the finish. That is part of the allurer of this event. We want you to go into this event being ok with this fact and know that whether you make it to CP1, 2 or all the way to the finish line in time, you have done an amazing job and will still have a great day/weekend out.

MARATHON

The overall time limit to complete the Marathon course is 12 hours.

The course will close at 8pm, there is also an intermediate check point along the way that you must reach in time. It is worth noting that some sections of the course are much tougher/slower than others, so try and avoid cutting it too close to check point cut offs, as you may be disappointed.

Both cut-off’s will be strictly adhered to and as part of entering the event you agree to being withdrawn if you fail to meet an intermediary cut off or don’t reach the finish line in time. (You are however allowed to be disappointed! We would be disappointed if you were not.)  

• Check point #2 – 24.4km – 6.5 hours/2.30pm 

• FINISH CLOSED – 42.2km – 12 hours/8:00pm 

22km Run/Walk

The overall time limit to complete the 22km course is 9 hours.

The course will close at 8pm and the cut-off will be strictly adhered to. As part of entering the event you agree to being withdrawn if you fail to reach the finish line in time. (You are however allowed to be disappointed! We would be disappointed if you were not.)  

• FINISH CLOSED – 22km – 9 hours/8:00pm 

AGE LIMITS

You must be 18 years or older to do the 60km Hunua Hillbilly Ultramarathon or Marathon. You must be 15 years or older to enter the 22km event option (Children aged 14 and under may be able to participate in the 22km event with prior approval from event organizers, please get in touch if this is the case).

AGE CATEGORIES

Under 18 - Half-cooked Hillbillies (22km event only)

18 to 39 – High-flying Hillbillies 

40 to 49 – Hearty Hillbillies 

50 to 59 – Hard-core Hillbillies 

60+ - Hero Hillbillies 

SUPPORTERS 

One of the beautiful things about this course is there are points where supporters can access the course. Event transport, in the form of a minivan, will be used to transport supporters via private roads to the 2 key check points on the course for the Ultra and 1 for the Marathon. Not only that, but the nature of the loops is that the van will pass by the event base between each viewing point, so your supporters can chill at base and recharge before heading out to the next spot for another taxing round of supporting!  

• Support viewing point #1 – 22.2km  (Ultra supporters only)

• Support viewing point #2 – 24.4km (Marathon) & 42.2km (Ultra)

PACERS

There will be no pacers in this event. This event is all about testing yourself while getting back to nature, taking in your surroundings, and going on a journey with yourself (and hopefully some of your friendly fellow HillBillies).