The month so far

🎃 Which of these spooky-sounding NZ summits DOESN’T actually exist? 🎃

• A Mount Misery
• B Ghost Peak ✓ Answer
• C Mount Horrible
• D Devils Knob

B- Ghost Peak 👻

Which of these Knobs is the highest?

• A Colonial Knob (Porirua)
• B Coopers Knob (Churchur)
• C Scotts Knob (Marlborough) ✓ Answer
• D Gordons Knob (Tasman)

C - Scotts Knob – 2,161m The others are Colonial Knob (468m), Coopers Knob (573m) and Gordons Knob (1,592m).

Who holds the current women’s course record for the WUU2K 65km Ultra?

• A Mel Aitken
• B Ali Wilson ✓ Answer
• C Frances Redmond
• D Ruby Muir

B - Ali Cat Wilson 6:49:10 | 2023

How old was Dan Jones when he ran Toi’s Challenge for the first time with his Nanna?

• A 10
• B 11 ✓ Answer
• C 12
• D 13

B - 11! He wrote it about it in his first ever substack post, this might be one for the super fans only.

How many times was The Hillary trail race held in Auckland before its cancellation?

• A 3
• B 5
• C 4 ✓ Answer
• D 1

C - 4 The Hillary race ran annually from 2014 to 2017. The 2018 race was cancelled after a rāhui was placed on the Waitākere Ranges over kauri dieback

Which of these is the correct spelling of the Flying Doctor’s surname?

• A Haunschmidt ✓ Answer
• B Haundschmidt
• C Haunschmit
• D None of the above

A- Haunschmidt. I think I’m about 50% in the newsletter for correct spelling of it though 😂. Apologies I stuffed up yesterdays question it never appeared and when I realised it was late in the day so left it to keep it fair

Who holds the women’s course record for the Motatapu Ultra?

• A Hannah Wall
• B Lucy Bartholomew
• C Ruth Croft ✓ Answer
• D Nancy Jiang

C- Ruth Croft! Croft set the record of 6:38:04 in 2018, taking roughly 25 minutes off Lucy Bartholomew’s previous record.

Which of these New Zealand Great Walks reaches the highest elevation?

• A Routeburn
• B Kepler
• C Milford
• D Tongariro Northern Circuit ✓ Answer

D - Northern Circuit The track reaches approximately 1,886m at Red Crater, higher than Routeburn (1,255m), Kepler (1,472m) and Milford (1,154m).

How many times has the embattled Ring Of Fire event taken place?

• A 5
• B 6
• C 3
• D 4 ✓ Answer

D- 4! Its run in 2018,2019,2023 and 2026

Whos face features on the SK News Desk in the TRNZ newsletter?

• A Bradley Houghton
• B Judy Bailey
• C Chris Martin ✓ Answer
• D Steve Tripp

Chris Martin - The man, the myth, the legend. Not only did he play for the black caps, sing for cold play, talk shit on the internet, he also fronts the SK news desk.

Who's course record did David Haunschmidt just break at Rakiura challenge?

• A Dan Jones
• B Tom Barnes
• C Jack Harris
• D Matthew Arnold ✓ Answer

D- Matthew Arnold He ran the 32km race in 2:32:03 in 2023 - The Flying Doc lowered it to 2:26:09

Which race’s results featured in the first-ever Trail Running NZ newsletter?

• A Tarawera
• B The Goat ✓ Answer
• C Pigs Backyard
• D UTMB

B -The Goat Tongariro! The first TRNZ newsletter landed on 22 January 2023 with Goat results, a look at The Revenant, and a Jumbo Holdsworth preview.

Who won the first ever Backyard Ultra in NZ?

• A Sam Harvey
• B Fiona Hayvice
• C Katie Wright ✓ Answer
• D Shaun Collins

Katie Wright beat the boys running 30 yards / 201.3km at Riverhead in 2019

Which of these races has Ruth Croft never won?

• A South Island Ultra ✓ Answer
• B Old Ghost Ultra
• C 3 Peaks Dunedin
• D UTA 50

A - South Island Ultra Ruth has won races from Dunedin to the Blue Mountains Straya and even taken the Old Ghost Ultra outright. But a South Island Ultra title isn’t in her crowded trophy cabinet.

In the first ever 'Worst Run Ever' where was Arran Whiteford when an uphill run became a painful, freezing walk home?

• A Chamonix
• B Queenstown
• C Squamish ✓ Answer
• D Tip Track

Arran headed up “The Chief” in Squamish, Canada, and injured his knee an hour into the climb. With no food or warm clothes, he faced a long walk home in −10°C, wondering whether the bears or his partner Jo would get to him first.

Who finished 3rd in the men’s 100km at the inaugural WAI2K in 2020?

• A Kevin Fink
• B Joe Murphy
• C Bradley Houghton ✓ Answer
• D Michael Beaumont

C - Bradley Houghton - thats right MF's I did once get on the podium. In the inaugural 2020 WAI2K 100km, yours truely finished third out of 18 runners, then celebrated with Shoe Review Stu in the back of an ambulance, both getting drips.

When was the last time that Mt. Ruapehu blew its top?

• A 1998
• B 1996
• C 2007 ✓ Answer
• D 2016

C — 2007 On 25 September, Ruapehu fired ash, rocks and water across its summit and sent lahars down the mountain. It lasted seven minutes. Nothing like the 1995–96 eruptions, but an eruption nonetheless.

Who holds the fastest women’s FKT on the Te Araroa, Trail?

• A Brooke Thomas
• B Paulina Zäck ✓ Answer
• C Sorri Knoidea
• D Olivia Lawrence

Paulina Zäck! In 2025, she completed Te Araroa in 54 days, 9 hours and 48 minutes, setting the fastest women’s time across all support categories. She did it self-supported, beating Brooke Thomas’s supported time by more than three days.

Jub Bryant is the unofficial mayor of which NZ City?

• A Dunedin
• B Queenstown ✓ Answer
• C Wellington
• D Wanaka

B - Queenstown! Jub Bryant the bearded wonder is the unofficial mayor of Queenstown, at least according to the highly rigorous TRNZ electoral commission.

Which of these Knobs is not in the Tararua Range?

• A Richards Knob
• B Triangle Knob
• C Flaxy Knob
• D Oblong Knob ✓ Answer

D - Oblong Knob Triangle, Richards and Flaxy Knob are all real Tararua peaks. Oblong Knob is a great name though, surely there's one out there.

Who won the inaugural Women's Faultline Ultra 100-mile event?

• A Nikki Everton
• B Caitlin Fielder
• C Jean Beaumont
• D Erin Vaughn ✓ Answer

Erin Vaughan won the women’s race at the first Faultline Ultra in 2024, finishing the 100 miler in 22:36:37.

Whose 7-year-old Taupō 100km course record did Nikki Everton break in 2023?

• A Ruth Croft
• B Ali Wilson
• C Cecilia Flori ✓ Answer
• D Ruby Muir

C - Cecilia Flori Nikki broke Flori’s record from the inaugural 2016 Taupō Ultramarathon by 45 seconds, finishing the 100km in 9:21:04. That record had survived seven years, and Nikki needed a flat-out final few kilometres to nick it.

Frances Redmond is known as ...

• A Frog ✓ Answer
• B Hoppy
• C Franky
• D Flamer

A - Frog.

Who beat Daniel Jones to win the 2023 NZ Short Trail title at Dunedin’s 3 Peaks + 1?

• A Weston Hill ✓ Answer
• B Ryan Carr
• C Chester Holt-Quick
• D Hayden Hawks

A - Weston Hill. He beat Daniel Jones at the 2023 NZ Short Trail Championships, held on Dunedin’s 3 Peaks + 1 course. Weston won in 4:54:58, with Dan 2nd in 5:15:42

Which of these rivers is not in Fiordland National Park?

• A Hollyford River
• B Eglinton River
• C Clinton River
• D Dart River ✓ Answer

The Dart River! It flows through the Rees–Dart area of Mount Aspiring National Park. Same big mountain country, wrong national park.

What’s the highest point in Kaimanawa Forest Park?

• A Umukarikari
• B Mt Te Aroha
• C Makorako ✓ Answer
• D Lightening Bolt

Makorako! At 1,727m, it’s the highest point in Kaimanawa Forest Park, tucked away in the middle of the park southeast of Lake Taupō

Which of these huts is not in Te Urewera?

• A A. Panekire Hut
• B Shallow Bay Hut ✓ Answer
• C Marauiti Hut
• D Waiopaoa Hut

B - Shallow Bay Hut! The other three are on the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk in Te Urewera. Shallow Bay Hut is down beside Lake Manapouri in Fiordland.

Who arrived at the Blue Lake 24hr Challenge ready to chase a beer-a-lap record, than spent the morning vomiting?

• A Shannon Rhodes
• B Alex Jones
• C Damian Watson
• D Jamie Calder ✓ Answer

As heard about in his "Worst Run Ever" submission - Jamie Calder's Beer-A-Lap attempt came crashing down when he came down with Gastro

Rangituhi, the hill above Porirua, Wellington, is also known as what?

• A Mt. Whittaker
• B Colonial Knob ✓ Answer
• C Rangi's Knob
• D Ranga's Knob

B - Colonial Knob. Rangituhi is the traditional name for the hill above Porirua. It means “sky glow”, referring to the colours of the setting sun across the ridgeline.

Who was the inaugural winner of the Tarawera 100 mile women’s race?

• A Fiona Hayvice
• B Jean Beaumont
• C Courtney Dauwalter
• D Sally McRae ✓ Answer

Sally McRae won the inaugural Tarawera 100 Mile women’s race in 2018, finishing in 21:11:10