Terms of Use

Welcome to Trail Running NZ (“TRNZ”). The site is run by Bradley Houghton, a sole trader based in New Zealand. By using the site, creating an account, submitting content, buying a listing, buying gear from the shop or entering a challenge, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the site.

This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice.

What TRNZ is

TRNZ is a hub for New Zealand trail running: a race calendar, a coaches and support directory, run groups, editorial/stories, a newsletter, and challenges like VERTual. We do our best to keep information accurate, but details (especially race dates, courses and entry status) can change. Always check the official event source before relying on anything here.

Your account

• Give accurate details and keep your password secure. You're responsible for activity under your account.
• One person per account; don't impersonate anyone else.
• Tell us if you think your account has been compromised.

Content you submit

You keep ownership of the stories, listings, events, images and other content you submit. By submitting it, you give us a non-exclusive licence to publish, display, edit for clarity/length, and promote it on TRNZ and its channels. You confirm that:

• It's yours to share, and you have the rights to any images included.
• It's accurate and not misleading, unlawful, defamatory, hateful or spam.

Submissions are reviewed before they go live. We can edit, decline or remove any content at our discretion, and may remove your access for misuse.

Paid listings & subscriptions

• Some directory and calendar features are paid. Prices and what's included are shown at checkout.
• Payments are processed by Stripe. Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled.
• You can cancel anytime from your account; your paid features run until the end of the current paid period, after which the listing reverts to the free tier.
• Except where the law requires (including the Consumer Guarantees Act), fees already paid for a current period aren't generally refundable.

Buying gear

The shop sells Mountain Skag, the apparel brand that shares a roof with this site. Skag is its own business and it's who your order is with, so it's Mountain Skag on your receipt and Mountain Skag taking the payment, not Trail Running NZ. Its GST number is 145340047.

• Prices are in New Zealand dollars and include GST. Postage is shown separately in the cart before you pay.
• Payment is handled by Stripe. Your card details go to them, not to us, and we never see your full card number.
• Stock counts can be wrong. We hold the gear ourselves, and something can sell out between you paying and us packing the box. If that happens we'll email you and sort it out: a swap if you're happy with one, otherwise a refund of everything you paid for what we can't send, postage included. We take the payment first and fix it afterwards, because the money's already left your account and pretending the order never happened doesn't help either of us.
• Mistakes happen. If a price or a description on the site is obviously wrong, we can cancel the order and refund you in full instead of honouring it. We'll tell you if we do, and you're welcome to reorder at the right price.
• We can decline an order, and we don't ship outside New Zealand and Australia.

Postage and pickup

• New Zealand standard post: $7.90, roughly 3-5 working days.
• Australia: $20, roughly 7-14 working days.
• Pick up in Porirua: free.
• Spend over $150 and New Zealand postage is on us. That one doesn't reach Australia.

We pack and post everything ourselves around full-time jobs, so an order goes out within a few days rather than the same afternoon. Once it's in the post it's on the carrier's timetable, not ours, and plenty of it goes untracked. Delivery times are an estimate, not a promise, and we can't be held to a date the carrier sets. Risk in the gear passes to you when it's delivered, or when you collect it.

Picking up: reply to your confirmation email and we'll sort a time and a spot in Porirua. If we can't get hold of you we'll keep your order here for three months and keep trying. After that we may put the gear back on the shelf and refund you.

Faults and returns

• The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 applies to everything we sell you. If gear turns up faulty, isn't as described, or isn't of acceptable quality, you're entitled to have it repaired, replaced or refunded. Those rights are yours by law and nothing on this page takes them off you.
• Email mountainskag@gmail.com or reply to your confirmation email with your order reference, tell us what's wrong and send a photo if you can. The sooner the better. We'll cover the postage back to us on a genuine fault.
• We don't take change-of-mind or wrong-size returns. We hold one lot of stock in a spare room, so please check the size guide before you order, and ask us if you're stuck between two sizes. We'd rather answer that question than have the tee come back.

Challenges (e.g. VERTual)

• Challenges have their own rules shown on the challenge page; by entering you agree to them.
• Some challenges read your activity data from Strava via a connected club. Taking part is voluntary and you can leave at any time.
• Play fair. Falsified, mis-tagged or clearly inaccurate activities may be excluded and may lead to disqualification.
• Prizes (including any cash prize) are awarded at the organiser's discretion based on the rules. Standings are made in good faith and our decisions are final.
• Run within your limits and at your own risk. See “Your safety” below. TRNZ is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Strava.

Acceptable use

Don't scrape, copy or republish the site's content wholesale, interfere with the site's operation, attempt to break its security, or use it for anything unlawful.

Your safety

Trail running carries real risks. Any training, route, event or challenge information on TRNZ is general information only, not coaching or medical advice. You're responsible for your own safety and for deciding what's appropriate for you.

Third-party links & services

The site links to other websites and uses third-party services (Strava, Stripe, Substack and others). We're not responsible for their content or practices, and their own terms and privacy policies apply.

Disclaimers & liability

TRNZ is provided “as is”. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we exclude liability for any loss arising from your use of the site or reliance on its information. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or other laws that can't be excluded. Where our liability can't be excluded but can be limited, it's limited to re-supplying the service or refunding what you paid for it.

Intellectual property

The TRNZ name, logo, design and original written content are owned by us (or used with permission) and may not be reused without consent. Your own submitted content remains yours.

Changes & governing law

We may update these terms from time to time; the “last updated” date above will change when we do. These terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand, and the New Zealand courts have jurisdiction.