Event Information

The Series

Dates for the 2019 series are:

    • April 14th – Lake Tutira and surrounding hills
    • May 5th – Location TBC
  • June 16th – Ranui Farm Park Waipukurau
  • July 14th – Location TBC (Castle Peak Forest – Napier Taihape Road)
  • August 12th – Location TBC (Sacred Hill Vineyard – Dartmoor Road)
  • September 8th – Location TBC 

Courses and Distances

There will be 3 distances available at each venue (all distances are measured by GPS).  There are no guarantees they are exact as there are differences between GPS units – this is trail running, not the place to come for pinpoint accuracy!  Courses are exacting, not exact.

  • Short course between 5 and 9 kms for walkers and runners
  • Medium course between 11 and 15 kms for walkers and runners
  • Half Marathon, 21.1 kms for runners only

Start Times and Briefings

Registration will be open from 7:30am for you to sign in and collect your race number and will close 15 minutes before your race start time.  Please do not leave it to the last minute – you must attend (and listen to!) the race briefing for your distance to be eligible to start.  

  • Start times are:
  • 9:30 Half marathon (briefing at 9.15),
  • 10:00 Middle course (race briefing at 9.45)
  • 10:30 Short course (race briefing at 10.15)
  • Race briefings are compulsory as they contain important information and updates. 
  • Course cut off for all courses is 1:30 pm

Entry Costs

Entry fee includes a free post race hot drink from The Mobile Cup coffee cart which will be at the start/finish area. 

Prices are in New Zealand dollars. Credit card surcharges are added to the entry fees.

  • Short course $32.00 per race ($42.00 in the last week before the event)
  • Short course junior (age 15 and under) $22.00 per race ($32.00 in the last week before the event)
  • Medium course $42.00 per race ($52.00 in the last week before the event)
  • Half marathon $52.00 per race, minimum entry age 16 ($62.00 in the last week before the event)

All runners who complete 6 events of any distance will receive a medal after the last race in the series.

The 126.6TM Half Marathon Series

Enter the half marathon series before April 12th:

  • Receive a discount off the total entry cost
  • Receive a free THE 126.6™ Finishers T-shirt on the completion of all 6 events

Early Bird Series Entry

Enter all 6 events of any distance, you can choose to do all the same or mix and match distances. You might like to start with the short distances and work you way up to some half marathons near the end of the series.

Series entries close off on April 12th:

  • Enter any combination of 6 separate events (you can mix distances)
  • Receive a 10% discount off the total cost

Important Entry Info

  • Entries close at midnight on the Friday before each event.
  • Entries are online only. There is no other method of entering.
  • A late entry fee of $10 will apply from the Monday prior to each event.
  • Credit card surcharges are added to all entries.
  • Series entries for  the Hammer Nutrition Hawke’s Bay Trail Run Series and THE 126.6TM will close on April 12th.
  • Minimum age for half marathon runners is 16 years, unless they are accompanied by a fee paying adult who runs with them for the entire event.
  • All runners under 13 are welcome to any short course event but they must be accompanied around the course by a fee paying adult who runs with them for the entire event.

Refunds and Transfers

Entry fee refunds requested up until midnight 31 March 2019 will receive 50% of their entry fee.  

Series Entrants please note.  You can not request a refund for an individual race, only for the series as a whole, prior to 31 March 2019.

Entry fees are non-refundable after 31 March 2019 and we cannot refund entry fees after this date.

Requests for refunds must be notified to the organisers via info@hbtrailrun.co.nz before midnight 31 March 2019.

Entries are not transferable to another event.

Entries are not transferable to another person.

Please do not ask as a refusal always offends and causes some emotional distress for all concerned.

Contingency Plans and Race Cancellation

There is a contingency plan for each event.  For most venues, laps of the short course will replace the long course if we are unable to use the long or medium course. 

In the case of event cancellation by the organisers due to extreme inclement weather (at the discretion of the event officials), the organisers will endeavour to run the event the following weekend if possible.

In the case of event cancellation or postponement, entry fees shall be non-refundable and non- transferable.  

Aid Stations

There are no aid stations on any of the courses for any of the distances. Yes that does include the half marathons too!  If you have nutritional and hydration needs you MUST provide your own and your own means of carrying it.  There is an aid station at the finish line with water and Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes Fizz.

Emergency Contact and Cellphone Coverage

Cellphone coverage at the event sites is limited or non-existent.  Should you or your emergency contact need to get in touch with the event directors on the day try the numbers on the e-tickets.  Failing that, drive to the event site using the instructions on the website. http://hbtrailrun.co.nz

Portable Music Devices and Headphones

After some issues in previous events, for safety reasons (e.g. if someone is trying to communicate with you and tell you that you are going the wrong way!) use of iPod, MP3, Walkman etc is not permitted.  Instead enjoy your surroundings or get to know your fellow runners – you might even finish the day with a new best friend.

Course Marking

The courses will be well signposted with coloured arrows and lengths of tape which will be located at places where you might be tempted to wander. At locations where the course needs to split for different distances these will be marked with a sign, arrow and a flag. This will be made clear at race briefing. 

Make sure you look up often and look out for the signs and tape – it is easy to have your head down watching where you’re going and run straight past them, especially when it is muddy!

We will provide a description of the courses for you to download and a GPS track superimposed on a map will be made available online for nearly all courses. We do not supply maps. Given that there has been the occasional person or animal deciding to have fun with our course marking, it may well be prudent for you to download this and have it with you.

If by some chance you do get temporarily unsure of your position, backtrack to the last arrow or piece of tape you saw then resume your course.  There will be no set distance between arrows or tape. If you can’t find your way back to the marked course PLEASE stay in one place as it is much easier for us to come and find someone who is not moving around.

Prize Giving

As we are a winter series we don’t like to keep you hanging around in the cold for a prize giving at each event.  Instead spot prizes are given away randomly at the finish line.

But we do like to celebrate success so there is an informal prize giving (bring a picnic) at the last race in the series with spot prizes and some fun certificates handed out.

General Information

Some of the trails are on private land.  The landowners have been very generous and allowed us access for the events.  The land is not available for training.  Please do not train on any of the tracks that cross private land as you jeopardise our future use.

As our venues are working farms, all of our venues are dog free, smoke free and vape free.  You can’t bring your dog, even if you intend to leave them in the car.  The exception is Ocean Beach where race HQ is on public land.

Ensure you have adequate warm clothing to run in and to change into afterwards.  Event locations can be exposed to the elements with little shelter.

Sweepers will follow close to the last runner collecting course signage but not your rubbish.  Make sure anything you take in, you take away when you’ve emptied it, this includes banana skins (farmers don’t like these hanging around in their paddocks).

Trail running is not like running on the road.  It can be muddy.  It could be rough underfoot.  It will not be flat.  Best thing you can do to train for these runs is find some trails and tracks and start running on them.  Practice on hills, a few more hills and once you’ve had enough on the hills, try and find some more hills.  Splash through mud, jump in the puddles and scream wildly as you run downhills.  Enjoy the sights, the sounds and the smells.  This is running in it’s purest form.

We strongly recommend that you invest in a pair or trail running shoes.  The courses can be muddy and slippery in places and trail shoes are waaay better than road shoes for helping you to stay in your feet.  Kind of like why tractors have knobbly tyres rather than smooth tyres like a car!