The elite line-up at this year’s Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB, including Rotorua local Michael Voss, is one of the strongest in the event’s 16-year history, attracting serial winners from around the world to its four races.

Beginning on Saturday, February 15, in Rotorua, the TMiler (100 miles/163km) will begin at 4am, followed by the T102 (102km) and T50 (50km) at 7am and the T21 (21km) at 10am.

Can Voss Beat Ultra Runner of the Year Hawks?

Named by many as the 2024 Ultra Runner of the Year, Hayden Hawks (USA) will return to the Tarawera Ultra-Trail for the second time.

Hayden Hawks finished second in the T102 Tarawera UltraMarathon race on his last visit to New Zealand in 2023. Photo / Graeme Murray

After finishing runner-up in the T102 in 2023, Hawks will tackle the T50 this year and will line up as the strong favourite for the title.

Hawks, who last year won the famous CCC race at the UTMB World Series Finals and finished second at the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, has been here for nearly six weeks ahead of this race, training alongside his good friend Daniel Jones (New Zealand).

“This is our second time spending a significant training block down here in New Zealand and it won’t be the last. We love it down here, it’s great to escape the winter back home and come here to train, dive and fish, spend lots of time outdoors with the family and enjoy the New Zealand summer,” said Hawks.

“It has really become a second home for us and we plan on spending many more New Zealand summers here. My good mate Dan Jones is great to train with and why not throw in a world class race like Tarawera if I am already here? The trails are great, the people and atmosphere are even better and it’s a great way to start my season ... I plan on making it the start to my season for years to come.”

Having already qualified for this year’s Western States and UTMB World Series Finals, Hawks has opted to race the 50km to test out his speed and fitness early in the season.

“I decided to run the T50 this year as I have a very big year to come with both Western States and UTMB on the schedule. I don’t want to run too long, too early in the year and want to make sure I am prepared for both of those races. I will be racing T50 but also using it as a great part of my training and stepping stone to other races to come. I do think it would be cool to win both the T50 and T102 over the years as New Zealand and Tarawera are dear and important to me,” said Hawks.

“I always want to win and believe I can win the race, but most importantly, I want to have a great time, not get injured and run a fast and well-executed race.”

Lining up alongside Hawks is a strong international contingent, featuring two-time OCC podium-finisher Robbie Simpson (Britain), Spanish duo Daniel Osanz and Marc Olle Bernades, and two-time T102 champion Dylan Bowman (USA).

Rotorua local Michael Voss is another former champion hoping to push Hawks all the way in pursuit of the T50 crown.

“I love running this race as it always gets a good-quality field, with some of the best trail runners in the world competing. Being able to line up against them, in a place where I do 90% of my training, feels pretty special. The course is challenging and the pace is always hot from the start, but I can’t wait to get out there,” said Voss.

“I’m looking forward to racing Hayden and the other top-level elites. It’s cool being able to race against some of the best in the world and seeing what is possible,” he said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think I could get the win. My training’s been going well, and Will [O’Connor, Voss’ coach] and I have worked on the things that have slowed me down in the past. It would be awesome to stay strong throughout the race and be in the mix with the top guys.”

The women’s T50 race is headlined by South Africa’s Bianca Tarboton, an athlete with multiple wins at the competitive Ultra-Trail Cape Town and various podiums at races around the world.

She will face a strong Australian contingent featuring the likes of Patricia McKibbin, Georgina Campbell and Madison Reynolds, plus American Corrine Malcom and Kiwi Mel Aitken.

Canberra-based McKibbin has performed well on home soil, winning races at Ultra-Trail Australia and Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko but will make her Tarawera Ultra-Trail debut this weekend.

“This race has been on my bucket list for a few years. I have heard the New Zealand trail-running community is special and I haven’t run here before. The last time I came to Rotorua was in 2016, which was before I started trail running,” said McKibbin.

Despite a few recent health issues, McKibbin is looking forward to testing herself in a race with different terrain than what she is used to and seeing where her speed is at this stage of the year.

“Preparation is rarely perfect so I will give it my best on the day,” she said. “I am usually drawn to races with more elevation, but I wanted to work on my speed this year. Tarawera was a perfect race to get out of my comfort zone. A successful race would be well-paced and hopefully get pulled along by some of these very fast women.”

Azumi returns to defend TMiler title

Auckland-based Japanese runner Konoka Azumi impressed on her way to winning last year’s TMiler and will return to the start line in 2025 to defend her title.

“There’s certainly some pressure, but I see it more as an honour to take on this challenge as the defending champion. I’m also quite excited and motivated. Personally, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with my performance last year, so I’m keen to see how much I can improve this time,” said Azumi.

“I’m really looking forward to running alongside so many amazing athletes. The energy at Tarawera is always incredible – the support from the crowd and fellow runners is something special and it gives me a huge boost.”

As well as defending her title, another race goal for Azumi is to secure qualification into next year’s UTMB – which she will do if she finishes as one of the top three females in the TMiler.

“Securing a UTMB qualification would be amazing if I can make it – it’s such a great opportunity on the world stage. But more than anything, I’m purely excited to see how much I can push myself beyond my past performances,” she said.

Joining Azumi on the TMiler start line is experienced ultra runner Hillary Allen (USA), who has made her way back to elite sport after falling 45m off a cliff during a race in 2017. Since then, she has racked up several wins and podiums and is set to make her Tarawera debut this Saturday.

“This is my first time racing in New Zealand and my first time in New Zealand. I’ve been really enjoying my time here – I even got to go to the South Island for a bit to do my final training prep for the race. It’s been a welcome reprieve from the negative temperatures and snow back home in Colorado. I’ve been told so much about this race – the atmosphere, the welcoming community, the culture and the beautiful trails – that I had to come and experience them for myself,” said Allen.

Like Azumi, Allen is aiming to run a strong and well-executed race in the hopes of securing a spot on the UTMB start line again in 2026.

“Securing qualification into next year’s UTMB is a goal of mine, but my goal, first and foremost, is to run a great race, to the best of my abilities,” she said. “To me, a successful race is how I handle the ups and the inevitable downs during a race – how I can show up with a problem-solving mindset and solve the problems that arise on race day to keep moving forward.”

Azumi and Allen will face competition from New Zealand-based runners Katie Wright (Britain), who has the full suite of TMiler medals to her name, and Naomi Brand (South Africa), alongside 2022 TMiler runner-up Kimino Miyazaki (JPN).

In the men’s TMiler race, Kiwi Sam Harvey will line up as the favourite after finishing second last year and recently securing victory in the 100-mile race at Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko.

Sam Havery on his way to finishing second in last year's TMiler. Photo / Graeme Murray

“I’m fitter and faster than I have ever been, so the preparation has gone well off the back of a massive 2024,” said Harvey. “The win at Kosci was great, but it wasn’t the 15-hour result I had hoped for. It definitely gives me confidence that my systems work, and it gave me a few work-ons which will be front of mind going into Tarawera. If I can replicate everything I did right at Kosci and improve on the few mistakes, Tarawera is going to be a wild day on the trails.”

Since the 100-mile distance was introduced to the event in 2018, there has never been a winner from New Zealand. Harvey is hoping to set that straight this year.

“I’ll be able to tell you in a week what it would mean to win the TMiler. It’s big though, the first Kiwi to outright win the biggest 100-mile race in New Zealand. It will be an impossible dream fulfilled is all I can say now,” he said.

Like last year, when he battled side by side with eventual winner Adrian Macdonald (USA) for much of the race, Harvey will face fierce competition from overseas runners, including Japanese quartet Hirokazu Nishimura, Hajime Mamba, Yutaro Yokouchi and Takumi Sawayanagi, British runner Ryan Whelan and compatriot Simon Cochrane.

Mamba will be hoping to improve on his 2023 TMiler second-placed finish. The Japanese athlete has trained specifically for this race over the past two months in pursuit of the title.

“I first raced this race two years ago and it was also my first time visiting New Zealand. I was impressed by the atmosphere of this race and how it was organised, and above all by the beautiful scenery of New Zealand and the warmth of the people, so I wanted to continue participating in this race every year,” said Mamba.

“Two years ago, I was able to run to my heart’s content, but last year I broke my tibia before the race and couldn’t finish it. Most of the sections of this course are runnable, so I think it’s important to keep running at a steady pace,” he said. “To me, a successful race would be to win this race.”

The Tarawera Ultra-Trail is the second UTMB World Series event of 2025, part of a global circuit of the best trail-running events in the world. The top three female and male finishers in the TMiler, T102 and T50 will qualify directly for the 2026 UTMB World Series Finals in Chamonix, France.

The T102 race also returns a HOKA Golden Ticket qualifier for the 2025 Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run in California, US – giving the top two female and male finishers a direct path to the start line.

For more on the Tarawera Ultra-Trail, visit tarawera.utmb.world.