News & Updates

Keith Burrows will be aiming for his third New Zealand 24-hour title when he tackles the gruelling slog around the AUT Millennium Stadium track on the North Shore on Saturday/Sunday (23-24 September).

The Englishman now living in Auckland won the last two championships with a distance covered of 222.495km in 2020 and 214.453km last year. The 2021 edition was cancelled because of the pandemic.

Seasoned ultra-runner Wayne Botha comes into the race with a third place in 2020 and seventh last year. The 2018 national 100km champion in 2018 is an experienced performer, placed 100th at the 2015 World 24-Hour Championships in Torino and 125th at the 2019 World Championships. Andrew Glennie from Fiordland, the 2017 champion with a distance of 184.4km, is back after finishing tenth last year. Darren Rudd of Wairoa was seventh in 2020 and eighth last year.                                         

Kim Allan lines up for the women’s title having set a world record in 2013 for running 500km in 86 hours with no sleep. She won the national 24-hour crown in 2018 and boasts a best distance of 209.921km as the first Kiwi home in 27th place at the 2015 World Championships in Italy.

“After the world champs in France in 2019, where I had a bad run, with a bunged-up knee. I didn’t run for a few years, and this is my attempt to get back,” said Allan.

“I’m doing minimum training, certainly not the training I used to do, as it’s about looking after my knee and not having it flare up. “So if I can get to the start and be fit, it’s pretty much mental the rest of it,” said Allan.

Shannon-Leigh Litt the New Zealand 100km champion in 2018 and winner of the 12-hour race last year with 123.920km, is looking forward to the challenge of running for 24 hours.

“It is very important to always make and give the best of yourself. I did an 8.5km in Whangarei last week and pushed it hard,” said Litt.

“I’ll be going into the race to get the best out of myself and run my own race and I’m really looking forward to it,” she said.

For world record holder ultra-runner Emma Timmis, this will be her first 24-hour race.

In July, Timmis, set a world record of completing the longest distance on a treadmill in 48 hours. Timmis covered 340km and in December 2021/January 2022 she set a world record of 20 days, 17 hours and 17 minutes in running the length of New Zealand from Cape Reinga to Bluff.

Trail running specialist Romanian Alice Mezincescu has entered.

Milk Lai Ting Li of Hong Kong will compete in the women’s race and Alfair Sze Ho Lee of Hong Kong and Eddie Walsh from Brisbane are entered in the men’s 24-hour race.

***The event will start at 9am on Saturday and conclude at 9am on Sunday.

***Full list of entries here

***For live updates and results go here