Runners start · local time — Kepler Challenge 60 km at 06:00, Luxmore Grunt 27 km at 07:00 (both start at the Control Gates)
Three Fiordland College teachers created the race in 1988, the year the Kepler Track was completed, meaning to hold it only once.
The first edition drew 149 runners, and the field is now capped at 450.
The course is a 60km loop that starts at the Control Gates at the mouth of Lake Te Anau and returns to the same spot.
The first 5.6km are flat along the lakeshore, a good place to warm up, and the next 8.2km climb about 1,000m past the treeline near Luxmore Hut.
The high point is 1,400m above sea level, and the ridge section is known for fierce wind and fog.
The descent leads through the beech forest of the Iris Burn valley, and this forest path,
a flat dirt trail that runs for more than 30km in the second half, tests the legs and the head.
There are 11 checkpoints including finish, and so many runners come back every year that there are separate finisher medal for 5, 10 and 20 finishes.
The 27km Luxmore Grunt is held on the same day.
By tradition winning times land around 5 hours, but for most runners this is a course where finishing matters more than the time.
Race reports often say the course alternates between mountain sections where the weather changes in an instant and endless forest trail,
so managing the descent and rationing pace for the second half decide the race as much as climbing strength does.
