infonews.co.nz
INDEX
MOUNTAIN RUNNING

Triple Crown trail run series announced

Thursday 23 October 2008, 6:51PM

By Victory Promotions Adventure Racing Coromandel

899 views

Triple Crown trail run series
Triple Crown trail run series Credit: Victory Promotions/Adventure Racing Coromandel

Separately, they’re three of New Zealand’s most spectacular and challenging off-road running races.

Now the organisers of Whakatane’s Toi’s Challenge, Coromandel’s Great Cranleigh Kauri Run and Mt Ruapehu’s The Goat Alpine Adventure Run have come together to form the North Island Triple Crown series.

The fastest man and woman across all three Triple Crown races, held between November 9 and December 6, will collect an extra $1000 cash prize.

The top five open men and women in each event will qualify for points, with bonus points for breaking race records, and the runners with the most points at the end collect the cash.

“It adds a bit of spice to three hugely successful events,” Triple Crown spokesmen Jason Cameron and Andy Reid explain. “Trail-running has never been more popular and getting these three events under the Triple Crown umbrella is further confirmation this part of the world is the place to be for any serious off-road athlete at this time of year.”

While all three races are equally challenging, they all offer vastly different running experiences.

Starting and finishing in Whakatane, the 18.5km Toi's Challenge follows the trails and pa sites of the great Maori chieftain Toi and includes bird colonies, sea cliffs, magnificent stands of pohutukawa trees and the fabulous Ohope Beach.

The Great Cranleigh Kauri Run is the longest of the three events at 32km (with a shorter 13km option). It takes runners from the white sands of Waikawau Beach up and across the spine of the Coromandel Peninsula into Coromandel township, through stunning native bush and forest.

The Goat Alpine Adventure Run, meanwhile, is an awe-inspiring 21km trail run around the flanks of Mt Ruapehu, set amongst sub-alpine tussock in the world-renowned Tongariro National Park, taking runners from the Whakapapa to Turoa ski-fields.

For more information about the Triple Crown series, contact:

Toi’s Challenge November 9
The Great Cranleigh Kauri Run November 22
The Goat Alpine Adventure Run December 6


www.geocities.com/toichallengenz
www.arcevents.co.nz/kaurirun/
www.thegoat.co.nz
www.whakatane.com