A wet day in the mountains for runners in the Routeburn Classic

A typically wet Fiordland day didn’t deter the 312 starters in this year’s Routeburn Classic, a renowned mountain run in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Lining up at 8am on Saturday morning (April 24) at The Divide, near Milford Sound, competitors faced a tough 32km run through Fiordland and Mount Aspiring National Parks along the Routeburn Track, named one of the Top Ten walking tracks in the world.

Event director Evan McWhirter of Good Times Events Ltd said the race, now in its seventh year, was a “textbook” Routeburn Classic.

“It was a wet day but apart from the fact that made the track pretty slippery and wet in some places, conditions were good because it was mild,” he said.

“It was cool at the highest point on the Harris Saddle, but it was an improvement on previous years where there has been snow on the ground, partly due to the fact that we moved the date of the race back two weeks earlier into April.

“We also had more runners on the track than ever before because we’d worked with the Department of Conservation to get approval for increased numbers.

“Because of the flow of water in some places we had a number of runners who turned or twisted their ankles, or fell and hurt their hands, but we had plenty of course marshalls dotted the length of the track and everyone except two runners finished.”

Christchurch-based runner Grant Guise and his partner Jane Harper made it a dual victory, taking top spot in the mens and womens race divisions. Grant, a member of the Sumner Running Club and the New Zealand Ski Mountaineering Team, said he was “stoked” to come in first in a time of 2hours 53mins 20seconds, a whopping 18 minutes ahead of second placegetter James Greenslade-Yeats from Wanaka (3hr 11min 10sec) and Queenstown real estate agent Baz Smith in third (3hr 13min 38sec).

Keeping up the good work for the couple, Guise’s partner Jane finished in 3hours 47mins 03seconds in a womens race that was much tighter than the mens. Second placegetter Kelly McFadzien was hot on Jane’s heels to finish in 3hr 49min 48sec and third placegetter Melanie Moran crossed the line at the Glenorchy end of the Routeburn Track in 3hr 51min 51sec.

Mr McWhirter said the couple’s win echoed that of top multisporter Richard Ussher and his wife Elina in past Routeburn Classics. Ussher still holds the record for the fastest ever time, set in 2001 with a 2hr 51min 57sec finish and Elina also holds her record in 3hr 31min 57sec.

“Grant had been determined to do well and was absolutely elated at the finish line,” he said. “He pretty much dominated the race, with a big lead by the time he reached the Harris Saddle.”

Runners celebrated with an awards dinner held at Skyline Restaurant high above Queenstown on Saturday night, at which Mr McWhirter said many competitors received medals for competing in the event for five years.

“We’re seeing a lot of people coming back year after year as well as some new faces every year,” he said. “It’s like one big athletic family!”