The Hunua Hillbilly 2023

About the Challenge:

A 60km Ultramarathon in memory of Steve Neary

The Hunua Hillbilly started last year, in memory of the wonderful Steve Neary. Even if you never managed to catch him on the trails (because boy was he fast!), many of you from the trail running community would have known of Steve and his relentless passion for running in New Zealand’s native bush – and for welcoming others to the trails.

We feel that this event on Saturday 18 November, 2023 is the perfect way to celebrate Steve’s life and loves: trail running, kokako (and all the NZ birds, Tui’s and Kereru were his other favorites), New Zealand’s native bush, family, friends, and fun.

The Hunua Ranges were Steve's 'backyard', and his favourite place to run. So what better way to honour his memory than by coming together and testing ourselves over the hardest and most beautiful tracks the Hunuas have to offer – and following it up with the kind of old-fashioned fun and camaraderie he loved.

Make no mistake – this event is tough, but in a friendly sort of way... much like our Steve.

BUT, here's where this challenge can help! Not only will it motivate you to hit get used to the hilly Hunua terrain, but you can also score yourself a free entry to the event!

Any run (or walk or crawl) within the Auckland, Waikato or Bay of Plenty region during June and July will count. The more vertical gain you rack up on your trail runs will get you higher on the leaderboard.

Double Your Points:

You can double your points (vertical gain) for any run if it includes any part of any of the trail runs in the Hunua Ranges from our Trail Directory. 

View these trails

View the Hunua Hillbilly

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Any Wild Challenger or VIP member can join this challenge, but being in the Auckland, Waikato or Bay of Plenty region will no doubt help! 

Challenge Prizes:

At the end of the challenge, we'll give away one free solo entry and one free team (of three) entry. When joining this challenge, be sure to select which prize draw you'd like to go in!

Because entries are already open, we will happily refund the winner (or you can gift it to a running buddy!) if you have already entered, so don’t let the challenge stop you from entering.

The Hunua Hillbilly event info