Ruapehu Ring of Fire

The Ruapehu Ring of Fire will undoubtedly be one of the most challenging and exhilarating alpine adventure running events in the Southern Hemisphere with its unique combination of terrain, distance, altitude and views.

Event options for the Ruapehu Ring of Fire will include the 72km three leg relay, an epic 72km Solo Ultra and a 45km Adventure Marathon. The Relay and Solo Ultra events will involve a full circumnavigation of the mountain on the iconic Round the Mountain track starting and finishing at the historic Chateau Tongariro Hotel.

Participants will be treated to a mix of desert, scoria and lava fields, stunning native bush, scraggy tussock desert like terrain, crystal clear mountain streams as well as breath taking climbs and expansive views of one of the most treasured landscapes of Aotearoa New Zealand.

The event will start at 4:00am, well before dawn, outside the timeless elegance of the Chateau Tongariro Hotel with athletes donning headlamps to start their journey in the final hours of darkness. Travelling in an anti-clockwise direction on the Round the Mountain track to circumnavigate Mount Ruapehu, the runners will finish back on the grass lawn outside the spectacular Chateau Tongariro. The fastest individual solo/relay athletes are expected to complete the Ring of Fire in a mind blowing eight hours – the slowest, (but equally worthy) will take twenty hours to reach the Chateau Tongariro, arriving well after nightfall.

More details here: http://rof.co.nz/