Char's WUU2K 45k 2026 Race Report

WUU2K 45K – TAKE 2

On Saturday (18/07/2026), I ran the 45K at WUU2K – Wellington Urban Ultra. And it was a lot of fun!

The weather was mint – no wind, no rain, not freezing, and lots of sunshine. The views over Wellington were glorious.

Before I get into this year’s race, I want to talk about my experience at this event last year.

In 2025, I ran the 45K in 5 hours 28 minutes in very muddy conditions, but I had a lot of fun. The course plays to a lot of my strengths, with a huge variety of steep hills, stairs, downhills and runnable sections. If you’re a good all-rounder, this course is perfect for you.

Once I finished the race last year, I set myself a wee goal: come back in 2026 and beat my time.

Here’s a hint... Goal achieved ✅

Last year, we were new to the area, and I knew we were going to be based around Wellington for at least another year, so I had plenty of opportunity to get more specific hill training in. Plus, being another year further down the road in my running journey meant there was room for fitness improvements too.

One of the biggest successes from last year is the I had FUN out there. Having fun is key!!

Having Fun

Having fun is a key philosophy of mine when it comes to racing and training.

To #havefun means finding the fun in both the enjoyable moments and the challenging ones.

When I don’t have fun out on the trails, I can become too serious and too outcome-focused. It can also distract me from tuning into how I’m actually feeling and thinking logically about how I need to approach each aspect of the course.

Underneath it all, I’m still a very determined runner who likes to push myself. But another key part of my approach is learning to be competitive with yourself rather than with others.

When I start wanting to be better than someone else, I lose humility and become driven by ego. For me, being driven by ego means running outside my own capabilities and constantly comparing myself to others.

Two sayings come to mind:

E.G.O. – Edging Good (or God) Out.

And:

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Ironically, running from a place of ego and comparison can lead to you performing worse because you’re no longer running free.

Race Report

WUU2K 45K wasn’t an A race for me, so my training leading into it was a little different than usual because I had been doing the Trailrunning NZ Vert Challenge.

I finished the Vert Challenge on Friday the 10th with a 1,000m day, just eight days before the race with about 6000m of vert in my legs. I also had a very busy week at work while recovering from the challenge, so it was safe to say there wasn’t a lot of time to think about the race.

That can have its benefits, though.

I went into the day with very few expectations.

The race starts at Khandallah Park, where you basically run for about 300 metres before hitting the stairs. For the first kilometre up towards Mt Kaukau, you’re in a bit of a conga line of runners, head torches lighting up the trail.

I found it best to relax and trudge up the stairs with everyone else rather than wasting energy trying to pass people. Once you reach the top, things open up and you wind your way along Skyline Track towards Makara.

The start of races can be a weird feeling. The fuel hasn’t kicked in yet, there are lots of people around you, and you haven’t found your rhythm.

For me, it was important to start getting some fuel onboard and settle into my own rhythm, so that’s exactly what I did.

I also allowed myself time to adjust to the terrain underfoot and figure out how slippery it actually was compared to how slippery I thought it might be.

Once you’re on Skyline Track, it’s a winding and undulating route towards Makara. The views were amazing on Saturday with the clear blue sky. It was an incredible feeling being up so high, doing something cool and just feeling really grateful. It’s roughly 17km to the Makara MTB car park, with an aid station at around 11km on Makara Road. Throughout this section, I was just feeling good and happy. I was mostly passing people, running alone, or having a few yo-yo battles with other runners.

I also had a much better idea of where I was and what was coming next compared with last year. That makes a big difference when deciding whether to power hike a hill or run it. Something else came to my attention: there is a lot of downhill running in this race – both steep and gradual. My favourite! Knowing this is important because, naturally, you’re going to move much faster downhill than uphill.

So with the love downhills, and I knew once I got to the summit of Makara that I’d be able to pass a few people on the significant road descent before linking back up with the trails.

It’s always a bit of a risk pushing too hard on the downhills too early in a race.

But I couldn’t help myself.

I was having fun.

When I came into the Makara aid station, Chris was there, which was exciting, along with Josh, the River Run BYU organiser. I was feeling good and apparently looking good too!

I swapped my bottles, grabbed some more fuel and was on my way.

Heading up out of Makara, through Wrights Hill and onto Fenceline Track towards the 25K aid station, I was still feeling good. I was definitely running stronger coming out of Wrights Hill than I had the previous year, which was a great feeling.

Fenceline Track was a little more interesting. I was feeling the downhills more than was desirable. They’re steep, and I started questioning whether I had gone a little too hard too early. The uphill's, however, still felt strong. I’m sure doing 10 days of the Trailrunning NZ Vert Challenge just over a week earlier had something to do with that! I ran straight through the 25K aid station in around two and a half hours. In my mind, I thought the next aid station was only about 4km away.

I soon realised that math's didn’t add up.

With one flask of hydration and Moro bars that I was having to force down, I started feeling a little worried. Thankfully, I had stayed pretty well hydrated up until that point, and I also knew a big chunk of the next section involved descending Tip Track – around 7km of downhill.

Tip Track was definitely harder this year.

I had pushed harder earlier in the race, and as a result, my legs weren’t as fresh as they had been the year before. Tip Track is VERY steep, so it requires a lot of focus on where you’re putting your feet. I saw Chris hiking up, but mentally, I wasn’t really in the best space by then. I was mostly just wanting that section to be over. Eventually, I made it to the bottom and into the aid station.

I filled one soft flask with Coke and the one with water, grabbed a Shrewsbury biscuit and a hug from Mark, and off I went.

The style of the course changes again through this next section, with the hills becoming shorter and steeper. Tawatawa Reserve had a few stairs, but I was starting to feel pretty good again and was passing people.

By now, I was getting really determined.

I guess, in a way, I had started hunting down the people in front of me.

Then came Mt Albert.

I’m not a fan.

It’s super steep, but thankfully, it’s short!

The first climb from the road actually went OK, but the second, steeper climb was a struggle. I kept pushing and eventually made it to the top. Funnily enough, there was a photographer waiting right at the top of the hill. Very cunning! Haha. By now, I had caught up with some of the 21K runners, which was fun and gave me a chance to interact with a few more people.

From Mt Albert Road, at around 39km into the race, I found I could still power hike quite quickly. My glutes were definitely on fire by this point, but my determination to get to that finish line was well and truly kicking in.

From there, I wound my way around Mt Victoria, where my feelings ranged from amazing to completely tired – sometimes within a very short space of time!

The final couple of kilometres around the side of Mt Vic are also a bit niggly because you’re running along a sloping, uphill trail.

To my amazement, despite feeling pretty tired, I passed another two women in the 45K.

Once I crossed the road before the final descent, I knew I still had enough left in my legs to run fast. This type of gradient and running is one of my strengths, so I went for it. Within a few minutes, I popped out onto the velodrome track.

You have to run around the far side and then come back towards the finish on the inner track, which is a bit of a mind f**k when you’re that close to being done!

But I hung on.

I passed another couple of women and crossed the finish line 7th female overall in 5 hours 16 minutes.

Happy as!

I had set myself a goal.

And I achieved it.

That is a great feeling.

But I also want to point out that success doesn’t just come from achieving a particular time.

Success comes from achieving a goal that means something to you – whatever that goal might be. That’s where personal success happens.

A special shout-out to my partner, Chris. Thank you for crewing and supporting me on race day, as well as throughout July while I took on the Vert Challenge. The extra dog walks and cleaning up go a long way!

WUU2K is a great event that encompasses the unique and varied trails Wellington has to offer. You’re never too far away from civilisation, yet somehow, it often feels like you are

Thanks to Gareth and all the volunteers for another great year.

See you next year.

#havefun

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