Trail Running · Wellington

🇳🇿Faultline 103km:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

103km with 3339m of gain across 15 climbs and 3377m of loss over 13 descents. A rolling, descent-heavy ultra where fatigue resistance decides the day more than any single wall.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the durability and descending demands that define Faultline 103km — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

103 km

Distance

+3,190 m

Vertical Gain

−3,230 m

Total Descent

Apr 24, 2027

Next Edition · 276 days out

Organizer lists +3,130 m of climbing. We measured +3,190 m from the GPS track — +60 m more than advertised.

Check YOUR readiness

Connect Strava · No card · 2 min

The Course · GPS-Measured

What 104 km / 64.6 mi and 3,190 m / 10,480 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 104 km / 64.6 mi and 3,190 m / 10,480 ft of vertical gain. This is the terrain you're signing up for: read it before it reads you.

Course Profile

Terrain summary

Claimed vs GPS-Measured

Claimed · Organizer

103km

Distance

+3,130m

Gain

+0.9 km+60 m

GPS-Measured

104km

Distance

+3,190m

Gain

The organizer's flyer undersells this course by +60 m of climbing and +0.9 km.

Climb & Gradient

+3,190 mTotal Gain

−3,230 mTotal Loss

Gradient Distribution

37%

Flat

≤3% grade

29%

Run-Climb

3–15% up

Steep Climb

>15% up

30%

Descent

downhill

Steepest Sustained Sections

Climb

KM 0.1–4.3 · +387 m

+9.3%

Descent

KM 4.3–6.4 · −192 m

-9.2%

Descent

KM 13.2–16.6 · −273 m

-7.9%

Descent

KM 33.8–36.8 · −230 m

-7.8%

Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

Reference finish times from past results — use them to set a realistic goal pace.

11h 05m

Winning time

11h 47m

Top 5

12h 25m

Top 10

15h 02m

Median finisher

20h 15m

Back of pack

Based on 2026 results.

What This Race Demands

Four things this course asks of your body

Every course weights the four pillars of mountain-ultra fitness differently. Durability carries 46% of the scoring weight on this course — the terrain makes that the deciding factor.

Weighting shows where readiness is won or lost at this distance — not whether you need each pillar. An aerobic base is a given for a race this long, so it carries little deciding weight even though it's essential — the gaps open on the climbs, descents and the back half.

AerobicSustained engine

Foundational

Sustained effort over 103km with a high point of just 448m keeps the engine constantly working.

ClimbingVertical power

20%

15 climbs totaling 3339m, capped by one 9.1km ascent gaining 443m at manageable grades.

DescendingEccentric / braking

34%

36% of the course points downhill, 3377m of loss across 13 descents, some pitching to nearly 10%.

DurabilityLate-race resilience

46%

103km of repeated climbing and descending with no dominant feature demands consistent output start to finish.

The Profile in One Line

A long, undulating 100km with modest peaks but relentless up-and-down that punishes anyone who fades late.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 20%Descending 34%Durability 46%

Here's how CourseRecon reads a course and an athlete

Sample Readiness Analysis

What a readiness result looks like for this course

This is a worked example for a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete — not your score. Connect your own training and the same analysis runs on you.

Sample

OUT OF 100

READY

For a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete

This is a sample — connect your Strava to see your own result.

Pillar Breakdown

Aerobic

With a low high point of 448m and no altitude concern, the demand is steady aerobic output held across the full 103km rather than any single hard surge.

Climbing

100

Fifteen climbs stack to 3339m, but no single ascent is extreme: the longest is 9.1km at gentle grades, the biggest gains 443m. The challenge is accumulation, not steepness.

Descending

Descending dominates the terrain at 36%, with 3377m of loss over 13 sections. Steep pitches to roughly -9% and drops like the 327m biggest descent load the quads repeatedly.

Durability

With gain and loss almost balanced and spread across 28 climb-descent transitions, the course rewards holding form over 103km. The weight sits here because no single crux ends the race, but attrition does.

km 0–4.3

Opening 387m Climb

The race climbs 387m over the first 4.26km at 9.3%, a demanding start straight off the 43m low point. Going out too hard here mortgages the descending legs you need later.

km 13–17

Extended -7.9% Descent

A 273m drop over 3.5km at -7.9% arrives early enough to tempt free speed but sets the tone for 3377m of cumulative loss. Controlling it protects quads for the long back half.

final third

Late Descent Load

With 36% of terrain descending and losses like the 327m biggest drop distributed throughout, the closing kilometers test legs already battered by repeated pounding across 103km.

That was a sample