Trail Running · Hawke's Bay

🇳🇿Triple Peaks Hawke's Bay:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

54km with 1594m of gain across six climbs and five descents, split evenly up and down. A third of the course descends, a third runs flat, and the rest climbs — a long, relentless test of leg durability.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the durability and descending demands that define Triple Peaks Hawke's Bay — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

54.0 km

Distance

+1,590 m

Vertical Gain

−1,580 m

Total Descent

Mar 28, 2026

Last Edition · Past

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The Course · GPS-Measured

What 55.3 km / 34.4 mi and 1,590 m / 5,200 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 55.3 km / 34.4 mi and 1,590 m / 5,200 ft of vertical gain. This is the terrain you're signing up for: read it before it reads you.

Course Profile

Segments

Daylight

Terrain summary

Claimed vs GPS-Measured

Claimed · Organizer

54.0km

Distance

+2,150m

Gain

+1.3 km−560 m

GPS-Measured

55.3km

Distance

+1,590m

Gain

Climb & Gradient

+1,590 mTotal Gain

−1,580 mTotal Loss

Gradient Distribution

51%

Flat

≤3% grade

21%

Run-Climb

3–15% up

Steep Climb

>15% up

24%

Descent

downhill

Steepest Sustained Sections

Descent

KM 23.8–26.6 · −386 m

-13.8%

Descent

KM 10.4–13.5 · −408 m

-13%

ClimbCRUX

KM 18.6–23.8 · +495 m

+9.6%

Climb

KM 45.8–48.6 · +244 m

+8.7%

Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

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

5h 38m

Winning time

6h 41m

Top 5

7h 01m

Top 10

7h 50m

Median finisher

9h 38m

Back of pack

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 42% 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 54km with 34% flat terrain rewarding steady, efficient running.

ClimbingVertical power

19%

1594m across six climbs, headlined by a 495m ascent over 5.5km at 9.6%.

DescendingEccentric / braking

39%

1591m of loss over five descents, with 32% of the course pointed downhill.

DurabilityLate-race resilience

42%

Six climbs and five descents over 54km demand legs that hold form late.

The Profile in One Line

A rolling 54km with balanced gain and loss where sustained descending and cumulative fatigue outweigh any single climb.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 19%Descending 39%Durability 42%

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 34% of the course flat and a total of 54km, steady aerobic output over hours is essential to keep moving on the runnable sections between climbs.

Climbing

100

Six climbs total 1594m, led by a 495m gain over 5.5km at 9.6%; 13% of the course exceeds 10% grade, demanding both power and pacing.

Descending

Five descents shed 1591m, with two steep drops of 408m and 386m at around -13%; 32% of the course is downhill and punishes weak braking control.

Durability

Repeated climbing and steep descending over 54km, including a 244m late climb at km 45.8, stress legs that must resist accumulated damage to the finish.

km 18.6–23.8

The Big Climb

A 495m ascent over 5.5km at 9.6% is the course's decisive climb, testing sustained climbing power midway through the race.

km 10.4–13.5

Steep Early Descent

A 408m drop over 3.1km at -13% comes early, demanding controlled descending before fatigue but risking quad damage that compounds later.

km 45.8–48.6

Late Climb

A 244m climb over 2.8km at 8.7% arrives with 45km already in the legs, testing whether durability holds when strength fades.

That was a sample