CourseRecon
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Trail Running · New Zealand

🇳🇿WAI2K:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

100km with 4091m of gain and 3962m of loss across 12 climbs and 10 descents. Downhill covers 32% of the route, demanding legs that survive relentless up-and-down over ultra distance.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the durability and descending demands that define WAI2K — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

100 km
Distance
+3,900 m
Vertical Gain
−3,770 m
Total Descent
Nov 21, 2026
Next Edition · 127 days out
Check YOUR readiness
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The Course · GPS-Measured

What 101 km / 62.6 mi and 3,900 m / 12,780 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 101 km / 62.6 mi and 3,900 m / 12,780 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
100km
Distance
+4,080m
Gain
+0.8 km−180 m
GPS-Measured
101km
Distance
+3,900m
Gain
Climb & Gradient
+3,900 mTotal Gain
−3,770 mTotal Loss
Gradient Distribution
36%
Flat
≤3% grade
23%
Run-Climb
3–15% up
9%
Steep Climb
>15% up
32%
Descent
downhill
Steepest Sustained Sections
1
Climb
KM 27.6–29.7 · +357 m
+17%
2
Climb
KM 33.1–35.5 · +279 m
+11.4%
3
Descent
KM 37.7–40.5 · −299 m
-10.9%
4
Descent
KM 94.9–101.0 · −631 m
-10.7%
Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

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

11h 14m
Winning time
12h 32m
Top 5
14h 27m
Top 10
14h 27m
Median finisher
17h 29m
Back of pack

Based on 2025 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 43% 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 ultra-distance effort over 100km with only 22% flat to settle into rhythm.
ClimbingVertical power
19%
12 climbs totaling 4091m, headlined by a 713m ascent and an 8km grind.
DescendingEccentric / braking
38%
3962m of loss over 10 descents, including a 631m plunge to the line.
DurabilityLate-race resilience
43%
Repeated climb-descent cycles over 100km punish legs that lose resilience late.
The Profile in One Line

A 100km ultra where sustained descending and durability outweigh raw climbing across a sawtooth of 12 climbs and 10 descents.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 19%Descending 38%Durability 43%

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
79
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
66
The 100km distance demands a deep aerobic base, but with only 22% flat terrain there is little chance to cruise and recover between efforts.
Climbing
92
Twelve climbs deliver 4091m of gain, with 25% of the course exceeding 10% grade and a single climb rising 713m over roughly 8km, demanding steady power.
Descending
84
Descending is the second-heaviest demand: 3962m of loss across 10 descents, including a 6.5km stretch and a 631m final drop that pounds quads.
Durability
69
The dominant demand. Stacking 12 climbs against 10 descents over 100km wears legs relentlessly, so late-race muscular resilience decides the outcome.
KM 27.6–29.7
The 17% Wall
A 357m climb at 17% grade over 2.1km is the steepest ramp on course, spiking effort early and taxing climbing power before halfway.
KM 27–40
The Mid-Race Sawtooth
Back-to-back climbs of 357m and 279m feed into a 299m descent, a dense climb-descent block that sets up the durability toll for the second half.
KM 94.9–100.8
The Final Plunge
A 631m descent at nearly 11% over the last 6km hammers already-fatigued quads, making late descending control decisive.
That was a sample

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