Trail Running · Wellington

🇳🇿WUU 45KM:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

45km with 1621m of gain and 1739m of loss across eight climbs and seven descents. A net-downhill course where relentless descending and repeated grade changes define the day, not any single big climb.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the descending and durability demands that define WUU 45KM — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

45.0 km

Distance

+1,620 m

Vertical Gain

−1,740 m

Total Descent

17 Jul 2027

Next Edition · 315 days out

Check YOUR readiness

Connect Strava · No card · 2 min

The Course · GPS-Measured

What 45.1 km / 28.0 mi and 1,620 m / 5,320 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 45.1 km / 28.0 mi and 1,620 m / 5,320 ft of vertical gain. This is the terrain you're signing up for: read it before it reads you.

Course Profile

Segments

Daylight

Claimed vs GPS-Measured

Claimed · Organizer

45.0km

Distance

+1,900m

Gain

+0.1 km−280 m

GPS-Measured

45.1km

Distance

+1,620m

Gain

Climb & Gradient

+1,620 mTotal Gain

−1,740 mTotal Loss

Gradient Distribution

33%

Flat

≤3% grade

27%

Run-Climb

3–15% up

Steep Climb

>15% up

34%

Descent

downhill

Steepest Sustained Sections

Descent

KM 31.2–34.6 · −370 m

-10.9%

Descent

KM 15.3–19.2 · −285 m

-7.2%

Descent

KM 36.4–39.0 · −170 m

-6.7%

ClimbCRUX

KM 19.2–23.2 · +231 m

+5.8%

Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

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

3h 42m

Winning time

4h 19m

Top 5

4h 32m

Top 10

6h 02m

Median finisher

8h 21m

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. Descending 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 mid-distance running effort across 45km with 33% flat terrain to hold pace.

ClimbingVertical power

22%

Eight climbs totaling 1621m; steadiest challenge is a 4km, 231m grind at 5.8%.

DescendingEccentric / braking

43%

1739m of loss over seven descents, including a 370m drop at -10.9%.

DurabilityLate-race resilience

35%

Repeated climb-descent transitions and quad-loading descents accumulate damage over 45km.

The Profile in One Line

Descent-dominated 45km rolling course with more loss than gain and no single major climb.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 22%Descending 43%Durability 35%

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 33% of the course flat and no oversized climbs, steady running fitness is needed to carry pace across the full 45km rather than survive isolated efforts.

Climbing

100

Eight climbs add 1621m of gain, but grades stay runnable; the longest is 4km at 5.8% for 231m, rewarding sustained tempo climbing over raw power.

Descending

At 43% weight this is the decisive pillar: 1739m of loss across seven descents, headlined by a 370m plunge at -10.9%, demands controlled, efficient downhill mechanics.

Durability

Seven distinct descents and eight climbs mean constant transitions, while heavy eccentric loading from net-downhill terrain fatigues the legs across the back half.

Km 19–23

The Long Climb

The course's biggest and longest climb gains 231m over 4km at 5.8%, a sustained runnable effort that sets up the descending stretch that follows.

Km 31–34.6

The Big Drop

A 370m descent at -10.9% over 3.4km is the steepest sustained stretch on course, punishing quads late when durability is already compromised.

Km 15–19

Early Descent Load

A 285m loss at -7.2% over nearly 4km begins the eccentric loading early, banking fatigue well before the biggest descent arrives.

That was a sample