America’s Hayden Hawks and South Africa’s Bianca Tarboton were in a league of her own they took the T50 titles at Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB.
Hawks was pushed hard the entire race by Rotorua local Michael Voss (NZL) and British runner Robbie Simpson (GBR) but asserted late on to win by just over a minute from the Brit.
It was far more clear-cut in the women’s race as Tarboton completed the race in 3:45:55, more than 25 minutes ahead of Madison Reynolds (AUS) in second. Kiwi Julia Grant rounded out the women’s podium in 4:13:24.
Men’s race – Down to the wire
Hawks, Simpson and Voss ran stride for stride for much of the 50km before Hawks and Simpson began to pull away.
At the last aid station, the pair were still neck and neck, but Hawks managed to dig the deepest and was finally able to create daylight between himself and Simpson to break the tape in 3:18:46 – just over minute ahead of the Brit. Voss rounded out the podium in 3:23:13.
And afterwards Hawks, whose main focus this season will be on 100-mile races, said: “I’m feeling pretty good. A bit beat, I mean, it was tough out there. It was super-fast, I like to relate it to a 10K runner dropping down to run an 800-metre race, that’s how it felt out there. It was very painful.
“There were points in the race where I was redlining it thinking, man, this is tough. But I’m really happy to pull out the win and start my season off this way. It shows that I’m in really good fitness at the beginning of the year.
“I made a few mistakes out there for sure – first race of the year. I lost some nutrition, unfortunately it fell out of my belt. I had to take some risks and see what happens, luckily, everything worked out pretty well,” added Hawks.
“We were really blessed to have perfect weather today. Those boys pushed me out there, it was really fun to run with Robbie and Michael. Kudos to them for really pushing me. I always like a good challenge, and I was really happy about that.”
Women’s race – Tarboton a class apart
Tarboton was dominant throughout in the women’s race as he margin of victory illustrated.
Visiting New Zealand for the first time since she was very young, she was making her Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB debut and achieved her goal of securing her place on the OCC start line as part of the 2026 UTMB World Series Finals.
“New Zealand is always a place I’ve really wanted to come,” she said. “I also really wanted to qualify for OCC, so that was the goal for this race, coming in and qualifying, so I’m glad I achieved that.
“I’ve been blown away by this place. I didn’t really have expectations coming here, but it’s definitely exceeded everything I thought it would be. It’s actually very similar to South Africa, so it feels a lot like home, which is really nice. It goes a far way in a race. I’ve loved it, and I’ll definitely be back.
“It means everything to win here. I had a hard season in 2024, and I really wanted to have a good race to start off my 2025 season. I’m really happy and obviously qualifying was the goal. So huge wins for me, really happy,” added Tarboton.
Runner-up Madison Reynolds said she had the “perfect day”, as she shared that this was the first race in two years that she’s been able to see out of both eyes – having only just had a custom contact lens made in New Zealand for her left eye.
Tarawera Ultra-Trail T50, New Zealand – Saturday 15th February 2025
T50 RESULTS – WOMEN
- Bianca Tarboton (RSA) – 3:45:55
- Madison Reynolds (AUS) – 4:11:28
- Julia Grant (NZL) – 4:13:24
- Simone Ackermann (RSA) – 4:16:12
- Amelia Lythe (NZL) – 4:17:40
T50 RESULTS – MEN
- Hayden Hawks (USA) – 3:18:46
- Robbie Simpson (GBR) – 3:20:01
- Michael Voss (NZL) – 3:23:13
- Max Yanzick (NZL) – 3:30:56
- Daniel Osanz (ESP) – 3:35:17
