The 2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k saw both Ruth Croft and Daniel Jones of New Zealand defend their 2024 titles — and set course records.
The pair lined up in the forests outside of Rotorua, New Zealand, at 7 a.m. local time on Saturday, February 15, alongside 720 other runners. Expectations were high for the two Kiwi runners at the biggest ultramarathon in their country, and they didn’t disappoint. They delivered dominant course-record wins in front of their home crowd, with times of 8:24:34 and 7:17:42, respectively.
Croft is coming off a huge come-from-behind second place at the 2024 UTMB, a result that came after wins at the 2024 Tarawera 102k and the 2023 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k. Jones also had an impressive 2024, finishing fourth at both the CCC and the Western States 100 and winning the Tarawera 102k. Each had won this event twice in the past.
In its 16th year, the race is the fourth race of six in this year’s Golden Ticket Races series, making two entries to the 2025 Western States 100 up for grabs for both the women’s and men’s fields. This incentive brought a competitive field to the Southern Hemisphere event, with many looking for the coveted, guaranteed entry to the iconic California race. The 102-kilometer route, held on relatively rolling terrain, has more than 7,000 feet (2,200 meters) of elevation gain, mostly concentrated in the middle third of the course, and is very much a runner’s race.
Read on to see how both races played out.
New Zealand’s Ruth Croft winning the 2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k, her third win and another course-record finish. Photo: Tarawera by UTMB/Tim Bardsley-Smith
2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k Women’s Race
Last year’s second-place finisher, Beth McKenzie (U.S.), was the first to arrive at the outlet of Lake Tarawera, 17 miles (28 kilometers), in 2:04 elapsed. [From 2016 to 2018, Beth McKenzie (née Gerdes) served a two-year doping sanction after testing positive at the 2016 Ironman Australia for ostarine, a prohibited selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM).]
New Zealand countrywomen Ruth Croft and Caitlin Fielder, the latter of whom was the winner of the 2024 Tarawera by UTMB 50k and 2024 Les Templiers, were clearly comfortable on the trails of their home country, and together they trailed McKenzie by two minutes.
Moving to the Okataina checkpoint at 36 miles (58k), Croft now led with a close-chasing Fielder a minute back, and then less than another minute to McKenzie in third. The gap after the top three was more significant, with Helen Mino Faukner (U.S.) nearly 15 minutes off the lead and Nancy Jiang (New Zealand), the 2023 event winner, a couple more minutes in arrears. Kiwi Juliette Soule and American Lotti Brinks followed, making the top seven a U.S. and Kiwi country duel.
Croft and Fielder used the hillier middle third of the course to further pull away from McKenzie, arriving at the Millar Road checkpoint at mile 45 (73k) at 6:00 elapsed. McKenzie, who trailed by eight minutes in third, now had a 15-minute gap on fourth-place Mino Faukner. Jiang, Soule, and Brinks maintained their positions, running a half hour back from the lead and within 10 minutes of each other.
By mile 52 (86k) on the shores of Lake Tikitapu, Croft had opened a small gap of just over two minutes on Fielder and almost 14 minutes on McKenzie. Another nearly 20 minutes separated fourth-place Mino Faukner and fifth-place Jiang from a podium position.
Croft never faltered and had opened a nearly five-minute gap on Fielder with just over four miles (7k) to race.
Adding nearly a minute to the gap in the closing miles, Ruth Croft emerged with the victory for a third time and a new course record in 8:24:34, nearly 50 minutes faster than last year.
Caitlin Fielder never gave up, finishing second in 8:30:45.
Beth McKenzie took the final podium spot in 8:46:09.
Helen Mino Faukner finished fourth in 9:03:01, and Nancy Jiang led a near-sprint for fifth, finishing in 9:10:13.
Croft, the 2022 Western States 100 winner, immediately turned down her Golden Ticket. Fielder eagerly accepted hers. Since the Western States 100 rules state that athletes who’ve served a doping ban of more than three months are ineligible to run the event, McKenzie was ineligible for the spot. Thus, the second Golden Ticket rolled down to Mino Faukner, who is reportedly taking her time to decide whether to accept it.
Ruth Croft, 2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k champion. Photo: Tarawera by UTMB/Tim Bardsley-Smith
2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k Women’s Results
- Ruth Croft (New Zealand) – 8:24:34
- Caitlin Fielder (New Zealand) – 8:30:45
- Beth McKenzie (U.S.) – 8:46:09
- Helen Mino Faukner (U.S.) – 9:03:01
- Nancy Jiang (New Zealand) – 9:10:13
- Juliette Soule (New Zealand) – 9:10:40
- Lotti Brinks (U.S.) – 9:10:48
- Holly Ranson (Australia) – 9:33:30
- Anna McKenna (Australia) – 9:40:12
- Julia Chamberlain (New Zealand) – 9:43:56
2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k Men’s Race
Making his intentions for a third consecutive win known early, Daniel Jones arrived at the first checkpoint at the outlet of Lake Tarawera in the lead, covering the first 17 miles (28k) in 1:51 elapsed. Strung out behind Jones was a group of men that included Hiroki Kai (Japan), Hu Zhao (China), Cody Lind (U.S.), Marcel Höche (Germany), as well as Americans Adrian Macdonald, Ryan Montgomery, and Jacob Banta.
All that changed, though, by four hours elapsed and 36 miles (58k) done at the Okataina checkpoint, where Jones had shook all his chasers and was alone at the front. It was an eight-minute gap to second place Kai and another 90 seconds to Zhao, who was running in third. Lind and Höche followed closely in fourth and fifth, just under a quarter hour back from the leader. Macdonald — winner of the 2024 Tarawera 100 Mile, as well as the 2021 and 2022 Leadville 100 Mile — Montgomery, and Banta, sat in sixth through eighth.
New Zealand’s Daniel Jones wins the 2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k, his third victory of the race. Photo: Tarawera by UTMB/Tim Bardsley-Smith
By the Millar Road checkpoint, 45 miles (73k) in, Jones had increased his lead over Kai to more than 12 minutes at around 5:12 elapsed and with most of the climbing behind him. While the top two increased their lead over the rest of the field, the battle for the final podium spot was just beginning, with Zhao, Macdonald, Lind, and Höche all running within three minutes of each other, 20 minutes back from the leader.
Reaching Lake Tikitapu at mile 52 (86k), Jones continued to methodically increase his lead on Kai, who was now 23 minutes back. Macdonald, who is potentially more comfortable on steep and mountainous terrain than the runnable trails of Rotorua, made a move on the hills in the middle third of the course and closed the gap to second place to a mere three minutes. Lind, Höche, and Montgomery all passed a fading Zhao and continued to run within 15 minutes of second place.
The gap only continued to increase until the finish, and Daniel Jones earned his third consecutive victory with a time of 7:17:42, nearly 30 minutes faster than his winning time in 2024 and a new course record.
Hiroki Kai finished second in 7:48:45, in a well-executed performance that saw him run in second place almost all race.
Adrian Macdonald secured the final podium position at 7:51:05, also with a well-paced effort.
Cody Lind and Marcel Höche rounded out the top five with times of 7:54:11 and 8:02:49, respectively.
Since Jones already has an automatic entry to the 2025 Western States 100 due to his top-10 result in 2024, Kai and Macdonald were awarded and eagerly accepted the two Golden Tickets.
2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k Men’s Results
- Daniel Jones (New Zealand) – 7:17:42
- Hiroki Kai (Japan) – 7:48:45
- Adrian Macdonald (U.S.) – 7:51:05
- Cody Lind (U.S.) – 7:54:11
- Marcel Höche (Germany) – 8:02:49
- Ryan Montgomery (U.S.) – 8:03:34
- Jacob Banta (U.S.) – 8:23:42
- Eric Concé (New Caledonia) – 8:26:06
- Gary Carleton (New Zealand) – 8:34:49
- William Bielby (New Zealand) – 9:13:17
Daniel Jones, 2025 Tarawera by UTMB 102k champion. Photo: Tarawera by UTMB/Tim Bardsley-Smith
