The rise of the urban ultra

The event starts at the base of Mount Kaukau in the suburb of Khandallah, and circumnavigates the outskirts of the city via a network of tasty single track, ripping descents and a tonne of climbing. In the three years that the WUU-2K has been held, it has gone from strength to strength. Grassroots and with a resolutely Wellington feel, this event is quickly carving itself a place in the Australasian race calendar as being one not to miss.

Wellington native Gareth Thomas returned home in 2012 after a lengthy absence spent travelling and then living in Melbourne. An avid road runner, Gareth quickly had his head turned by the many trail running options provided by his home city.

Thanks to the Wellington Organised Running Meetup (WoRM) he quickly realised that he was not alone in his passion for the rough stuff. Gareth quickly transitioned from pavement to trails, taking lunchtime runs from his workplace at Weta Digital around Rongotai and going big on the