The Southern Lakes Ultra is a seven-day, six-stage multi-day running event covering around 260km and 8,000 metres of elevation through the mountains, lakes, and backcountry of the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago region. Starting and finishing in Queenstown, the course takes competitors through some of the most remote and spectacular terrain in the South Island - single-track DOC trails, 4WD roads, river crossings, ski field terrain, and high alpine ridgelines connecting Wānaka, Arrowtown, and the ranges in between.
With stages ranging from 30km to 70km, the event attracts a small, international field of serious multi-day runners drawn to both the challenge and the access it provides to landscapes most people will never see on foot. It sells out months in advance.
Several of the event's stages run across the Queenstown Trails network, including the Coronet Loop, Arrow River Bridges Trail, and Twin Rivers Trail. Southern Lakes Ultra is proud supporter of Queenstown Trails, with a percentage of every entry fee donated back to the trails, funding maintenance, planning and trail development.
Learn more about the Southern Lakes Ultra.