Kepler Challenge is the 60.0km ultra trail at Kepler Challenge 2026 (Control Gates, Te Anau, New Zealand). The race starts on December 5, 2026 at 06:00 AM. It starts in Control Gates, Te Anau.
Run hard on the first mountain, but save energy for the second.
The course climbs 2200m+. With 37m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 22% of the distance is uphill, 20% downhill and 58% flat. The longest climb runs 11.0km at an average 10.9% grade (1199m of vertical). The longest descent runs 9.4km at an average 11.4% grade (1075m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 23.6% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 27.0% over 0.6km. Surface: 94% trail and 6% extreme. Flat-equivalent effort: 79.8 FlatKM.
Poles bring little benefit here: only about 4.7km of pole-friendly terrain.
Quad damage risk is moderate (index 22 of 100), with 87% of the load in the first half: 1 descent deserves a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.
On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 5°C to 14°C, with around 6°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 63%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 23% of days around this date.
This page has a pacing and nutrition planner, a gradient matrix, an interactive elevation profile and historical weather for Kepler Challenge.
Other distances of Kepler Challenge 2026Luxmore Grunt (27.0km)
Other editions of Kepler Challenge2027
Official websitekeplerchallenge.co.nz
