Key Event Details:
- Event: Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon Vertical Kilometre
- Location: Ben Lomond Station, Queenstown, New Zealand
- Distances: 56km, Marathon, 30km, Half Marathon, Vertical Kilometre (VK)
- Event Website: shotovermoonlight.co.nz
David Byrne from NSW took on the legendary Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon Vertical Kilometre at Ben Lomond Station, Queenstown earlier this year. The brutal ascent – 3.8km with 1,200m of vert – demands grit, strategy and endurance. No trails, just tussocks, scree, and a relentless climb. Did he conquer the mountain?
14 FEBRUARY 2025 – BEN LOMOND STATION, QUEENSLAND, NEW ZEALAND: It would be easy to think the headline was the magazine world’s version of clickbait.
Such sensational claims are rife in social media and all too often you press the ‘Read More’ button only to discover the article you’re sent to is way off the mark or has been deliberately written to stimulate debate, or should I say, a thread of arguing comments.
In this instance, I feel as though my many years of searching for hurt on the trails qualifies me just to be able to make this claim. But before delving into how I came about this stance, the event I’m talking about is the Shotover Moonlight Vertical Kilometre, held on the slopes of the iconic Ben Lomond Mountain in Queenstown, New Zealand.
Now to the justification. What makes something tough? Any trail race can be brutal; all you have to do is push yourself really hard. But some events are incredibly challenging both mentally and physically, regardless of the pace you run.
First, let’s assume the majority of us hand over our hard earned and enter an event with the goal of giving it a nudge. When you combine the desire to push a bit harder than a training jog, with rough terrain, you’ve got yourself the makings of something punishing. Next, let’s look at the stats for the Shotover VK. It’s about 3.8km with 1,200m of vert and won in just under 60 minutes. The reason I say ‘about’ regarding the distance is there’s an element of self-navigation that can add or subtract a couple hundred meters if you don’t choose the optimal route.
So we’re talking a serious amount of ridiculously steep terrain, where you constantly have to be on your game to not only keep your feet, but go in the right direction.
The next thing to consider is what an event is like underfoot. Smooth, groomed trails make for a much more pleasant experience, or at least more free-flowing movement. However, at Shotover there’s no trail as such, just a few markers, a distant summit and a whole heap of suffering. The route is about as ungroomed as you can get, featuring countless tussock mounds, rocky sections, a short scree slope traverse and no defined path. You essentially have some visible milestones looming on the hillside and the occasional course marker to aim for, and then it’s a case of choosing your own adventure with the peak of Ben Lomond being the end point.
I came to the event having spent a few years looking from across the ditch and wishing I was there. Every time it would come around I would find myself either injured or committed elsewhere and unable to attend.
Along with the VK there’s an ultra, marathon, 30km, half marathon and a 10km, all held across two days on Ben Lomond Station. It’s a private property and home to thousands of sheep and also the Foster family, who along with lots of friendly volunteers and other support staff, all lend a hand to make the event come together.
Fast forward several years from the first time I discovered Shotover, and I finally found myself nervously standing in the sheep paddock awaiting the start. I wasn’t nervous due to a competitive desire, but from fear. Before me was the daunting prospect of going the ‘short way’ up Ben Lomond, and there are no easy metres in this event. You’ve got all of about 30m of flat ground from the inflatable arch to the wall-like incline. Thankfully the morning was cool and the 9am start meant there was ample time for a decent breakfast, coffee and relaxed drive to Moke Lake. The 20-minute journey from the centre of town to the stunning lakeside event hub got me off to the perfect beginning. All too often the pre-race process can be stressful, but with such epic surrounds you can’t help but be distracted from the worries of what lies ahead. Now to where things got ugly, albeit, really enjoyable.
As we all scrambled up the slope there was cheering from below, heavy breathing all around and the occasional grunt of discomfort as everyone struggled to find a rhythm. The underfoot terrain was incredibly uneven, with the thick tussock mounds meaning every step places your foot on a different angle, but the steepness of the slope also meant your calves and arches are loaded up. It took a several hundred meters to fall into a technique that meant less slipping and fighting the terrain, and more efficient forward momentum.
It gave me a chance to lift my head to see the world around me. Having spent the first 10 minutes staring at my feet, it was nice to see some fellow runners doing battle with the mountain and more importantly, to take in the views. Even before you’re up high, the scenery is stunning. The low cloud that filled the valley was quickly burning off and revealing golden hills and the shimmering blue lake. But that moment of joy soon ended as I found myself becoming intimate with the ground, when a rock hidden amongst the thick grass caught my toe and saw me immersed in the groundcover, face first.
“Before me was the daunting prospect of going the ‘short way’ up Ben Lomond, and there’s no easy meters in this event.”
Slightly embarrassed, I got to my feet and pretended nothing happened, grinding onward. The opening kilometre gives you around 370m of vert, with a slight flat section leading into the second. The tussocks give way to a bouldery section, with even some slight downhill through a saddle and a fun traverse across a steep, rocky slope. It’s at this point that you can see the finish line, perched atop the iconic mountain.
The final 100m disappears amidst the noise of cheering hikers and fellow runners. Reaching the summit I was greeted with a high five from Hamish, the patriarch of the Foster family. Standing atop Ben Lomond was a fitting reward for the effort. It was pretty special to recover while enjoying incredible views and amidst the camaraderie that only shared suffering can create. And with that bucket-list experience now complete there were two things left to do: recover for the half marathon the following day and run the 5km down to the gondola for a ride back into town.
This article appeared in Edition 55 of Trail Run Magazine 2025. Grab your copy here
