Shotover Moonlight
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Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon
The Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon is an off-road trail race held on Ben Lomond Station near Queenstown, New Zealand. The course starts below the Pipeline Bridge in Skippers Canyon and finishes at Moke Lake, running across private high country station land and open only on race day.
The route follows historic 1880s gold mining water races, sheep tracks and ridgelines, and passes beech forest, river valleys, a waterfall ladder, a scree descent and an abandoned gold mining tunnel. Trail surfaces and approximate distances are listed as water race single track 13 km (30%), ridgeline and other single track 13 km (30%), riverbed and river valley 8 km (20%), and farm 4WD track 8 km (20%). The tunnel, ladder and scree run are included in these sections.
Total elevation change is over 2500 m of climbing and descending. Estimated finishing times provided by the organisers range from about 4.5 hours for elite runners to 8–9 hours for casual runners. Cut off arrangements include a short course option located at 24.5 km that reduces distance by about 6 km and 500 m of climbing, and an overall course cutoff after 12 hours when competitors still on course are transported to the finish.
The event is run from a working high country station and follows traditional mustering routes and historic water races. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
