Luxmore Grunt 27k

The Luxmore Grunt is a 27k out-and-back mountain race on the first section of the Kepler Track in Fiordland National Park. Starting and finishing at the Control Gates on the shore of Lake Te Anau, it follows the same route as the Kepler Challenge up to Luxmore Hut and returns the same way. The first section is a flat run along the lakeshore through forest, before the track begins a long, steady climb above the bushline onto the open tops near Luxmore Hut. Runners turn around at the hut and retrace their steps, with a long, runnable descent back down through the forest to the lakeside track and the finish at the Control Gates. The entire course is on dirt tracks and trails. Billed by the organisers as only 27k but not for the faint of heart, it starts an hour after the Kepler Challenge.