Ten Great Walks. All ten, run.
From the alpine pass on Routeburn to the rising sun on Hump Ridge — each one completed in a single day, in the order they came, between January and December 2025.
From the South, to the North.
Ten pins. From Waikaremoana in Te Urewera to Rakiura at the edge of the world. Hover or tap any pin.
Twelve months. Ten runs.
A run a month for the first four months — then a winter pause as bones healed — then six runs across the last four months, finishing on New Year's Eve.
All ten. In a single day each.
In 2025 I set out to run every one of New Zealand's ten Great Walks — each in a single day.
Total: 582 kilometres, ten trails, one year. Started on New Year's Day on the Routeburn. Closed it out on New Year's Eve on the Hump Ridge.
And now for something completely different. The next chapter is The Wonder Years: a decade of running, one wonder of the world a year, on foot.
Hi, I'm Kat.
In 2025, I took the leap into self-employment, turned 40, and ran all ten of New Zealand's Great Walks. Over 500km of trail, from Stewart Island to Te Urewera, across volcanic plateaus, through ancient bush, over alpine passes, and along coastlines that stop you in your tracks.
The furthest I'd run before was a half marathon. The years since Covid had been pretty sedentary. I had no business attempting this.
But my parents are seasoned ultra runners — both in their 70s — and I wanted to run with them while we still could. So I took a year off work, laced up, and had a crack.
I called it The Great Year. Ten Great Walks. Ten poems rattling around in my head as I plodded along. One very steep learning curve. A few tears, a lot of snacks, and more joy, awe, relief and reward than I ever expected.
This website is a record of that year — the runs, the people, the moments I didn't see coming, and what happens when you commit to something bigger than you're ready for. Because, you run a lot faster when your pants are on fire.
Between runs, I build websites (like this one) at Pixelsmith and help local businesses figure out AI at Binary Refinery.
What a treat this year has been.
Thank you to everyone who joined, supported, cheered, and shared in the journey.
Special thanks to Mum, Dad, Jeff, James, and Kim for coming out for a jog.
And of course Ezra, for all your support along the way.
