Date
Sat, 5 Dec 2026
Start
07:00
Venue
Control Gates, Lake Te Anau, Te Anau
Te Anau, Southland District
Countdown
December
The shorter way into Kepler: run up to Luxmore Hut and turn around. 27 km with 990 m of climbing is a solid mountain day, with 8 hours to do it.
Key facts
018-hour time limit
02Compulsory gear is required
03Minimum age 16 on race day
Create a free training plan for the FreshChoice Kepler Challenge 27 km
7-day free trial, no card required
The course
The route
Te Anau
Distance27km
Total climb990m
StartElevation
0 kmDrag map to rotate25.0 km
Weather
Early-December, Te Anau
13°CTypical high
5°CTypical low
-1°CColdest in 20 years
67%Days with rain
Highs around 13°C and lows around 5°C, but it has dropped to -1°C. Rain on 67% of days. Pack for the cold end, not the average.
NASA POWER data, 2006-2025, the week either side of race day
Results
Course verified. Results not yet available.
Organiser
OrganiserKepler Challenge Mountain Run Trust, through its Organising Committee
Websitekeplerchallenge.co.nz
Instagram@keplerchallengeofficial
Running since1988
Training
Training for the FreshChoice Kepler Challenge 27 km
We don't do generic plans. We combine deep knowledge of this race's demands with your recent training, then build a plan with you that progresses as you do.
Beina integrates directly with your existing tools to understand your current fitness, and synchronise your planned sessions.
Intervals.icuWhat a FreshChoice Kepler Challenge 27 km plan targets
Typical sessions
27 km with 990 m of climbing
Time on feet and fatigue resistance
Fuelling and pacing for the whole event
What your weeks look like
Typical sessions
Long runs that build time on your feet
Tempo and threshold sessions to hold race pace
Back-to-back weekend runs for fatigue resistance
Not a generic schedule
Typical sessions
Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
Entries open now
Get your FreshChoice Kepler Challenge 27 km plan.
7-day free trial, no card required.
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