Tarawera Ultramarathon organiser Paul Charteris said he could not be happier after the weekend's event and is soon to announce a new event taking in some more of the North Island's iconic sites.

Mr Charteris said the event continued its impressive growth with about 400 international competitors taking part this year, out of a total of an estimated 1200 entrants.

"It was brilliant, absolutely amazing, despite getting rained on all day long. But we definitely have a great future ahead of us.

"With 400 international runners it's just a phenomenal international contingent."

He said he expected a higher attrition rate than usual when full results were released.

"The rain was much heavier at the Rotorua end with quite a lot of slipping and sliding in the first 40 to 60km. Many runners said they were a lot more tired then they were hoping to be around the 60km mark."

He said there was still plenty of work to be done wrapping up the event and he wanted to thank all those who spent so much time and goodwill making the event the success it was.

"It takes about three months to completely un-wrap the race and by July we will be planning for next year."

He said about 350 volunteers were out on the trails encouraging and supporting the athletes.

"The international runners could not believe the level of support the local community provides for this race. They said it was amazing how friendly they were, especially standing there in the rain all day long."

Mr Charteris said the event would not take place without the generous support and blessing of land owners and businesses along the route.

The race began at the Redwoods Visitors Centre and finished at the Tarawera Falls for 60km runners and at Firmin Field in Kawerau for the 100km runners.

He also said plans were under way to bring another, shorter, event to the North Island but he was still in the planning phase and was not ready to make a public announcement at this time.

"There are still a few things to work through such as securing the permission of land owners, but we hope to make an announcement soon," he said.

Source: Whakatane News