Ultra Marathon Running World Tour heading to Rotorua

Rotorua's Tarawera Ultramarathon is to be part of the 2014 Ultra-Trail World Tour, a series of eight long distance running races in Africa, America, Asia and Europe with New Zealand representing Oceania.

Raced every March, the Vibram Tarawera Ultramarathon is a challenging 100 kilometre off-road run from Rotorua to Kawerau, through the magnificent countryside of the Bay of Plenty.

Explaining the addition of the race to the Ultra-Trail World Tour, Tarawera race director, Paul Charteris states "the invitation for the Tarawera Ultra to be part of the world tour came completely out of the blue one night in the from a Skype call from Ultra-Trail organisers in Paris.

"I was speechless. It's such an honour to be invited to be one of the inaugural Tour partners.

"The best trail ultra marathon runners from all over the world will make Rotorua a bucket-list destination."

The Tarawera Ultramarathon was first run six years ago, with Charteris recalling "it was really a crazy dream to start with (but) these days we sell out well ahead of race day with a big waiting list, but it's still unbelievable to think that hundreds of the world's running media will be in a press conference in Chamonix in France learning about the Tarawera Ultra."

Charteris says the Ultra-Trail World Tour is all about bringing runners together in the spirit of friendship, adventure and competition.

It also guarantees exposure to a much greater global audience and the potential benefits to local tourism and economy will be in the millions of dollars.

Other races on the Tour are The Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run - USA; the Marathon des Sables - Morocco; The North Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc - France, Italy and Switzerland; The Transgrancanaria Spain; Lavaredo Ultra-Trail Italy; Vibram Hong Kong 100 China SAR and the Ultra-Trail Mont Fuji - Japan.

Charteris adds "these are all successful, well-established events with long histories, big race fields and massive media interest ... they aren't just about the racing... they're also about the magnificent landscapes and exotic environments they're run in."

Being part of the tour will be an opportunity to showcase Rotorua and New Zealand to the world with the city well known as a tourist and adventure sport destination and for running world-class events.

For more information go to http://www.taraweraultra.co.nz