Whakatāne’s Daniel Jones has shown his continuing dominance in ultra long- distance races, powering his way to a third successive Tarawera Ultra-Trail 102km title in impressive style, finishing well clear of the field.

His time of 7:17:42 was just under six minutes faster than the previous course best time set by Jim Walmsley (US) in 2017.

“I don’t think it’s the same course, but you just go out there to compete. Year-on-year courses change, but to be in the mix with Jim is just so unreal. I am stoked,” Jones said.

Jones is also proud to be the first three-time champion of the race.

“I'm ecstatic. I knew I was in good shape, so I just wanted to see what kind of form I was actually in. We went from the gun, and we had some good competition out there. I was pushed pretty hard for about 30 or 40 kilometres. I kept on pushing right on the edge and I was just holding it together,” he said.

Jones was more than 30 minutes clear of second-place finisher Hiroki Kai from Japan, with Adrian Macdonald (USA), last year’s TMiler champion, in third.

“I always think that the first race I did here head-to-head with Hayden [Hawks] will probably always be the most memorable competition-wise, but certainly lining up with such a stellar field on the start line was epic.

“We shot off, there was Crazy Caro from Japan and another Chinese athlete, we were all pushing it and it was quite good because we shared the pacing duties. I was looking at my watch and we were running 3:50s for a whole bunch of that first marathon. It was fast and runnable, but I was just keeping in the back of my mind that there were some big hills to come,” said Jones.

He said there were some tough periods throughout the run.
“I knew I was in decent shape and just went for it to see what I could do, and I couldn’t believe how the body responded. Yes, I went through some hard parts but I am stoked, just stoked.”

As is tradition for the T102 and TMiler champions at Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB, Jones and Croft were received at the finish line by a haka and to the cheers of the hundreds of spectators, who lined the chute to cheer their local hero’s home.

“Every year that haka at the start line and finish line is incredible,” said Jones.
“I think I was just almost as emotional on the start line seeing that because it's like a challenge, it’s a wero, you accept that challenge lining up on the start line and you know what's ahead of you. But then coming in, celebrating that win that way, there's nothing like it across the world and being a Kiwi, there's nothing quite like that.”
It was his third straight win, having taken the tile in 2023 and 2024. He had tried to do it in 2022 too, but the event was cancelled because of Covid-19.

“I don’t know why it took me so long to run it. It’s such an amazing event. Being Whakatane-born and bred, it’s virtually my backyard, Kawerau especially, so having that support of everyone at the aid stations definitely helps."

Jones will now turn his attention to the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run in California, USA, taking place in June. The Kiwi has finished fourth and fifth there in the past two editions and says he’s excited to see what he can do in 2025 and will be hoping to at least match those previous efforts.

“I guess it's very hard to compare courses, but that time today and the way I just felt racing, I feel like I'm levelling up in this sport. I think my result showed that today, so I'm just really excited to see what I can achieve now,” he said.

Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB is a qualifying race for the 2026 UTMB World Series Finals, taking place in Chamonix, France, with the top three female and male finishers in the T102 securing direct entry into the CCC (100km) race at UTMB Mont-Blanc.