Whakatāne’s Daniel Jones has once again proved untouchable on home soil at Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB, claiming a fourth 102km (T102) title in Rotorua last weekend.

This year, his efforts were anything but routine, with rainfall across the region leaving the trails wet, technical, and energy-sapping, and turning the races into a battle of attrition.

Jones controlled the race from the front, slowly breaking the competition with his unrelenting pace and crossed the finish line in 7.31.27, more than 26 minutes ahead of Jacob Banta from the United States. Kiwi Max Yanzick finished third.

“I was going through that race and just trying to stay in the moment,” said Jones.

“It’s something that I try and concentrate on; it’s a 100km race, a long way – we started out hot and I thought there’s a long way to go here.

“It got super tough in the back end; the course was very muddy, but you know, you just keep digging in and making sure that you keep moving forward the best way possible.

“Getting to the last 10km, where it was flat, was nice, and then the reception here, coming into the Village Green in Rotorua, that was special for me.”

A group attempted to go with Jones over the first 30 kilometres, but his speed across the Tarawera trails soon fractured the chase.

From there, Jones cruised to another emphatic victory, adding a fourth straight T102 title to his resume.

“I think I just play to my strengths, and I feel very comfortable running the forestry roads in the first half, it doesn’t feel like I’m overexerting, even though when you get to the back end, you’re certainly spent.

“I plan to just drive through, but I don’t necessarily try and break the group apart, I just want to start aggressive.

“I want to challenge myself, I want to try and get a good time here, always, and leave it all out on course,” he said.

“It was already a stellar field, so I knew going out there I wanted to almost feel it out and see who wanted to run and go hard from the start.

“The forestry road was in great nick; those roads drain pretty well, but then on the back half it got really tough, but you had a lot of support from the passing 50km runners.

“Everyone was really respectful and tried to give you the line that you wanted and sometimes you’d almost slide into people and have to say sorry. But everyone was really kind out there.”

As is tradition for T102 and TMiler champions at Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB, Jones and women’s winner Ruth 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 heroes home.

This year’s finish was extra special for Jones, whose partner and young son were there to greet him.

“I stayed over in Whakatāne last night and they [Michelle and Hudson] stayed here in Rotorua, so I could try and get a decent sleep, even though that didn’t really happen anyway,” he said.

“It meant I really missed them and I was thinking about them on course.

“It was nice to see them at Tikitapu, and then obviously at the finish and we’re going to get to celebrate together now, which is super special.

“It’s just a great feeling crossing the line and seeing both of them here. I was really emotional, actually.”

Jones will now turn his attention to the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run in California, US, taking place in June.

He  has finished in the top five at Western States for the past three years.

Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB is a qualifying race for the 2027 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.

This year, the T102 race also returned as a HOKA Golden Ticket qualifier for the 2026 Western States, with the top- two female and male finishers earning automatic entry – unless the first or second place participant is already in Western States (or decides to opt out), when the automatic bid slides to third place, fourth place, and subsequently down to fifth place as needed.

The HOKA Golden Tickets at Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB were accepted by Jacob Banta (US), Max Yanzick (NZL), Honoka Akiyama (JPN), and Holly Ranson (AUS).