Anticipation is building for the Fresh Choice Kepler Challenge, as leading New Zealand ultra runner Daniel Jones prepares to make his return for the 60km mountain run on December 6.

Jones won six consecutive Challenge titles from 2018 to 2023 to equal the men’s record set by Russell Hurring in the 1990s but professional racing commitments overseas meant he was missing from the Lake Te Anau control gates start line in 2024.

A seventh win would move the new father past the benchmark he currently shares with Hurring and six-time women’s title winner Ruby Muir.

This year he won the Tarawera 102km ultra trail event in a course record and finished fifth in the famous Western States 100 in California.

Defending champion Daniel Balchin, from Alexandra, will take some strong form into the race after winning the Rotorua marathon earlier this year and then claiming his second Auckland marathon title recently.

Runners make their way along the Kepler Track above the Mt Luxmore Hut during the 2024 race. Credit: Nathan Burdon

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The men’s field features a number of runners who might be curious to see how their legs rank against Jones and Balchin, including regular podium finisher David Haunschmidt, Gene Beveridge, Matt Gummar and Australian world championship mountain running representative John Winsbury.

Frances Redmond, who finished runner-up to Katie Morgan last year, will be one of the favourites in the women’s race, along with Annabelle Bramwell and Nikki Everton, who finished third at this year’s Old Ghost Ultra.

Kepler Challenge organising committee chair Steve Norris said the event continued to enjoy the support of the running community.

“The Kepler is one of those bucket list events for many people and we are looking forward to welcoming them to Te Anau this weekend.”

Entries for the race around the Kepler Track in Fiordland National Park, which are limited to 450, sold out in 2min 11sec back in July, with a 350-strong wait list capped less than half an hour later.

The mythical Fiordland moose will be a theme for this year’s race, featuring on the event t-shirt and finisher medals.

While moose are thought by many to have been extinct in this part of the world for the best part of 75 years, unconfirmed sightings of the elusive deer last summer sparked a new wave of interest in one of the area’s most enduring tales.

In the 27km Luxmore Grunt, both Penny Mouat and Jonathan Jackson have returned to defend their titles.

Jackson will be attempting a third straight, and fourth overall, Grunt win but will be challenged by the likes of Michael Sutton and Luke Wilson.

The Kepler Challenge gets underway from the Lake Te Anau Control Gates at 6am on Saturday (December 6), with the Luxmore Grunt starting an hour later.

The men’s record is held by Martin Dent in a time of 4:33:37, set in 2013. The women’s record (5:23:34) has been held by Zelah Morrall since 2003.