Here’s how you can train for The WILD terrain no matter where you live in NZ

If you haven’t yet discovered the power of the Wild Things directories, here’s a practical example.

Mal Law, original founder of Wild Things, has used the Wild Things trail directory to select the best routes across New Zealand that people can use to train for The WILD.

The WILD is an epic mountain run that’s been years in the making, to be held in Otago in December 2022. Mal is the course curator and true to form he’s really leaning into the ‘journey into the unknown’ philosophy. The WILD is not going to publish detailed course maps until the week of the race. They’re encouraging people to embrace the thrill of discovering the route for the first time on the day (and the night… and the next day…) of the event. 

This means you can train locally so long as you can find suitable terrain. Here’s where the Wild Things trail directory comes in. 

We’ve compiled Mal’s pre-selected routes into three handy directory lists, one for each of The WILD’s three distances. Use these lists to find trails near you that will make great training runs for the specific and special demands of The WILD.

Over 250 routes that are good for training for the 20 mile event.

Over 120 routes that are good for training for the Further Faster 50 mile event.

Almost 100 routes that are good for training for the SCOTT 100 mile event.

Once on your chosen listing page, you can filter the list by Region to find runs in specific areas where you want to train.

The directory is free to use but you need to register as a Wild Things member to access more than three trails. (If you’re not yet a member, welcome! You’ll never regret joining Wild Things if you love trails as much as we do.)

On a personal note, I’ve entered The WILD 50 miler. Some of you may know I’ve had a few years of heart issues so this’ll be my first big race for quite a while. I’m stoked to be well enough not to miss such an epic event, and I’ll be planning my training using the Trail and Peak Directories. It’s going to be awesome and I. Am. Pumped.