The Poronui Passage: Dates, Tickets & Venue (Taupō)

Race day on the Central Plateau

The date is Saturday, November 21, 2026. The Poronui Passage is a trail run, not a road race. Expect dirt, gravel and grass underfoot instead of tarmac, and open high country instead of city streets.

Three distances share the day:

• 12km: the entry point, suited to newer trail runners and people who walk part of the course
• Half marathon (21.1km): the middle option for regular runners
• Marathon (42.2km): the full distance, and a long day out on the plateau

The name points to Poronui, the high-country station east of Taupō in the upper Mohaka River country. The organiser publishes the exact venue, start times and course maps on its official site, and that is where entries are made.

Getting to Taupō and the start

Taupō sits on the northeast shore of Lake Taupō, the country’s largest lake. By road it is roughly three and a half hours south of Auckland and about an hour from Rotorua. State Highway 1 runs through town.

Taupō Airport, just south of town, has flights from Auckland. The country east of Taupō toward Poronui is reached via the Napier–Taupō Road (State Highway 5). Rural roads out there are narrow, and phone coverage thins out quickly once you leave town.

Running the plateau in late spring

November is late spring on the Central Plateau. The plateau sits high, so mornings start cold and conditions can turn within hours. Sun, wind and showers can all arrive on the same day.

Trail runners here usually carry:

• a windproof or waterproof layer, even when the start is bright
• their own water and fuel for the longer distances
• shoes with grip for loose pumice soil, which is typical of the region
• sunscreen, since UV in New Zealand is strong in spring

Marathon runners typically treat the course as a time-on-feet effort. Pace on trail runs slower than on road, and finish times reflect that.

How trail days work out here

Courses on private station land come with farm rules. Runners stay on the marked route, leave gates exactly as they find them and give stock room. Litter, including gel wrappers, goes home in a pocket.

Most entrants stay in Taupō the night before, as Taupō has the area’s main supply of motels, holiday parks and rentals. They drive out at dawn and often carpool, because parking at rural venues is usually a paddock rather than a car park. Supporters typically gather near the finish, where they can see runners come in on every distance.

The day after, plenty of runners loosen their legs around town. Close by:

• Huka Falls, where the Waikato River squeezes through a narrow chasm, a short drive north of town
• Wairakei’s geothermal area, with steaming ground and hot pools nearby
• The Taupō lakefront, a flat walking path with views across to the Tongariro volcanoes on clear days

Tongariro National Park lies across the lake to the south, for anyone with fresh enough legs for more trail.