March 8th, 2026 – Joes Milford Run, the 4th Edition.
22 Runners this year with a couple of late withdrawals. Not Scott though, he returned again for the forth year in a row! Three runners made their way to Fiordland from the North Island, representing Auckland and Taranaki; and Daniel was our only international, joining us all the way from Spain!
With the logistics well and truly dialled in by now, it was very much a case of, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” The weekend kicked off on Saturday evening with a meet-and-greet over pizza and pasta at Nonna Resi’s Italian Restaurant. It was the perfect chance to meet one another, carb load, hand out bottles of insect repellent, and run through one final briefing before an early night.
The next morning started long before sunrise, with two very early buses collecting runners from Te Anau Downs. Driven by local professional tour guides, they even kept everyone fuelled with thermoses of hot coffee waiting in Milford—absolute legends. From there, it was over to our water taxi, expertly skippered by some of Fiordland’s finest, who fairied us safely over to the start of the track.
This year, Mother Nature decided to put on the full Milford experience, delivering plenty of rain. But with that came the reward: the waterfalls were simply phenomenal. Every stream and cliff seemed to be pouring with water, transforming an already spectacular place into something truly unforgettable.
54km of Milford Track – a few taking the extra side quest to Sutherland Falls. Rain could not dampen the spirits of these amazing trail runners. Vibes were high, grins wide, and a perfectly timed clearing of skies at the top of Mackinnon Pass was the icing on the cake. A much dryer run from the tops, down through Clinton Valley and back to to the edge of Lake Te Anau.
Amazing crew, all finishing strong and on time for their boats. Welcomed into Glade Wharf by their drop bags, a cold beer, cans of coke… and 4 trillion sandflies!
2026 Milford Track legends: Lee, Scott, Alex, Evie, Dan, Joe, Lachlan, Ryan, Carn, Jake, Cameron, Daniel, Raechel, Eline, Anthony, Sarah, Jon-Paul, Emma, Jenn, Meg, Kenny, and shoutout to Storm who came to Milford, but couldn’t join the run.
Thanks to our Drivers Stephen and Sarah of Fiordland Tours, and Fiordland Outdoors Manager Hannah and Skippers Logan (Milford) and Sam (Te Anau).
Read about the previous missions, and the origin of this shared adventure here.
For updates on news and future Group Runs, subscribe here.
