Not two months after Karel Sabbe set a blistering new men's pace on New Zealand's Te Araroa Trail, the women's record has also been rewritten. On March 27, Paulina Zäck arrived at Cape Reinga after taking just 54 days, 9 hours, and 48 minutes to travel the entire length of New Zealand on foot.
The record from the German thru-hiker and trail runner is both a new women’s self-supported and women’s overall fastest known time (FKT), blasting the previous record set by Kiwi Brooke Thomas in 2021 by three days.
Zäck first hiked the 1,888-mile (3,039k) trail southbound five years ago, and on February 6, she announced that she was back for another shot, heading northbound this time to take advantage of the good weather in the north and also to get the more challenging sections over with on fresher legs. The catch? She only had 60 days, so she knew she might be looking at an FKT with no crew, no outside help, and no resupplies waiting.
"Just me, my pack, the trail, and the daily grind of at least 50 km on foot. I have zero clue how this will play out, I've never done anything like this before. Could be epic, could be a total disaster," said Zäck, calling her plan "raw ultra thru-hiking madness."
In the end, Zäck managed to average 56k (that's 34.7 miles) every day, burning through four pairs of Altra Olympus trail running shoes and tracking the entire time using her Garmin inReach Mini 2 at 10-minute intervals.
She says she also used her Garmin Instinct Solar watch, but after about two weeks, it could no longer sync with her phone, so she had to manually enter the remaining data into Strava.
Zäck says she never hiked with anyone else during the eight weeks she was on the trail and resupplied in towns, supermarkets, stores and gas stations "just like all other hikers," carrying her food for up to five days at a time between stops. She crossed river using ferries and one jet boat ride.
"I’ve learned a lot about myself. The trail taught me where my limits lie (which I don't think I have reached yet), but also how strong I am—both physically and mentally," says Zäck.
"I want to encourage other women to take on FKTs and push their own boundaries. The trail has changed me, and I’m definitely ready for more and tempted to do more FKT's."
The Te Araroa means “the long pathway” in Māori and the route involves traversing both the North and South Islands, crossing Cook Strait between the two islands, multiple river and estuary crossings and a 71-mile section of the Whanganui River.
