Note the trail was incomplete when Hewat did this run.
Although this record will be meaningless once the trail is eventually completed I recently ran/hiked the trail from end-to-end approximately 550km in 9 days 11 hours and 49 mins from north to south starting on the 5th March 2012 and finishing 14th March 2012. I utilized several food drops and town accommodation when it was suitable but had no crew. The first seven days were incredibly hot as the region suffered a heat wave with daily temperatures tipping 40C. The trail has a series of open huts yet has little traffic. According to the hut logbooks only 8 riders have completed the current full distance (newest additions opened mid 2011) and all of them also took 10 days. While there are several long stretches of road it is still a great trail and worthy of consideration for those looking for a challenge.
I do plan to post a report on my blog www.alpineultra.blogspot.com.au/ when I catch up. I carried a Spot tracker and have screen shots for all but the first day that dropped off before I caught it. I was using a garmin 310xt and 910xt but had the gps switched off for most of it to preserve the batteries for the more important (for my benefit) heart-rate monitor. I was using the foot-pod but that doesn't give a tracked course, of course. And I wrote in all the hut log-books enroute recording my passage.