http://kajsonnichsen.blogspot.com/2014/09/running-tongariro-northern-circuit.html
Just before the weekend I had another run on the Tongariro Northern Circuit. It's one of the most popular multi-day walking tracks in NZ, seeing several thousand trampers every summer who sleep in large huts spaced 10-15kms apart along the trail. In winter the trail doesn't see quite so many folk, but it is still quite runnable for the most part, even if a good portion of the track is above snowline and steep around the Red Crater area. It is 43.1 km long and involves roughly 1700 metres of elevation gain. Last year I made it around in 5:34 and was stoked to shave 20 minutes off that on this outing. Photos are quite dodgy on account of my phone having a smudged lens or something.
Flowy, well groomed trail at the outset from the Village up to Tama lakes. Then rougher and rockier but still entirely runnable over to Waihohonu hut.
Setting out from the Whakapapa Village these were my splits
0:36 Tama lakes junction
1:27 Waihohonu Hut
2:28 Oturere Hut
3:13 Emerald Lake
4:11 Mangatepopo junction
5:13 Whakapapa Village
On the menu: 3x clif shots and 2 litres of clif electrolyte drink