Luxmore Grunt History

She's held the Grunt women's record (2:04:28) for 28 years now in what can only be described as an astonishing performance!!

It was great to catch up with Shireen recently to get some insights on her race that day and hear what she is up to these days (see below) ......

"I don’t remember anything particularly dramatic from the race itself – just that it was a solid day out and everything seemed to come together. It’s a tough course, but an enjoyable one with fantastic views. At the time I probably wasn’t thinking too much about the record, just running my own race.
In terms of preparation, I was actually running fairly low mileage compared to what I did later in my career. I had raced at the World Mountain Running Championships in Réunion Island a few months earlier and was disappointed in my performance, so I was pretty grumpy with myself afterwards and came into Luxmore motivated to put together a better run.
I wouldn’t have considered myself a good runner at that point I was still finding my way. Looking back, that race probably marked an important phase for me. A few years later I went on to place 6th at the World Mountain Running Championships in Innsbruck in 2002, which was my best mountain running international result and we won a silver medal in the teams event.
On the day, I think I just ran consistently and I was probably a bit more fearless on the downhill than usual – I’ve never really considered myself a downhill runner and anyone that has raced ne definitely would agree that downhill running definitely isn't my forte.
When I finished and realised I’d broken the record, I was pretty surprised. More than anything I felt pleased that the effort had paid off – and a bit humbled, to be honest. I certainly didn’t expect it to still be standing all these years later.
There have been some very strong runners through the event, so I’d say it’s definitely feasible that someone could beat it. It just takes the right person on the right day, with good conditions.
I was 28 when I ran that race.
Looking back now, I am proud of it. I enjoyed handing medals out to finishers 2 years ago.
These days I don’t race much. I prefer just to keep fit and enjoy running without the pressure. I still get out fairly regularly and occasionally turn up to the Leith Harbour 10km, but it’s more about staying active than chasing times now"

Profiling the Top 10 Fastest Grunt Men EVER in the 37 Year History of the Race...

Number ONE - Daniel Balchin

In 2021 Alexandra based engineer Dan Balchin won the Grunt in a staggering time of 1 hr 48 min 49 secs to surpass the record of 1 hr 50 min 55 secs set by Andy Good in 2018.

I have enjoyed the privilege of witnessing some extraordinary racing over the 37 year history of the Grunt, however this is surely the most astounding performance I have ever seen.

Personally I did not believe that a sub 1 hr 50 min was ever possible!

Expect this record to stand the true test of time , it will take an exceptional 'world class' athlete to knock on the door of this record.

Huge respect for this exceptional runner.

Please give Dan a thumbs up!

Profiling the Top 10 Fastest Grunt Men EVER in the 37 Year History of the Race..

# 2 ANDY GOOD

In 2018 Elite Christchurch runner Andy Good lined up for the Grunt.

A highly respected and experienced runner both on and off road, Andy was always confident he could potentially break the record (which at the time stood at 1hr 52 min 30 secs)

As it transpired he did just that! Andy had a remarkable race going on to win the race in a staggering time of 1:50:54!

What is even more significant is that Andy raced most of the race entirely on his own without anyone around to push him.

At the finish Andy was a full 16 minutes ahead of the 2nd placed runner!

Clearly Andy's performance was a phenomenal achievement.

Andy's result was a real 'game changer' making Sub 1 hr 50 min look like a real possibility in the future.

Well done Andy you will always hold an esteemed place in the history of the Grunt 👏

Profiling the Top 10 Fastest Grunt Runners EVER In the 37 year history of the race.

#3 Jonathan Jackson

Jono Jackson is an elite Auckland based runner and he has won numerous races on and off road for a number of years now.

Jono is a multiple winner over the Grunt course and he is held in high regard each time he races this event.

In 2021 Jono posted the 3rd fastest ever time in the history of the event with an incredibly quick 1hr 51 min 15 sec

This is a phenomenal effort and Jono truly deserves his place in the history of the Grunt.

Huge respect 🙏

Profiling the Top 10 Fastest Grunt Runners EVER in the 37 year history of this revered race...

# 4 Phil Costley

Phil is one of NZ'S finest runners , he has held 35 NZ titles and at one point he held every distance title from the 3,000m through to the Marathon, he has a personal best Half Marathon time of 1:02 min!

When Phil announced in 2008 that he would race the Grunt with a focus on breaking Andy Towns 14 year old record (1:54:12) set in 1994 no one disbelieved he would do just that.

Phil won the race in a time of 1:52:30 breaking the record by 1min 42sec and held the record for a further 8 years.

Today Phils finishing time gives him the honours of the 4th Fastest finisher ever and a firm place in the distinguished Sub 2hr Club.

An extraordinary athlete!

Profiling the Top 10 Fastest Grunt Runners EVER in the 37 year history of this revered race...

# 5 Cameron Swales

Coming from a track and road background, Cam is relatively new to trail and mountain running.

He lined up in the 2025 Grunt and boy did he deliver! making an immediate and inspiring impact to take line honours.

Stopping the clock in a time of 1hr 53min 30secs Cam has the bragging rights as being the 5th fastest finisher EVER in the history of the event and a firm position in the ELITE SUB 2hrs Club.

What a great debut Cam! 👏

Profiling the Top 10 Fastest Grunt Men EVER in the 37 year history of this revered race...

#6 Jack Beaumont

Former Queenstown mountain running star Jack Beaumont now residing in the States has won way too many prestigious mountain running races to list them all.

The Northern Southland-raised 27-year-old, won back-to-back New Zealand senior mountain running champs, a 3000 metre NZ steeplechase title and had a best result of 13th in the world mountain running champs.

In 2017 he also set the record time — 2hr 37min 51sec — for the Routeburn Classic.

Jack lined up to race the Grunt in 2016 and his finishing time of 1hr 54min 01sec gives him the honours now of being the 6th fastest ever Grunt finisher and a solid place well inside the ELITE SUB 2hr Club.

Great stuff Jack 👏

Profiling the Top 10 Fastest Grunt Runners of all time in the 37 year history of this revered race..

#7 Andy Town

When I first entered the Grunt it was 1994, I had just returned to NZ from Australia where I had been living and working for several years.

I was 32 years old and my previous running experience was limited basically to 5km Fun Runs on the pavements of Brisbane.

I certainly had no previous Mountain Running experience and I knew nothing about the Grunt race and no idea what to expect.

Imagine my surprise when I finished in 1st place with a time of 1hr 54min 12secs setting a new race record that went on to stand for 14 years.

This time today is the 7th fastest ever in the long and illustrious race history of the Grunt and earns my spot in the Elite Sub 2hr Club.

Fantastic memories of a truly exciting race, cheers 🍻

Profiling the Top 10 Fastest Grunt Runners of all time in the 37 year history of this revered race..

#8 Michael Sutton

Michael Sutton is a distance runner from Tauranga, NZ who specialises in Mountain Running.

Michael has in recent years enjoyed extensive experience racing in Europe and winning a few major national level races against some of the world's top mountain runners.

In 2025 an in form Michael was on the start line of the Luxmore Grunt and with him were two formidable opponents in Cameron Swales and Jono Jackson.

Michael had a sensational run bolting home to stop the clock in an incredibly quick 1hr 54 min 53 sec!

This time today gives Michael the honours of being the 8th fastest man ever in the 37 years of Grunt Racing.

Michael sits well inside the ELITE SUB 2hr Club a barrier that very few have broken.

Well done Michael a fantastic effort 👌