A Wellington runner is embracing the city’s hills

As endurance race Faultline Ultra returns to the Wellington hills for more blood, sweat, tears and cheers, race ambassador David Haunschmidt gets stuck into his training. For David, the race is a highlight on the trail running calendar. “Wellington trails are world class and I think a lot of people don’t know that. [Faultline] links them all together. A lot of the time you might just pick a spot to do as your mission. But when you can link it all together and finish on the waterfront, it makes it pretty special.” 

Originally from a small island north of Scotland, David came to New Zealand back in 2016 with his partner. He now lives across the road from the city’s green town belt. “There are so many accessible trails in this city. You can run and have no idea you’re in the city, until you come over a viewpoint and see all the shining lights.” 

An emergency department doctor, David did a little bit of running to destress after working long shifts back in the UK. It wasn’t until he arrived in New Zealand and discovered all the amazing trails around that a love for the sport developed. He quickly started taking it seriously. His partner is also an emergency department doctor and his support team at his races. “She’s pretty amazing. I couldn’t be more lucky.”  

It’s taken David many years to strike the right work-life balance, particularly when it comes to training. “It’s been [lots of] fine tuning and making mistakes as well... I try to be smart about it. Do less mileage, but really quality mileage.” 

When he competes, he tries to remove as much pressure as he can. “For me, number one priority is always just enjoying your run and your day.” For Faultline 2025, he’s running the 25 kilometre race. The event offers distances from six kilometres all the way up to 160km. Competitors can run or mountain bike, taking in the views as they go and weaving their way through nature, region, and city. 

Trail running has taken him all over the country and even overseas to Europe for the XTERRA European championship, the UTMB, and back home to Scotland for the Ben Nevis Ultra. In Wellington, Mount Kaukau is his usual training ground. “It’s steep, you can choose different trails up there to vary things a lot. Different times of day, it can be very beautiful in different ways. Going at sunset, or even running up in the dark, it’s very peaceful.”