Sam McCutcheon

About

Sam McCutcheon (born July 11, 1989) is a New Zealand trail and ultrarunner who built his sporting foundation as a competitive swimmer and surf lifesaver before an improbable four-month conversion turned him into one of the Asia-Pacific region's elite trail runners. Coming to wider national attention at the 2015 Kepler Challenge, he had, within four months, won the Australia and New Zealand Skyrunning Ultra Championship. He introduced himself to the international field in February 2017 by finishing third at the Tarawera Ultramarathon and backed it up with another third at the same race in 2018 — establishing himself as one of the Pacific region's most consistent ultra performers on the distance. That year he relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland, where a three-and-a-half-year European base allowed him to compete at the UTMB CCC (finishing seventh), represent New Zealand at the IAU World Trail Running Championships, and race across the European circuit. Since returning home he has won the Kepler Challenge twice, taken victory at the 2023 Old Ghost Ultra — one of New Zealand's most demanding and remote backcountry races — and set the course record at the Wuu2k. A product of the deep New Zealand outdoor culture that has produced multiple world-class trail runners, McCutcheon brings a swimming athlete's capacity for sustained effort and tolerance for discomfort to the specific demands of mountain ultrarunning.

Notable Wins

• — NZ/AUS Skyrunning Ultra Champion 2016
• — Tarawera Ultramarathon 3rd 2017 and 2018
• — CCC 7th
• — Kepler Challenge (2x winner)
• — Old Ghost Ultra 2023

Race History