The Routeburn Classic is a 32km race along the Routeburn Track, which the Department of Conservation recommends taking two to four days to complete.
In the Routeburn Classic, runners complete the trek in under three hours.
Wānaka runner Harvey Martin won the men’s event in a time of 2hr 48min 12 sec, finishing just 8 seconds ahead of the defending champion Jack Harris.
Martin’s victory capped a whirlwind weekend, having gained entry from the event’s waiting list on Thursday.
"Not many people can drop everything to do it at that short notice but I managed to move work around and I jumped at the opportunity," Martin said.
While the conditions may have given much of the field cause for concern, Martin saw it as a significant advantage.
"I was pretty excited, to be fair.
"It was pretty wet, and it was only when we got to the Harris Saddle that it got cold.
"The weather in the UK is like that a lot, and I thought that the worse it got, it probably suited me better and better.
Martin took the prestigious win, but the experience counted for more.
"Take winning out of it, it was just a sick day on the trails.
"It was a really cool route, with loads of people to run with, the win was just a cherry on top," Martin said.
"The temptation is for it to feel frustrating," Wilson said.
"All three of us went to win that race, but only one of us can.
"Ninety seconds isn’t a lot of time over two hours and 50 minutes, but you take slightly disappointing results alongside positive ones," Wilson said.
Hamish Elliot, another Wānaka local and two-time Coast to Coast champion, finished in fifth place.
The women’s race was won by Canadian mountain athlete Emma Cook-Clarke, whose time of 3hr 8min 55sec beat the existing women’s record by almost eight minutes.
The build up to the race had been dominated by concerns about weather on the course.
Severe weather had battered the region in the days before the event, with the Department of Conservation temporarily closing sections of the track.
Snow remained on key sections of the course, with forecasts predicting a further 50mm-70mm of precipitation going into race day.
Despite the conditions, organisers confirmed the event would proceed, implementing enhanced safety measures and repositioning marshals ahead of the incoming weather front to monitor conditions in real time.
Race director Glen Currie said a final call was made on race morning following on-course assessments, while participants were urged to take the alpine environment seriously.
Third-placed Wilson said, "In the modern day and age, it’s very, very easy to be risk averse in those scenarios as a race organiser".
"Putting a few extra marshals in place, and actually having the guts to put on a real New Zealand mountain running race, in real New Zealand mountain conditions, was awesome."
