Redmond, 28, broke through at Routeburn in 2025, winning the race in her first attempt — and claiming her first race victory of any major type in the process.
Since then, she has quietly put together one of the most impressive seasons in New Zealand trail running.
Her results over the past year include wins at the Kepler Challenge (60km) and 3 Peaks + 1, along with a course record at the WUU2K 45km.
She also cracked the top 10 at the Tarawera Ultramarathon 50km, finishing ninth in a stacked international field.
“It’s been a pretty big summer,” Redmond said.
“I haven’t raced this much before — it’s been a case of figuring out when to push, when to rest and just listening to how I’m feeling.”
That balancing act extends beyond running, as Redmond continues to work close to fulltime as a pharmacist, splitting her time between hospital and community roles.
“I think working has actually helped. It keeps a bit of routine and probably stops me from overdoing it.”
One of the standout performances of her season came at Kepler, where she ran down the leaders late in the race to claim the win.
“I passed for the lead with about 8km-10km to go and managed to hold it. That one meant a lot — Kepler’s a special race.”
Despite the results, Redmond’s approach has not changed much.
“I still just love being out there. The racing’s great, but it’s more about being in the mountains and being part of the community.”
Redmond only came to trail running about four years
ago, lining up at the Kepler Challenge as her first race with little experience and even less expectation.
“I was really green,” she said.
“All I ate was a peanut butter sandwich and drank only water ... so it kind of made sense why I bonked and hated it for the last section.”
At the time, she was “adamant” she would never run it again, but over the next couple of seasons something shifted.
“It probably wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I was, like, ‘oh, I could actually do well at this’,” she said, following a second-place finish in Taupō and a podium at Kepler.
Now based in Queenstown, she says the Arc’teryx-sponsored Routeburn Classic was a race that kept drawing her back.
“It’s such a cool event. It’s not super long, so it’s accessible, but you still really have to respect the course and the conditions. And the scenery — it doesn’t get old.”
With a variable forecast for the end of the week, Redmond admits this year’s race could look very different from her winning run in 2025.
“I was pretty keen to have a crack at the record,” she said.
“But if there’s snow and rough weather, it’s going to slow things down a lot.”
Further down the track, Redmond is beginning to think more seriously about what might be possible in the sport.
While she represents the Routeburn Classic’s naming sponsor as an ambassador, she has aspirations to one day join the brand’s global roster of sponsored athletes.
Redmond has begun working with a coach and is considering future international opportunities, including qualifying for UTMB events — but remains committed to racing at home.
“I love running in New Zealand ... giving back to the race communities here is my top priority.
“That would be the dream at some point. But for now, I’m just focused on doing the work and seeing where it goes.”
— Allied Media
