Feel the Burn

Feel the Burn is a trail run through Flock Hill and Castle Hill Stations in the Craigieburn Basin — but it’s really a fundraiser wearing running shoes. The event was born out of the Bridge Hill fire in December 2024, when we watched a huge stretch of this high country landscape burn. Instead of just mourning it, a group of us started the Craigieburn Basin Restoration Trust to restore it — properly, over the long haul. We’re talking a 100-year vision, not a five-year plan.

Every entry fee goes toward that restoration work: native planting, seed collection, a nursery full of mountain beech seedlings, and getting local schools involved in the process. This isn’t public land you’d normally get to run on — it’s private high-country station, opened up for the weekend so the community can be part of something bigger than a race.

There are four distances so it’s genuinely for everyone: the Spark (5km) and Toastie (10km) suit first-timers and families, while the Incinerator (20km) and Full Burn (30km) will test the more seasoned trail runners among you. Expect big Canterbury high-country views, real Basin terrain, and an atmosphere that feels more like a community day out than a race.

On top of that, our sponsors have been incredibly generous — spot prizes and general prizes on the day range from a night of 5-star accommodation at Flock Hill to season ski passes at Porters, plus heaps of other great gear, all donated for the cause. So you’re running for the Basin, but there’s plenty to win along the way too.