Wild Things is like your friend who’s already checked the weather, found the perfect trail, and packed the snacks. Established in 2016 by New Zealand trail runners, Wild Things has grown to become New Zealand’s largest trail running club and is now spreading its wings (and muddy shoes) into Australia, the UK, and Ireland.
Wild Things has a mission to inspire, equip, and empower people to explore the great outdoors, specifically trails. While the target audience is trail runners, they also embrace hikers, walkers and slower runners alike – the self-proclaimed ‘mild things’.
The club is equal parts community, trail directory, resource library, and online shop. The shop is stocked with trail-tested gear: packs, poles, waterproofs, headlamps, clothing, nutrition and more, with discounts for VIP club members, including a 15% discount for CurraNZ. GO HERE
The club’s Facebook group is a 31,000-strong home for beginners, veterans, and everyone in between to share triumphs, swap tips, and post photos of their adventures. It’s a supportive, passionate community.
Arguably the centrepiece of Wild Things is its world-class Trail & Peak Directory, which is a comprehensive resource of trail maps specifically geared for the trail community. The directory comprises thousands of trails that have been submitted, rated and reviewed by Wild Things members.
Over time photos and reviews are added, and there’s an element of friendly competition for FKTs (fastest known times) for many of the trails. Members can search the directory for trails using targeted criteria such as distance, difficulty, terrain … even to check whether a trail is dog friendly. Constantly updated by the community, the directory is always expanding as members' log trails across new regions.
VIP subscription unlocks the advanced directory filters and other club benefits. Members can usually recoup their subscription easily with a single discount or special deal.
The club also relies on partnerships with reputable events and trusted brands like CurraNZ to add value for members.
Running the show is Rob Bathgate, a wild-at-heart runner, web wizard who along with his small but committed team builds, tweaks, and adds new features to keep everything constantly improving. As one of the club sayings goes: Run, walk, crawl - it’s good to be wild.