The Tarawera Ultramarathon will be held in Rotorua next month.
There are four different distances at the event, the longest being a 100mile (165km) trail.
Scott Neal, of Windsor, will be among those aiming to conquer the course and said he was looking forward to the challenge.
"Maybe the nerves are starting to kick in a little bit I suppose, but otherwise feeling pretty good."
It will not be his first time at Tarawera as he completed the 100km race there in 2020 with the intention of completing the 100mile race the following year.
But in March 2020, the 48-year-old was involved in a car accident that resulted in fractures to his pelvis, lower back, neck, eye socket and elbow.
His son was also in the car with him, but was unharmed.
He spent "nearly a month" in hospital and it took a further eight months to recover after surgery.
"I just had lots of injuries [and I] couldn’t walk.
"I’m still here, that’s the main thing."
Getting back to some form or normality was not easy.
"Once I was out of the wheelchair, [I would] just go for short walks.
"At first it was really, really hard. But, [with] time, it just got easier.
"Time is a great healer and that’s what it’s taken."
The road to recovery had made him even stronger.
"I think I was probably reasonably mentally tough and fit anyway.
"But once the recovery is done and dusted and you just move on ... I’m probably [mentally stronger] now I think."
Once he was back on his feet, there was no doubt he would return to running.
"Maybe 16 or 17 months after the crash I got back running.
"I entered a couple of runs and completed them.
"They were bloody hard because I felt like I was starting from scratch again."
He completed his first marathon when he was 29 and had been running ever since.
"It’s hard to explain why I like it — I just do.
"It’s very much a part of who I am and what I like."
A 100mile race had been a longtime goal of his.
"In ultra running, a hundred miler is ... what most ultra runners aim to complete because it’s such a challenge."
An ultramarathon is classed as anything longer than a marathon, which is 42.2km.
Mr Neal signed up for the event last year but it was cancelled because of Covid-19.
After three years of delays, he hoped this would be the year he could finally tick the race off his bucket list.
"It’s been a long time in the making. But [I am] just stoked to get up to Rotorua and actually get started."
