In a test of endurance he admitted was "a bit of a blur- but good fun", the 38-year-old Dunedin joiner won the Northburn 100 - the 100 mile (160km) feature race staged on Northburn Station, near Cromwell, at the weekend.
It was Sutton's second attempt at the race. He was placed sixth last year. His winning time was 26hr 31min 15sec, which he modestly attributed to "having a bit of luck on my side."
The initials of his three daughters, Emily (9), Ruby (7) and Lucy (4) were written on his arm for extra inspiration.
Sutton said he entered the event, which has been described as "brutal" by many competitors, as "an endurance test - to see what the body and legs can do".
After more than 26 hours racing, he was still smiling and had no problems with blisters or chafing, unlike the previous year.
Keeping well fuelled for the ultramarathon was vital, he said.
"Honey sandwiches and real food like that, rather than muesli bars, were what kept me going."
His support crew - Chris Hughes, Paul Reid and Darren Tuna, all of Dunedin, were so inspired by his efforts last year, they also took up running and entered the 50km section of the race this year.
"He's our mentor. Without him sowing the seed, none of us would be running," Tuna said.
Thirty people entered the 160km race this year, 13 took on the 100km race and 25 the 50km race, all of which started at 6am on Saturday. The field included 13 ultra-distance runners from overseas.
The second placegetter, 14 minutes behind Sutton, was Jean Beaumont (47), an air traffic controller, of Auckland. It was her first attempt at the 160km distance and she loved the scenery on the course.
"It was beautiful up there and there's some amazing rock formations."
She walked most of the way and said the rough weather just added to the experience. Paramedic Brent Hollow, of Junction Health, which provided a medical team on site, said the team dealt with several cases of hypothermia during the weekend.
"We'd expect that, considering they were running around a mountain, at altitude, for up to 24 or 48 hours, in occasional skiffs of snow, and winds so strong they were blowing people over," he said.
At one stage competitors on ridgelines sheltered from a snow shower in the 4WD vehicles provided for that purpose.
Californian ultramarathon runner Ray Sanchez had hoped to finish the 160km race in 20 hours but took a wrong turning on Saturday afternoon and ended up on a different part of the course, Northburn organiser Tom Pinckney said.
"We sent people out to find him when he didn't check in [to the next marshal] but he had completed an extra 20km and found his way to a marshal on a different part of the course." "He went back to where he made the wrong turning and completed the 100km course and then decided to pull out, after having actually done 120km instead of the 100."
Pinckney was grateful to the team of 40 to 50 volunteers who worked behind the scenes throughout the event.
Competitors in the 160km event had until 6am today to complete the course.
