Beaumont, who will compete for the first time in the senior category, has increased his training and is in good shape for the Ben Lomond challenge at the resort.
The 19-year-old, who represented New Zealand in the under-20 grade in World Mountain Running Championships in Bulgaria last year, is hoping to win the 11.8km race.
"I’ve been doing heaps of mountain running. This season I’ve done a lot more training. I have increased duration and length. I feel a lot stronger and quite a bit faster than last year."
He said the Ben Lomond course is gritty but one he knows particularly well.
The competition will also be tough but he expects to come out on top.
"I’m planning to run a hard race. I know out of the field I am the strongest runner, so I am the one capable of making the fast pace and pushing through. I am definitely not going to be playing tactics and running slow at the start."
The race could also be a forerunner to the 2018 World Mountain Running Championships.
Organiser Adrian Bailey said Queenstown is firmly in the running to host next year’s world series.
"It’s between us and Andorra. A number of things are up in the air and nothing is guaranteed. But early in the game it has been narrowed down to those two."
Board members from the World Mountain Running Association have been to Queenstown.
Bailey said scouts were sussing out logistics, such as hotel availability and catering, as well as potential courses in the area. Runners will compete in various disciplines: senior men and women; masters men and women; and under 20.
