But for 600 runners and walkers, racing up Flagstaff, Swampy Summit and Mt Cargill sounds like the perfect day out.
The Three Peaks Mountain Race is back and better than ever with a record number of entries lining up tomorrow.
"We’ve got more in every event than we’ve had before," race director Steve Tripp said.
"It’s really good.
"I think it’s definitely a growing sport and Three Peaks is up there as one of the favourites around New Zealand."
The 42nd edition of the event, offering three distances, has attracted just over 50% of entries from outside Dunedin.
The Three Peaks-plus-one event is the longest course, a 56km route which is an additional loop of the traditional race and adds Pulpit Rock.
The longer distance doubles as the New Zealand short course trail-running championships again, which created more action at the front, Tripp said.
The traditional race covers 26km where competitors traverse through Flagstaff, Swampy Summit and Mt Cargill.
There is also the race to the summit which covers 11km as runners make for the summit of Mt Cargill and descend Bethune’s Gully to eventually finish at Chingford Park.
Queenstown’s Cameron Kerr and Wellington’s Ali Wilson won the men’s and women’s flagship events respectively last year.
Tripp said he looked forward to another big event tomorrow.
"The front of the 56km field is looking quite competitive so that will be really interesting," he said.
"But I think I really enjoy hanging out for the whole day.
"Just seeing people come in with big smiles, and having challenged themselves and met their goals — it’s kind of exciting.
"There’s usually lots of smiles at the end."
Live scoring has been introduced this year for people to keep track of where athletes are throughout the course.
Tripp reminded Three Peaks runners to be respectful of the public trails, and he thanked in advance the "patience of normal Dunedin trail users" throughout the event.
