GODZone Adventure Race
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Adventure Racing |
| Location | New Zealand |
| Month played | March |
| Established | 2012 |
Number of tournaments | 9 |
| Format | Annual Race |
| Teams | 80 |
| Current champion | |
| 2021: Avaya (Nathan Fa'avae, Stu Lynch, Sophie Hart, and Chris Forne) | |
GODZone is an expedition adventure race that has been called one of the most difficult athletic events in the world. Teams of four trail run, mountain bike, kayak, and climb, all while navigating under their own power. The race has been in existence since 2012. Each race lasts up to ten days, with winning teams completing the course in approximately four to six days. It is common for only 30% of the competing teams to finish an event. Each team is required to carry a GPS monitoring device (without offering navigational assistance) which allows race organizers and spectators to track each team in real-time. The event is part of the Adventure Racing World Series.
Events
Chapter 1 - Milford
The inaugural GODZone event in 2012 started at the entrance to Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. The 500-kilometre (310 mi) course finished in Queenstown. Team Seagate won the race in a time of 3 days, 14 hours, and 55 minutes.
- 1st: Seagate (Nathan Fa'ave, Sophie Hart, Chris Frome, Trevor Voyce)
- 2nd: Team One Square Meal (Sia Svendsen, Ian Edmond, Stuart Lynch, Ross Rotherham
- 3rd: R&R Sport (Jess Simson, Mat Wood, Hadyn Key, Bas Smith)
Chapter 2 - Mt Cook
The second event in 2013 moved north and started at Mount Cook Village under New Zealand's highest mountain, the mighty Aoraki / Mount Cook. Team Seagate won the race for a second time taking 3 days, 3 hours, and 35 minutes to complete the 513-kilometre (319 mi) course.
- 1st: Seagate (Nathan Fa'ave, Sophie Hart, Chris Frome, Trevor Voyce)
- 2nd: Harraway Oats (Jess Simson, Aaron Prince, Stuart Lynch, Dougal Allan)
- 3rd: Macpac (Rob Preston, Katheryn Preston, Damo Goekke, Brent Edwards)
Chapter 3 - Kaikoura
In 2013 the event was hosted in Kaikoura. Team Seagate won the event in 3 days, 17 hours, and 36 minutes. The course was 520 kilometres (320 mi).
- 1st: Seagate (Nathan Fa'ave, Sophie Hart, Chris Frome, Stuart Lynch)
- 2nd: R&R Sport Torpedo 7 (Richard Anderson, Simon Bowden, Joanna Williams, Bob McLachlan)
- 3rd: Absolute Wilderness (Dan Moore, Dan Busch, Naomi Whitehead, Jeremy McKenzie)
Chapter 4 - Wanaka
The 2014 event started at Fantail Falls near Haast Pass and finished in Wanaka. The event was considered one of the most difficult GODZone courses ever with only 14 of the 52 teams completing the full 544-kilometre (338 mi) course. Team Seagate won the race completing the course in 4 days, 8 hours, and 28 minutes.
- 1st: Seagate (Nathan Fa'ave, Sophie Hart, Chris Frome, Stuart Lynch)
- 2nd: Columbia Vidaraid: (Barbara Bomfim, Urtiz Iglesias, Jon Ander Arambalza, Marco Amselem)
- 3rd: Tiki Tour (Tom Lucas, Floortje Grimmett, George Lucas, Mike Kelly)
Chapter 5 - Tasman
The fifth running of GODZone in 2016 began and finished in Kaiteriteri. The event crossed three national parks at the top of the South Island.
Chapter 6 - Queenstown
The 2017 event visited the adventure capital of the world with a short, sharp, exciting chapter of many disciplines.
Chapter 7 - Fiordland
The 2018 event was the longest duration event with teams having up to 10 days to finish Chapter 7. The course started and finished in Te Anau
Chapter 8 - Canterbury
In 2019, the event moved to Canterbury. The course started and finished in Akaroa The winning team Perpetual Guardian completed the course in 4 days, 8 hours and 30 minutes. It was the first time a gender balanced team of two men and two women had won the event [1]
- 1st: Perpetual Guardian (Simone Maier, Emily Wilson, Chris Forne and Marcel Hagener)
- 2nd: Tiki Tour (Tom Lucas, George Lucas, Mike Kelly, Corrinne O'Donnell)
- 3rd: Swordfox (Georgia Whitla, Brent Edwards, Stuart Lynch, Patrick Higgins)
Chapter 9 - Rotorua
Chapter 9 was delayed due to COVID-19. The event was held in March 2021. It was the first time a multi-day expedition adventure race was held in the North Island. Team Avaya won in 4 days, 23 hours, and 25 minutes.[2]
- 1st: Avaya (Nathan Fa'avae, Stu Lynch, Sophie Hart, and Chris Forne)
- 2nd: iSport (Dougal Allen, Theo Wordsworth, Simone Maier, Richie McCaw)
- 3rd: Tiki Tour (Tom Lucas, Mike Kelly, Kym Skerman, George Lucas)
References
This article "GODZone Adventure Race" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:GODZone Adventure Race. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
