They are as cute as a teenage couple in the throes of first love, yet underneath their soft exteriors, Wanaka adventure race and life partners Simone Maier and Marcel Hagener are as hard as nails.
Home after a busy season of international competition, they talk to Catherine Pattison about what it is like to pit yourself against the toughest of physical endeavours.
Cuddled up on chairs, German-born Simone Maier (36) and Marcel Hagener (49) have been recently reunited - he has been racing in China and she has been doing the same in Australia. They have pet names for each other, finish each other's sentences and have a delightful honesty about sharing their story.
It began in 2014 when, according to Hagener, Maier was ''constantly stretching'' in front of him, making it nigh on impossible not to admire her lithe, tanned, exercise-honed physique. He was pretty much smitten from the start but despite endorsements about her potential beau from a fellow athlete friend, the independent Maier remained unconvinced.
''I didn't want a German boyfriend,'' she states, bursting into characteristic giggles.
Hagener showed the same perseverance that has seen him achieve the highest accolades in adventure racing. He started mountain biking competitively at 25 and later raced with Team Seagate (captained by Nelson's Nathan Fa'avae).
They won the Adventure Racing World Championships in 2005. Hagener has had several other major international adventure racing wins in Abu Dhabi and China and also the World Rogaining Championship in New Zealand in 2010.
Unlike most couples, whose first date may constitute dinner or a movie, these two decided on a two-day, 150km multisport stage race to see if they were well-suited. The Red Bull Defiance event in Wanaka was to be the beginning of a beautiful thing.
It started with a tough 43km mountain bike and Hagener was instantly impressed with his female friend.
''I was a bit surprised by how strong she was on the bike,'' he admits, adding that he was certain the pace she was setting into a headwind was ''stupid''.
To his astonishment, she maintained it and although he towed her - by means of a bungy cord between their two bikes at times - the following day, she returned the favour.
They explain that in adventure racing there is absolutely no shame in being towed by a woman. It is all about who is feeling strongest at the time and getting to the finish line the fastest. In fact, receiving a tow from your loved one could be seen as the ultimate expression of dedication, as it eases their pain and suffering, while at the same time increasing your own hardship.
Hagener and Maier won Defiance by more than seven minutes over Nelson's well-known super-couple Richard and Elina Ussher, of multiple Coast to Coast-winning fame.
Maier and Hagener returned to race the Defiance's second edition early last year. Not only did they win the mixed elite section again, they finished second team overall.
Racing as a couple definitely has its advantages, they conclude.
''You know each other so well from being in a relationship. You know each other's weaknesses and strengths. You trust that person. You feel safe and secure and you don't worry about these things,'' Maier explains.
Having this understanding goes a long way in the world of team racing, especially in China, where the lucrative nature of the events attracts the best in the world. It is hot, humid and the often steep, tough courses are alternately muddy or dusty.
In the teams of four (three men, one woman), there is regularly one member suffering from a stomach upset and a high likelihood of mechanical failure or injury. It is not uncommon for teams to carry one member across the finish line.
''The hard thing with team racing is that you train every day like people go every day to work but we don't get paid until we race,'' Maier explains.
Maier works part-time as a lifeguard and swim coach at the Wanaka pool and Hagener contracts as a builder. Racing is part of their annual income; some years they earn enough to cover their costs, other years they don't.
Sometimes, they are head-hunted by other international teams, meaning they race apart. Hagener recently joined top Kiwi athletes Sam Clark and Corrine Smit and Frenchman Jacky Boisset to win the Zunyi Adventure Challenge in China.
This year, Maier raced in China, Malaysia (where she and Hagener won the Rembau Challenge two-day stage race), Australia, Sweden and Spain (where she won the European Adventure Racing Championships with Swedish Team Thule). All up, she competed in 17 events across the globe in 2016, Financially, ''it wasn't good but, oh goodness look, what I've done,'' she says, beaming.
Because maintaining their health and fitness is part of their profession, the couple are very much aware of what they eat. Hagener has been a vegetarian since he was 17 and his reasons include ''taste and everything from political to health and environment''. He describes himself as almost vegan.
Maier is predominantly gluten-free and says both try to eat organic food where possible.
''If I eat crap, I am crap,'' she explains.
A large portion of their earnings go towards buying healthy provisions but they reason that they don't go out and spend money on alcohol.
When it comes to training structure, however, they differ: Hagener self-coaches, conducting his own stretching regime and averaging around three hours of mountain biking, kayaking and running daily.
''He is pretty good like that. I couldn't do that. I need someone guiding me or I would do anything and everything for as long as I can, until I go 'boof','' Maier exclaims, throwing her hands in the air to indicate self-destruction.
A Wanaka care package of providers keeps her ticking over. These include New Zealand triathlete Nicky Samuels, who coaches her, physiotherapist Ginny Bush, massage therapist Kevin Gingell-Kent and organic farmer John McRae, who supplies her with organic eggs.
Maier may be younger but she has on-going injuries, whereas Hagener is niggle-free.
Despite the physical and mental strength they possess, time is ticking for this awe-inspiring twosome.
''Simone is still a pumpkin,'' Hagener says, gazing fondly at his love, who is sitting on his feet (as requested) to keep them warm.
''I will race this year and see what happens,'' he concludes.
