The 2017 Godzone adventure race was held around Queenstown last week. Almost 300 competitors from New Zealand and overseas took part in the event, which started in Queenstown Bay.
What followed was 400km of kayaking, mountain biking, trekking, rafting and climbing to the finish at Frankton Beach. Teams of four navigate their way around the course and pass through mandatory checkpoints along the way. Team members must stay within 100m of each other at all times.
The event reduces competitors to tears, fits of rage, jubilation and eventually, as the finish line beckons, a huge sense of relief. The winner, Team Tiki Tour, was the first to experience that emotion as it crossed the finish line about 11am on Tuesday, after three days, four hours and 15 minutes of racing.
But it is the performances of the also-rans which are, perhaps, even more noteworthy.
Some teams were still batting their way around the unforgiving terrain six days after the event began. Some have carried injuries most of the way, relying on sheer determination to keep going.
While professional teams and adventure racers take part, the majority are weekend warriors. They include husbands and wives, fathers and mothers who simply enjoy the outdoor life but, more importantly, relish the challenge of testing their limits.
Most work fulltime and fit training in around family and everyday life.
The Godzone is not for the faint-hearted. It is not just about fitness or skills, although that certainly helps, but, perhaps more important, it relies on mental strength. It is having the ability to reach the point of exhaustion and then carry on, maintaining navigational wits on limited sleep and food when you just want to lie down and sleep.
The Godzone is in its sixth year and has become a fixture on New Zealand's adventure racing calendar. It moves venues each year to showcase the country's scenery and find new, challenging courses.
It is arguably the toughest of a growing number of multisport and adventure races. While event organisers look to devise new ways to push competitors to their extremes, the competitors keep coming back for more.
There was a time when completing a half or full marathon was considered adventurous. But Robin Judkins changed that in the early 1980s when he established the Coast to Coast. That race saw competitors cycle, run and kayak from the South Island's West Coast to Christchurch.
Since then more and more multisport and adventure races have appeared on the calendar, enticing everyday athletes to try to push themselves that bit further.
Last year former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw took part in the Tasman-based race, completing the course in five days and 56 minutes. He described it as one of the toughest things he had done.
McCaw, who knows a thing or two about mental toughness, was surprised at his body's ability to survive on minimal sleep and food. The team managed about 10 hours sleep during the five-day race.
``There was times when you are thinking `how the hell am I going to carry on?' It's amazing what the body will take and that's what it's all about,'' McCaw said.
Amazing indeed.
