This September Glenorchy’s hosting the annual Spring Challenge — now in its 19th year — an all-female adventure event, last held in the Whakatipu 12 years ago.
Established and organised by Jodie and Nathan Fa’avae, the event sees teams of three women participate in either a three-, six- or nine-hour adventure race, which includes biking — including, for the first time this year, an e-bike category — hiking and rafting, the latter involving two teams per raft, with a raft guide, and requires general navigation skills with a map to find control points.
The couple started their own event business after finishing as instructors at Outward Bound, and initially organised 10 events which they planned to run for three years and "see how they roll".
"My husband came up with this idea, Spring Challenge, and I was like, ‘yeah, well, I’m keen, I’ll race it, but I’m not sure how many people will do it’.
"And after three years, it was our biggest.
"It was actually a real beginning of an era where you’ll see so many women now out in the South Island doing things together, which is so awesome, isn’t it?"
Jodie says the popularity of the event never ceases to amaze her — to date, 250 teams, primarily from across the South Island, have signed up for September’s edition, equating to 750 women, with room for more.
She’s particularly pleased it continues to attract women from all backgrounds, of all abilities.
"The introductory three-hour is really achievable if you know how to ride a bike.
"You can hear them talking well before you see them," she laughs.
The six-hour event’s aimed at intermediate level while the nine-hour is for advanced racers.
The course is kept under wraps until the night before, to be revealed at the Queenstown Events Centre, with three different start times on the day of the race, September 20, and a prize-giving back at the Events Centre the day after.
"It’s just a really cool atmosphere with all the women doing it for themselves.
"And it’s just participation — people don’t care where they get, it’s about doing it and finishing."
Jodie’s hoping to see some more local teams sign up, noting now’s the time to do it.
"It’s good to have at least a couple of months to put some training in," she says.
Free Spring Challenge entry
Organisers of this year’s Merrell Spring Challenge, being held in Glenorchy in September, are giving away one entry for a local team of three to participate in either the three-, six- or nine-hour race.
To qualify, entrants have to be based within 100km of Queenstown — that includes areas such as Wānaka, Cromwell, Alexandra and Athol.
To enter, drop into Let’s Get Outside Merrell, in The Mall, and provide your name and either a phone number or email address by July 31.
For more info, visit springchallenge.co.nz
