Country Wide Magazine – April 2021 Taihape vet, farmer and family man Anthony Oswald finds adventure racing takes his mind off the everyday as well as being good fun. Annabelle Latz tracked him down to find out more. Multi day adventure racing means entirely removing yourself from society. Your entire focus is about getting to
He loves New Zealand so much, so bugger it, he’ll draw it. Meet Martin Rogers, you’ll probably be more familiar with his work than you realise, as he’s the man you can thank for the stunning logs of wood we call the GODZone trophies. It all started way back in 2012, just before Chapter 1
The Legends Trophy went to Team Swazi (19) for GODZone Chapter 9 Rotorua. For each GODZone this Trophy is awarded by the race organisers to the team that, in the twilight of their sporting careers, show how it should be done. The Legends Trophy is open to both race categories. And true legends, as the
The weather has turned, the sun is out and the last team – Unfinished Addiction (37) – at the back of the field, is slowly moving forward! Day eight of GODZone has a super positive vibe wherever you are on course. The finish line is humming, the music is playing and the Cargo brews and
Where’s Warren? Buying gumboots. Well, that’s fair. It was late afternoon of Day 7, down on the finish line at Waipa Hub. It was wet, very wet. Puddles everywhere. The rain falls hard and fast in Rotorua, all of a sudden. And then it’s gone. And then it comes back again. The rain in Rotorua is not
Day seven at GODZone and teams at the back of the field are taking the brunt of Chapter 9. With cold, wet weather socking in over the Kaimanawa ranges its been a very long 24 – 48 hours for some who are struggling to make and find their way across the 88km trek and down
Former All Black Captain Richie McCaw has leveled up his performance at GODZone today to take out a second-place alongside his isport teammates, Coast to Coast champions Dougal Allan and Simone Maier, along with Theo Wordsworth. “I have to say it’s nice to get to the finish line – I was concerned that during that
Nathan Fa’avae, Chris Forne, Sophie Hart, and Stu Lynch of team Avaya clocked up their fifth win of the world’s largest expedition adventure race this morning when they pedalled across the GODZone finish line. The foursome arrived at Waipa Hub in the Redwoods forest south of Rotorua at 7.55 am, after five days of adventure
Team Avaya is heading for the Redwoods and not too far from the GODZone Chapter 9 finish with some world-class MTB trails in the iconic forest; a fitting way to finish off GODZone Chapter 9. The team has been all action since starting the race nearly five days ago, and while it may come as
Emerald pool after emerald pool, trout, deer, and changing weather patterns. A scope out high over the Kaweka and Kaimanawa Ranges this morning brought into context just the magnificence of the area these GODZone Chapter 9 teams are gracing. Race Director Adam Fairmaid said it was interesting to see how spread out all the teams
Four days and two hours in, and they are running -downhill – towards TA7 Waikoko Valley Camp! That’s the word from the GODZone media team, who are out hunting down leading team Avaya – who in the past 24 hours have hauled their packs over 88km of pure native New Zealand bush across the massive
GODZone Chapter 9 is not easing up, and neither is the pace nor the anticipation. In a ‘normal’ sport, one would say you could safely bet your bottom dollar that Avaya (56) will reach Waipa Hub in the Redwoods first, most probably on Wednesday morning. But as Race Director Adam Fairmaid says, adventure racing is
“From now it will be a war of attrition” are the famous last words from Race Director Adam Fairmaid this morning as GODZone Chapter 9 moves into the most challenging half of the race. With teams spread far and wide across the 666km course, the mood will change significantly today as front runners tackle the
Behind the current podium potentials there’s a few shifts going on. It looks like Ataraxia MACPAC (01) and Racer’s Edge – Powered by Torpedo 7 (21) are spending Monday evening and night taking turns in the fourth and fifth spots over the Te Iringa Track and Mohaka River. Both teams are very well respected by
An ongoing battle is developing for second and third position on day three of GODZone as the 666km race heads into serious backcountry southeast of Taupo. Richie McCaw’s sixth placing at GODZone in Fiordland back in 2018 has been playing on his mind and, the former All Black seems determined to push his isport team
