GODzone Prepares To Mark Tenth Anniversary With Coast To Coast Style Adventure

Next month, all eyes will be on the world's largest adventure race GODZone when the iconic expedition event kicks off its tenth edition in the South Island.

The prestigious 10-day event set down for the 3 – 12 March has attracted a sell-out field featuring some of New Zealand’s leading AR teams, including returning world champions Nathan Fa’avae, Chris Forne, Sophie Hart and Stu Lynch of team Avaya.

GODZone Race Director Warren Bates says achieving the tenth anniversary is a significant highlight for 100% Pure Racing, the Queenstown-based company behind the event.

“It's been a decade of adventure, that's for sure, and when we started back in 2011, the intention was to get one under our belt and then take it from there. Now here we are ten years later with the event becoming one of the most influential adventure races that continues to attract global attention.”

"Adventure racing is trending majorly, with so many younger teams keen to get in on the action. Competitors over the years have been inspired to get out into the outdoors and do something truly challenging in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and that continues to grow.”

Wanaka is the host town for GODZone Chapter 10 ‘s official welcome, while the actual course remains a secret until the day before the race starts.

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“To celebrate the ten years, we have designed a ‘traverse’ style course where teams will travel from one remote coastline to another, completing a diverse and wild journey across the South Island,” says Bates.

“It will be a phenomenal adventure that only the hardiest teams will manage to complete and is a fitting tribute to a decade of amazing GODZone journeys with many repeat competitors.”

The prestigious multi day adventure race has been planned to be delivered in compliance with the Red setting of the Covid 19 Protection Framework.

“We are well prepared to ensure the event runs as smoothly as possible. Everyone can't wait to get underway in four weeks’ time and get this tenth adventure started,” says Bates.

He adds the future looks very bright for GODZone and adventure racing in New Zealand.

“We have already announced that Chapter 11 will be going ahead with some major announcements to come shortly, which is very exciting and shows the real global interest in this sport here. It has been incredibly disappointing to have to turn away the many international teams who had signed up for both Chapter 9, that was held last year in Rotorua, and Chapter 10 due to Covid 19 border restrictions, so those teams will be queuing up to travel down under for the next chapter.”

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