Gizzy Gully Runners team members Guy Thompson and Nikki Davies pack rafting the Wairau River in the Godzone adventure race. Photo / Godzoneadventure.com
Gizzy Gully Runners team members Guy Thompson and Nikki Davies pack rafting the Wairau River in the Godzone adventure race. Photo / Godzoneadventure.com
After five days on the move, Team Gizzy Gully Runners were sitting in third place in one of New Zealand’s toughest expedition races.
The multi-day event, known as Godzone Pure, is a formidable test of endurance. Teams cover around 525km of rugged Marlborough terrain by foot, mountain bike,pack raft and kayak. Navigation is by map and compass.
The legs are tired but morale is high for Team 52 Gizzy Gully Runners as they compete in this year’s One NZ Godzone Pursuit. About to hydrate is team member Nicki Davies. Photo / Godzoneadventure.com
Gisborne farmers George Williams and Guy Thompson, along with Gisborne District Council staff members Michele Frey and Nicki Davies, spent weeks preparing for the challenge, squeezing training in around work and family life.
This year’s race is in Marlborough. Teams only received their maps a few hours before the start, adding another layer of difficulty and strategy.
By Monday night, Team Gizzy Gully Runners had been racing for five days. They had criss-crossed the region starting near Picton and moving through its beaches, mountains, remote valleys, rivers and sounds, to reach Stage 6 of the nine-stage course.
Gizzy Gully Runners team member Michele Frey enjoying herself despite the challenge of the Godzone race in Marlborough. Photo / Godzoneadventure.com
They are lying third in the Pursuit field.
Teammate to some of the crew in previous races, Amy Spence, said this year’s event had been exciting to follow.
“They’re going so well but they are going to have to keep putting the hammer down to get through,” she says.
