An 18-kilometre run, much of it on 90 Mile Beach, is a relative doddle for most these days when it comes to fronting up to a physical challenge, but there was more to Saturday's Far-Mazing Race than distance.
Eight teams turned up at Ahipara in drizzle that turned into rain as the day wore on to take part in the No 64 Squadron (ATC) Kaitaia Corps-hosted event, which included a series of challenges along the way.
Those challenges began with a beach dig not far from the starting point, where three items had to be found, but they got tougher. Next was lighting a fire (with a ferrocerium rod provided in deference to the weather, with an Ahipara Fire Brigade crew standing by in case things got out of hand).
From there it was on to a semaphore station, then walking/running approximately two kilometres with team members tied at the ankles in pairs, digging tua tua, a crossfit circuit, carrying items ranging from a tennis ball or a 20-litre bucket of water to car and four-wheel-drive tyres, Sudoku, a spider web or building a rope bridge, and finally shooting targets with a .22 rifle.
No 64 Squadron Adjutant Delwyn Rumsey said every team that started the challenge completed it, although one or two competitors were released on medical grounds.
