Discussion: 2017 GodZone

no thread started yet? racers are arriving in Queenstown!

Logistics Planner (no leg times posted yet): https://www.facebook.com/godzoneadventure/posts/12...

TEAM LIST (PURE)
USA Adventure Medical Kits (9) Kyle Peter Mari Chandler Rob Preston Erik Sanders
AUS All Talk Racing (43) Lee Taylor Wayne Zahra Nikki Giles Reyn Watson
NZL Alpine Recreation (38) Carrie Lakin Elke Braun-Elwert Anna Loomes Lucy Noble
NZL Altitude Brewing (29) Mark Dewsbery Craig Hart Robbie Adams Sorcha Flett
NZL Bivouac Inov-8 (47) Anna Barrett Ryan Thompson Patrick Higgins Bobby Dean
USA Fernweh Four (53) JD Eskelson Brian "Tosh" Chontosh Tim "TK" Kuenster Liz Woodgate
NZL Freedom Fitness & Coaching (20) Richard Dove Rosie Shakespeare Simon Lewis Miles Watson
NZL GSD (3) Eryn Cutler Gary Erving Teresa Costello Cameron Kerr
NZL Greenhorns (55) Nathan Sturrock Levi Hibbert Rachel Baker Tom Spencer
NZL Haast Eagles (54) Kris Mayen Dave Taylor Brandon Wilson Elizabeth Dornom
NZL Happy Feet Adventuring (1) Benjamin Lott Beth Jagusch Lucie Stanley David Ward
NZL Hard'n up princess (33) Mike Rait Michele Gillespie Brett Shields Geoff McCarthy
NZL Heartland Ricoh TP (12) Jim Cotter Ian Walsh Mike Robins Jo Turnbull
NZL Hill Billys (39) Paul Spark Scott Henry Martin Lukes Mags Helles
NZL Hoof Hearted (4) Thomas O'Donnell David Eade Jason Good Teneale Hatton
NZL Insert Sponsor Here (11) Kat Reynolds
NZL Kai Whakapai Wanaka (25) Shonagh North Mark Cockroft Julian Holmes Vicky Sandford
NZL Koha Racing (15) Neville Thorne Natalie Schreiber Ben McDowall Adrian Braaksma
NZL Lochnagar Swim Club (37) Sarah Kennedy Joe Sherriff Nick Lowe Glen Warner
NZL Morrison Cars (24) Tony McGuire Devern Burchett Ian Huntsman Wendy Riach
NZL Mrs Forne's Boys (27) Tim Farrant Theo Wordsworth Nick Hann Emily Forne
NZL NZ Natural Formulas (48) Grant Hildred Paul Ayres Tony Brownrigg Kathryn Lydiard
NZL NZ Trundlers (26) Craig Cox Alex Head Tim Sikma Janet Musker
NZL One Direction (46) Richard McIntosh Krzysztof Muszynski Becky Ferigo Derek Ferigo
NZL Otago Minions (14) Steve Mosley Darran Clay Ethel Murphy Nathan White
NZL Out There Doing It (5) Chris Stewart Ken Telford Brent Kingsland Sarah Tiong
NZL Outward Bound (2) Danny Cartlidge Nick Williamson Brigid Graney Craig Tweedie
NZL PURAO Active (40) Neil Jones Gordon Townsend Rachel cashin Duncan Hamilton
NZL Packrafting NZ (23) Brandon Purdue Andrew Palmer Caleb Jennings Suze Landers
NZL Peak Endeavour (7) Brendan Clark Rachel Knott Alex Wilmshurst Bryce Hamilton
NZL Proactive Physio (32) Marty Macdonald Dave Vitikangas Brent Herdson Erin Green
USA Quest AR (6) Gavin Woody Dusty Caseria Emily Caseria Richard Kresser
NZL Rebel Food (56) Hayden Key Mark Williams Richard Ussher Lisa Bates
NZL Rogue Four (45) Rachel Lynskey Rob Lei Rob Griffiths Alan Kirkpatrick
NZL Swordfox (17) Brent Edwards Ash Whitehead Stu Lynch Georgia Whitla
NZL T-EA-M (52) Martyn Bowis Julio Mau-Asam Aidan Nicholas Abby Macredie
NZL T. F. BUNDY (51) Sue Tait Jan McFadzien Dee Mckay Andie Lowry
NZL Team 11 (18) Kyle Crittenden David Brydon Aimee Nicole Saint Andre Simon Tailby
NZL Team Alexandra (28) Scott Worthington Glenn Kelly Lee Wilson Julie Williamson
NZL Team CHIA (35) Graham Dawson Andrew Crowley Simon Rutherford Frances Riley
NZL Team Cloud Base Nine (19) Matt Jeans Graeme Ewenson Divan Pretorius Hannah Lowe
NZL Team FoodShare (41) Patrick Manning Mike Adair Peter Jackson Anne Gray
NZL Team LIC (44) Richard Spelman Thomas Johnson Jason Mouat Christine Couldrey
NZL Team Macpac (16) Matt Lash Nev Wells Paul Rust Leah Barnfield
NZL Team Motueka (50) Brent Steinmetz Jake Stow Dave Quested Cheryl Young
NZL Team NCX (30) Rhys John Jennifer Walker Stephen John Simon Woods
NZL Team Pic's Peanut Butter (8) Scott Kearney Hazel Bowering-Scott Ed Radcliffe Peter Marriott
NZL Team Stihl (36) Simon Bloomberg Jane Orbell Nigel Kelly Mike Buschl
RSA Team assegai (49) Morne Pienaar Jimmie Fourie Patrick Garceau Marta Zanetti
NZL The Sneaky Weasel Gang (34) Struan Webb Mitchell Munro Tane Cambridge Isla Smith
NZL Tiki Tour (13) Tom Lucas Mike Kelly George Lucas Floortje Grimmett
NZL Tineli - Rollo's Outdoors (42) Sakkie Meyer Gilbert Robertson Gerard Malcolm Emma McCosh
NZL Torpedo 7 (21) Richard Anderson Glen Currie Greig Hamilton Jo Williams
NZL Waypoints (10) Brendon Crequer Marina Buonocore Glenn Lilly Tim Bygate
NZL Yealands Family Wines (31) Dan Moore Dan Busch Chris Forne Simone Maier
NZL Zookeepers Cafe (22) Hugh Tait Ginge Burnett Kerri Brand Jason Miller

Notable observations-
AMK with their core team from Worlds last year.
Richard Ussher making a start after a few years off.
Stuart Lynch and Chris Forne are racing on different teams again. No Sophie Hart this year.
Bivy Colts racing without Bex for the first time?
Should be fun to watch!

Nathan has a few insights on the race.https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/adventureracewo...

Just listened to the podcast last night...anyone have any guesses which country Nathan is working with on developing an ARWS race in?

Less international teams than last year too?

I think because it sold out so fast the international teams missed out.

Most races leave an allocation aside for internationals, maybe GZ figure there will be 8 Kiwi teams in the top 10 anyway so why bother.

Could be that, but I think it might be because a ton of international teams went to XPD 4-5 months ago. I am pretty sure Warren wants there to be international flavor, so the fact that there isn't suggests to me few if any others applied this year. One of the most expensive races to get to I think for Americans and Europeans?

My guess for the country Nathan is working with is Malaysia. I seem to remember Seagate training there before ARWC '15.

StrongMachine. Yes.

Oooo. Yes please to Malaysia! Though it may violate my dad's rule against racing in hot places.

photo of the logistics planner
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ34SlZgcRZ/

and course details
http://godzoneadventure.com/7418-2/

Where do we go to watch the dots?

Looks like they just updated the site with the live-tracking:
http://godzoneadventure.com/

And here's the link to Dot Watcher (Craig Cook) commentary:
https://www.facebook.com/arlivecoverage/?rc=p

full-screen tracker:
http://godzoneadventure.com/live/tracking/

anyone having trouble refreshing website? seems to 'not respond' ...just wondering, the w-site is defective or something.

I have been unable to even get it open fully, much less a chance to refresh. My assumption is way too many people are hitting the site at the moment and it is having issues.

agreed....

I've been able to get it upload using Firefox. Multiple AR World Champ individuals knocking heads already.

Working fine for me in Chrome. But I'm a legend and might be getting special service

way mo' betta on chrome, thx

SO!!! Let the fun begin:)

I was hoping AMK was being creative and planning on turning up the Sawpit Gully off of Arrow Gorge...BUT, it looks like they have simply made a wrong turn as their tracker just updated well past the turn.

Trying hard to find a reasonable explanation other than that they turned too soon out of Arrowtown, but I think they just jumped the gun:(

Looks like they've lost about an hour and several spots. Will have a lot of work to do to make that back on the eight Kiwi teams that were or are now ahead of them. If they turn around now, that would place them about 2 or 2.5 hours back from the leaders.

Turn around AMK!!!

OK, back to thinking they are doing it on purpose. I'm thinking they must be heading to the track that heads to Eight Mile Hut...from there, I don't know. On the map, no sign of track back down to CP8 along the northern valley.

They save all the terrain, but much longer route. The track to the hut looks great on satellite. From there...not clear whether there is a track or how good it might be. If there is a good track, maybe they will come in at comparable times to the 4th-6th place teams they were with. Without the elevation. But with a fair bit of pounding I'm guessing to run around.

Any other theories?

broots i noticed that too! and thought maybe they are staying low to CP 8? (it saves 700m climb but twice the distance.) i can't imagine how they wouldn't figure out that big of a wrong turn before the first night even.

Yeah, I'm positive this is what they are doing now. They're at the hut, so we should see them turn.

So: I still think they are losing some time though not nearly as much as if they had made the mistake and turned back...unless there is no easy path of travel down the valley. Big risk unless they know there is a good track there. I know they saved a bunch of elevation, but I always wonder if such gains are worth it if you have to add a ton of distance AND if you are running the whole thing. Vs. a steady trek up and over a relatively short distance...

Just crossing my fingers they find an easy route down to CP8. If they don't, it could get ugly.

AMK is clearly trying to find an advantage with an apparently novel route choice. This is pretty normal for Rob based on prior races. Safe to say he's a risk taker as a navigator.

And, broots, it's uphill to CP8 from the hut. ;)

Thanks Conman, didn't look too closely. Just seems "flat" compared to the alternative! It's interesting to see them all converging: AMK may have made up some time on Torpedo, but I think this is largely because Torpedo seems to have taken the hardest route possible over that ridge, deciding to tack on the high point and avoid the trail Tiki took. And this still presumes AMK can make fast time through this valley they are in without confirmation of trails.

AMK and Sneaky Weasels were virtually tied when they split off. Looks like Sneaky was faster.

Bivouac and Mrs. Forne were behind and look to be in a position to hit CP8 before AMK, though it might be close if AMK has a trail...

Analysis of AMK aside, curious what other people would do assuming you know there is a track all the way around:

6ish KM of trekking up and over with approx 900 meters of gain+a big downhill

or

13 or so KM on tracks, running with approx 400 meters of gain

(disclaimer: not claiming much accuracy with my quick estimates on distance or elevation!)

my arm chair quarterback opinion is to up and over; amk lost to much time going around; think tiki had the best route. IF AMK was trying to gamble on route choice, it may have been a bit to early for such a risk... jmo- If I was racing, I'd defer to Rob tho!!!

Has there been a link to the course book or similar? I am trying to figure out the dark zones. Looks like there will be a bunch restart on a narrow river in the morning.

This rafting section is the only one. The later kayak sections will only get pulled off the water if the weather is bad. Last raft from ta3 is at 18.30

Is time spent stopped at the the dark zone on the clock or off the clock?

Great to see a new name at the top of the leaderboard.

The upandover vs around question is a good one.

RDs have suggested the AMK move early on was a mistake. And they sure aren't making up ground. I haven't been watching too quickly as we're at Snowgaine this weekend, so not sure if they have had bobbles? Having trouble recovering from the early loss of time mentally (that wouldn't be like them as they are quite good at remaining focused and running people down when necessary)? Or if taking on a batch of amazing Kiwis in their backyard is truly too much? Obviously there could also be something wrong (a facebook video of Kyle hints that he may not be feeling great? No details though...).

Bummed for them as I know everyone was excited to see them racing for the top. Still time, but these Kiwi teams seem to be on a mission. Not sure how many of them they can catch:(

lead teams are approaching TA7 now. will be interesting to see if anyone tries to shortcut across the rivers instead of ride around

Too bad the dots don't update enough to see if anyone so far went straight across the rivers.

The "Tails" indicate that all teams so far went around via the paved road.

Well, things have been pretty silent here...maybe everyone's glued to their computer monitors!

A brave move by Swordfox to try the coastal route, and I was sorry to see them turn around. They've now been caught up by T7 and those Sneaky Weasels. Can anyone make out what exactly they ran into that turned them back?

And how about Tiki Tour flying through transition to keep the lead on Yealands...so impressive.

Anyone have any guesses on finishing times? I'm assuming the top two teams at least will probably race straight through from here.

And lastly, I'm sorry to see AMK struggle. I think it's safe to say they're definitely out of it for the overall win at this point. But they do love to come from behind in the second half of races...it will still be fun to see if they can make it into the top 5!

Word is that the sixth place team Mrs. Forne's Boys was planning to take the coastal route by employing packrafts. Assuming that the terrain around the head is steep and choked with unfriendly plant life, making bike-whacking awful enough to turn Swordfox back.

The pointy end is getting very interesting. Both the lead teams' routes are not aligned with the suggested route mapped by Warren. Very interesting to see how this shakes out overnight. No sleep for the dot watchers tonight I guess!

And AMK goes for the glory. Looks like they too were turned back and that they are now sleeping in the hut. Think that was their one chance. Now, they have to go back and climb (assuming they don't take another stab at the coast) up and over. Figure that's going to have them a number of hours behind seventh. And I think top five is out of reach barring nav catastrophe or injury in the mountains. Real bummer for those guys. Just didn't seem like it was there race this time. Recent article on Godzone's website suggests the team has maybe accepted that at this point as well.

Now, I'm just hoping they don't lose more places, but Proactive Physio might catch them if they don't get moving...

And at the top end, looks like Tiki might hold on! Figure there is one more opportunity for nav to come into play on the backside of the ridge they are climbing, but from there, I think it's all over if Yealands can't close.

And Strongmachine: From what I read, the coastline is quite technical and bushy. Sounds like it was just too much. Considering what Stu and others went through in Pantanal, I'm guessing they turned back because it was REALLY bad!

I loved the packraft idea in theory. Too bad we didn't get to see them try it:)

ahhhh AMK making the bike of shame back to track. looks like they may lose another place too, but they slept a fair amount in the hut. so hopefully they are re-charged and ready to go for the last push to the finish!!

meanwhile, Tiki Tour is on the final paddle! Yealands still descending to the final TA. every minute, they are looking sure-r and sure-r for the W!

Anyone have a rough time estimate of the lead Tiki has over Yealands?

looked to me like estimated 2 hrs, best guess.

Yeah, ~2 hours into TA9. Perhaps a smidge more than 2h.

Yealands is def. paddling faster out of TA9 than Tiki was. Look at the distance each team covered from before CP29 to after (a 15 min split) Might be wind aided, so take this info with that in mind. If they keep up this increased pace relative to Tiki, can they catch them?

I don't think they're going to be caught. Did Tiki put time into Yealands on the last hike? If so, wow.

Race for 10th spot is very tight! Two kiwi teams and an american team battling it out!

Another American team taking a shot at the headland route rather than the mountain route on the last bike. Perhaps the third attempt at this by a team in this race will succeed?

Go Quest, go!!

From what I can see on the satellite, it LOOKS like there is a track on the other side of the big reentrant past the river/waterfall. And it MIGHT pick up just past the waterfall. Maybe even before it, 100 meters or so further on and down a bit.

Amazing effort considering who came, and failed, before. So excited to see if they pull it off!!

Quest is past a big waterfall...one more to go...amazing!

There really looks to be only one more hurdle: a cliff band that descends to the water a bit more than 1km WSW of the North end of the marked trail on the map for which I presume they are headed. Looks like it'll require going high, perhaps to about the 420m contour. If they don't see this in advance, and hit the cliff near the water line, they will have to gain roughly 100m to get around the cliff, with bikes in tow. Switchbacking uphill hike-a-bike. Yuck!

Looks like they nailed it. Now to find the developed trail, bust ass to the TA, and see if the route choice was better.

Quest started roughly even with teams 50 and 40, and it looks like 50 may beat them into the TA while they could edge out 40...

Even if they don't get a big gain time-wise, they certainly have earned glory points!

Amazing stuff. Unfortunately, I don't think it helped them time-wise. If you look back they were essentially tied with team #50, Motueka just before the split. Motueka is now about 4-5 km ahead of them.

That said, this was my favorite move of the race. Legendary move there for sure, and I think they should be given a time credit just on principle! I hope it wasn't too crushing. Hope they are energized and ready to go. The way they have moved up, if they have some wind in the sails, they very well may pass a couple of the teams that are still ahead of them. Motueka is going to be ranked as 10th in transition, so one move and they finish top ten. Would be an amazing race for an "unknown team".

I have to say, I "met" these guys out in the woods a few years back at USARA Nationals. We found ourselves crisscrossing with them a number of times toward the end of the race. Really nice group (though I think at least some of the personnel is different; they had a PQ vet on that team then, and he isn't racing with them here), and I was impressed with them as racers as I had never heard of them at the time. They ended up a couple of spots ahead of us for a top 6 or 7 finish I think. Darkhorse team that year at Nationals (and as far as I know that's the only time they have come), and I'd say darkhorse team at Godzone now.

Darkhorse at ARWC this year?

Darkhorse to be the first American team to the finish in Godzone this year? ...I really want to see AMK have a strong finish for their sake and move up a slot or two so they finish on a high note. But if Quest somehow takes the momentum through the trek, it would be an amazing race and story for those guys!

Looks like AMK has something to race for after all. Having another team nearby should rekindle the racing mentality that Kyle said he'd lost in a video posted earlier today.

Looks like Quest is fading in the mountains a bit:(

And AMK seems to have opened some space with Proactive, but Motueka isn't going away. Strong finish AMK!

AMK sneaks away. Looks like the others are sleeping in the hut. Hopefully AMK gets through the descent cleanly. If they do, they should be able to secure 8th place. Knock on wood.

AMK now ~30 mins from the finish line. You might be able to watch them paddle in live on the Rebel Foods FB feed or perhaps the GZ feed. 8th place half way 'round the world, only behind local teams. Gonna guess there's some home field advantage.

I have the (mis)fortune of racing against Quest constantly, as they live about 2 hours away. Freaky fast group of folks, and all pretty young. Godzone is their first expedition race as a team, and they don't have their captain with them, Brent, who's the only one with expedition experience, and yet they just made the top 10 against a stacked field of Kiwis. With Yogaslackers another nearby team to challenge them and a solid calendar of ARs in the Pacific Northwest, I'd put money on Quest getting onto the podium as some big races in the next couple of years.

from a FB post: https://www.facebook.com/arworldseries/photos/a.37...

Announcing the winners of Godzone Adventure Race 2017, New Zealand Team Tiki Tour, comprised of Tom Lucas, Mike Kelly, George Lucas, and Floortje Grimmett. They finishing the Queenstown, New Zealand based race in three days, four hours, and 15 minutes. Tiki Tour was followed by 2nd place Yealands Family Wines and 3rd place Swordfox.

As the remaining teams finish the New Zealand stop of the ARWS, with regret we are announcing that the Godzone Race Director informed the ARWS an hour after the race start that the Godzone Adventure race were withdrawing from the ARWS. Although the withdraw and its timing will cause concerns as to whether or not the race was an ARWS sanctioned race, the ARWS remains committed to its race teams and will honour the placing and rankings of the teams who have finished the New Zealand race.

The ARWS looks forward to the exciting 2017/18 seasons and the velocity of which our sport is moving as we evolve.

For more information on the AR World Series:
Website http://www.arworldseries.com/
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/arworldseries/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/arworldseries/
Twitter https://twitter.com/ARWorldSeries
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/arworldseries

oh hey, broots beat me to it in another topic...please converse there!

On a lighter note...Posting this here just in case anyone missed it :)

https://www.facebook.com/godzoneadventure/videos/1...

Video from Quest AR showing why other teams turned back on the headland bike route - yikes! Good for them.
https://www.facebook.com/gavin.woody/posts/1010292...

Ouch. Good for whom, those that made it through or those who turned back?!

Ha! Both, I guess. :)

Nicely done on the bikewhack, QAR!!!!! Thx for the video.

When I was a young lad we had to ride 'that' trail... both wayz... to and from skool
.... and it was always snowing
:-)