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Last month’s One New Zealand GODZONE celebrated the return of global expedition racing to New Zealand with the world-renowned event back with Chapter 12.

The event brought 32 adventure racing teams of four – the same number as the inaugural race in 2012 – to Marlborough to experience an unforgettable eight days of non-stop adventure.
PURE ADVENTURE Charitable Trust, led by high-profile sporting representatives Richie McCaw, Rob Nichol and Adam Fairmaid, is behind the events’ reinstatement, with Rob Nichol saying their vision to showcase the best of New Zealand’s wilderness was achieved.

“We aspired to bring it back in an authentic way so that One NZ GODZONE continues to attract local and international racers to experience the unique beauty on offer here. It’s an expedition race of true global standing, and we think Chapter 12 delivered on that promise with a tough 600+km race full of epic stages, big country and dramatic weather thrown in for good measure.”

Competitors, support crews, volunteers, iwi, DOC, landowners and sponsors played a pivotal role in staging the race.

“It’s a credit to everyone with this collective effort making the race such a success,” says Nichol. “Our strategic partners included the Marlborough District Council, local iwi, DOC and the New Zealand Community Trust, who were key enablers for the race returning as they understood our vision and the impact events like this have on the wider community.”

“Marlborough, as the host location, had the courage to back GODZONE returning and by partnering with us ensured the races’ delivery. We hope the event has repaid that investment by shining a light on Marlborough as an incredible destination to adventure through.”

The event was pitched to new and existing commercial partners, and excited by the Trust’s vision, Nichol says everyone came together in the rebuild.

“Our commercial partners, led by One NZ, Sixt, Macpac, and Volkswagen, really stepped up and backed the race, and we are so fortunate to have such a great group of savvy stakeholders on this journey together with us. The race was also supported by a fantastic group of supplier partners who provided food, fuel and technical gear for race volunteers and officials.”

TVNZ became a broadcast partner providing daily race video reports hosted on TVNZ+ and widespread news coverage.
“Chapter 12 featured seven times on TVNZ prime time news, which is a record for the event, with TVNZ journalist Luke Robinson broadcasting live from the Ngākuta Bay start line and again from Avon Valley Lodge. The media interest was at an all-time high with excellent reportage that resonated with a broader audience,” says Nichol. “Our online live tracking and event coverage website received 1.1 million page views over nine days, with 46k new users, an impressive following with this event resonating around the world.”

This year’s event attracted some of New Zealand’s greatest adventure racers, with world champions Chris Forne, Sophie Hart, Simone Maier and Sam Clark winning the Pure category in 6 days, 21 hours and 15 minutes.

“It was probably the toughest GODZONE ever, but I really enjoyed the course, seeing new places in this region,” said eleven-time GODZONE Champion Chris Forne from the Picton finish line.

Six-time GODZONE Champion Sophie Hart reiterated her team’s winning efforts, saying it was a challenging but achievable course. As a PURE ADVENTURE Trustee, she was also impressed with the number of younger teams competing.

“Looking around the Marlborough Event Centre at race registration, what was super cool was just how many younger people were there,” said Sophie Hart, “It was actually quite incredible and so great to have that youth factor coming through, bringing new energy and helping to evolve the sport into the future.”

A newly introduced community partnership programme brought regional adventure teams to the event, with many experiencing the Pursuit race for the first time. Nichol says they showed strength and courage to compete with some of the best.

“It was impressive to watch Kaikoura Adventure Under 20 win the Pursuit race on their very first GODZONE. AWS Legal Motueka High, all recent high school graduates, received the Young Guns trophy for their amazing efforts in the Pure race. They were close to placing third or fourth before the weather hit, instigating an extended dark zone. And Fear Youth gave a solid battle at the front of the field before their unfortunate withdrawal in the latter stages.”

“This great group of young people showed a mature, level headed and skillful manner. They absolutely blew us away with their capability. The Trust is focused on increasing younger participation for the sports future.”

He says excitement is now already building towards Chapter 13 in Feb- March 2027.

“The Trust is committed to delivering the next chapter of One NZ GODZONE in 2027 and are working behind the scenes to make this happen with more details announced in the new year.”

Watch the full Chapter 12 wrap video here: Marlborough Chapter 12

For more information or interview requests:
Margo Berryman
One NZ GODZONE Media Manager
P:+64 21 246 3342
E:margo@qt.co.nz
www.godzoneadventure.com