To try and collate 8 days of adventuring into a few pages is quite the task, there is so much that goes into a GODZone (GZ) event both prior, during and post. Preparation covers many areas from physical, mental, gear, nutrition, team logistics, navigation, oh and did I say nutrition?!

I spent the weeks prior to GZ trying to put on a bit of weight, I spent the whole of GZ trying to fuel enough and I spent the weeks after GZ trying to replace weight and feed an insatiable appetite (which still held a high regard for sugars and simple carbs). Could I still eat Radix? Yep! In fact with the amount of fatigue I was carrying, it was a quick and easy way to take in a good nutrient dense meal for lunch. I just keep a stash of them in the car now.

GODZone is a self-navigated (compass and map only) race across a set course with waypoints, checkpoints and transitions where you can stock up on food and/or change out gear. It is one of the toughest adventure races there is. In case you didn’t follow it, this year’s GODZone was the longest ever and had the longest stage ever; a 155km trek and packraft through the Cascade, Pyke, Hollyford and Dart rivers, with the Red Hills and Park Pass to navigate/bush bash through also (unless you went Coastal 😊). This was the make-or-break stage for the race and definitely broke us… well the weather did. You can understand a bit more of the course from a competitor’s perspective here: https://www.facebook.com/godzoneadventure/videos/764336801202445

*Team Integrity Homes: Tony Dodds | Georgina Thornton | Tim Brazier | Ash Blackler*

As a team we were super confident that when we were moving, we would move well. The trick is to keep moving as much as possible (using minimal effective doses of sleep), fuel consistently and navigate good lines. All easier said than done. I got the call up to GODZone about 5 weeks before the event as a replacement. The lack of specific preparation definitely played a part on how the next 8 days would play out.

Stages 1 and 2:

We got through Stage 1; a packraft/trek around the coast from Jackson Bay on the sea, then a bush bash through to Lake Ellery for another packraft and Stage 2; a 19km MTB on gravel roads without a hitch. We moved and navigated well for 7 hours. As a team we were going great and we were lucky that this dynamic continued throughout the race. Your team is one of the most important elements of the race - a positive dynamic drives you forward and supports you - they pull you through when you go through the expected mental and physical highs and lows over such a long race. It’s also really important to have the collective mental capacity of 4 people to help make the important decisions during the race. You’re out there exposed to the elements where the decisions you make can have high consequences on not only the race outcomes but also the health and well-being of your team.

Stage 3: When things go pear-shaped!

Within the first hour in the dark, we were somewhat lost in a swamp, carrying 30kg packs and making our way to the Cascade River. It cost us well over an hour. It was our ‘Welcome to night navigation’ introduction and created a deeper realisation of how hard night navigation can be. We would continue to experience this throughout the race. Taking away any element of terrain perspective really changes the dynamic. We managed to get to the river (whilst losing a few hiking poles on our way) and started to steadily make our way up via a multitude of river crossings (or should I say swimmings… super interesting in the dark) and bush bashings.

The toll of being lost, bush bashing and swimming took us to 2am when we finally stopped for a sleep… a lot further from where we hoped to be. Our second lesson was about to arrive where for 4 hours of stoppage time we only got 2 hours sleep… ‘Faff Factor’. You think you’re being efficient but you’re actually not. There are some fine processes to this grand race and as 4 rookies we were learning them on the fly. This then led into another lesson not too long after….

The next 48 hours involved river crossings, following riverbeds up and down hills, bush bashing and packrafting, attempted packraft sailing, about 7 hours of sleep and arriving at the Hidden Falls Hut with still another day of Stage 3 to go. It was hard on the body and I’d wake after short sleeps feeling a pulse in my knees and ankles. During this period we linked up with another team for 24hours and abandoned our plan of attack over the Red Hills for their plan via the Duncan River. Whilst the plan seemed good it ended up as tough or tougher than the Red Hills and the biggest learning of all was that our team (and their team) effectively grew by 4, with us relying on their navigation. A larger team meant more stops and changed the tempo of each group - a likely detriment to both. Just before heading over Pyke’s Pass we amicably went our separate ways and lifted our tempo which proceeded well over the rest of the race.

At the start of day 4 we sat on the balcony of Hidden Falls Hut with a huge number of teams as the rain streamed down. We had walked through it the night before for 3 hours at the end of a 20hour day and it had continued as we slept. As we sat on the deck contemplating bush bashing up a valley and river to Park Pass (1200m) in the rain, Medivac Helicopters buzzed overhead bringing team members to the hut in a hypothermic state. Two teams also turned up at the hut, both had been lost through the night and one was donning wetsuits to be able to warm up again.

This multitude of factors and the knowledge that we would be short coursed regardless led us (and many other teams) to think about a) safety and b) team preservation; to be able to complete further stages in the race. It was a difficult decision for the team to make but we decided to short course ourselves and we walked out from the Hollyford Track to be picked up by our support crew. It was difficult because we wanted to finish the stage and the whole race and, as a team, we were starting to find our groove and confidence and felt in a better position to push on.

What we didn’t know at that time was how much we would be short coursed. Often it’s a 6-12 hour stand down, ours was 24 hours (from pick up to race start it was more like 30hours) and we were forced to miss Stages 4 (the 90km MTB) and Stage 5 (the 56km trek) - that stung a bit. However, we were still super motivated to put all our learnings into practice and do the best we could with what we had left. The short coursing of teams is an amazing part of this event and Kudos to the organisers for enabling so many teams to get back into the race amongst a lot of chaos that was going on during that weather bomb.

The Restart: Refresh and Refocused

At 8pm on day 5 we, along with another 20+ teams, were back into the fire with a 180km MTB ride (Stage 6) over the Nevis, Old Man and Old Women range from Garston to Lake Onslow. It was like the start of a bike race but with everyone knowing we had at least 14hours of riding to go. The pacing was somewhat confusing at times until we hit the hill and then you had to be very honest with yourselves. As a team we were super motivated, which wasn’t shared by all the teams. You could tell there was a feeling of disappointment with so many of us being short coursed so early on in the race.

This next phase of the race was about executing as best we could and putting our learnings into practice. How could we move as consistently as possible but allow time for good nutrition and hydration and back our navigation. Parts of this were about having a clearer nutrition plan for stopping and packing better to access items. The night proved again to be problematic a couple of times but we always managed to pull things together relatively quickly. Leading the non-ranked teams through this MTB stage also gave us extra motivation and energy and helped push us through the night with only a couple of longer stops to eat and refill where we could with water. The end of this ride is the most fried the team cohesion ever got due to, funnily enough, a lack of water, soaring temperatures and sleep. Everyone was suffering A LOT and it took a huge amount of mental fortitude to dig deep.

I was amazed at how deep I could go and how much you could keep pushing when you were in a physical and mental hole. When there are no options and just yourself and your team, you find ways to tap into your mental and physical space and push yourself forward. I don’t believe you can learn this skill without exposing yourself to these sorts of situations - and it certainly changes your perspective on what is truly difficult. There were many times during the race where I thought I’d eaten or drunk enough but in reality, I hadn’t. The blindness through tiredness and the focus needed to get through difficult technical sections in the races led to the distraction.

A call for help.

The next stage was a very different kind of stress from what we’d experienced that morning. After a brief packrafting foray across Lake Onslow and navigating our way around various checkpoints on the grassy moors above Lake Onslow and the Upper Taieri river (cursing our shoe choices on such lumpy underfoot conditions) we found ourselves slowing moving down the Taieri river. We were really appreciating the peace and the serenity of river movement under the stars and waxing moon. It was amazing how fast this enjoyment ended when we were plunged into a dense, cold fog, dodging barbwire and trees but unfortunately not dodging a waratah. Result, a packraft puncture. Our pace slowed and as we tried to snake our way down the ‘Serpentine’ one of our team members got extremely cold due to the fog and the constant wetness of a self-bailing packraft. At this point we had no option but to make a call for help, as even with dry clothes and survival bags the shivering would not subside. We proceeded to erect a tent whilst we waited for a pickup and as time passed our concern grew that our messages hadn’t got through. Tony took off at pace towards the transition point (around 7-10km away) and thrashed his feet some more to make sure we got the help that was needed. After 40mins of running he was greeted by two Utes racing towards him. They picked him up and headed back towards us where they found the three of us fast asleep in a two-man tent with one team member still significantly cold and shivering.

Back on track:

With warmth, food and a few hours sleep we all bounced back and raised our foggy heads to a hot day and another 110km MTB over the Rock and Pillar range to Outram. It was a slow morning as we worked out time frames for the day - how could we best mitigate the dark zone that awaited us on the lower Taieri River and the tides for the hike along the beach (no road walking allowed). It was quite refreshing to be able to take a few hours to get ready as we realised we wouldn’t get through to the dark zone that night and could pace the next 24 hours nicely. After a hectic night that 10-hour MTB was super enjoyable. It was amazing terrain, we moved really well and fuelled well. The 12km down a railway line of the Taieri Gorge was a bit of a body buster but it was great to be in that gorge on our bikes.

Arriving in Outram was a cool moment for myself. I was more emotional than expected to have a surprise visit from my three girls. It was such a reward after a big slog and when you’re so focused on surviving from one hour to the next it was amazing to step out for a wee bit and see them all. Our support team had really got into the groove of transitions and, as per usual, an epic feed and straight into bed once our gear for the next morning was sorted. We had decided to camp in Outram to enable more support from the team rather than carry on that night down to the dark zoned part of the river and support ourselves. 4 hours sleep was bliss and we woke at 3am ready to roll out and attack the final kayak section down to Taieri Mouth. I felt mentally energised but physically flat. I was glad to be using my arms over my legs but noted during the kayak that everything was starting to get super tight which was even starting some nerve pain in my hip. Strangely enough this was relieved by loosening a strap on my lifejacket, which clearly was now too tight for an inflamed area, that normally it sat comfortably around.

As we passed the bridge which marked the dark zone, we were amazed that all the teams that had camped the night before were already out of sight. There was a huge race ahead of us for those on target for completing the whole course, 2nd place onwards were up for grabs. We kept our steady pace, catching a couple of teams and landing on the beach well ready to get out. As a team overall, we were lucky that our feet were still in pretty good shape. A few blisters for each person and some rubbing, but it wasn’t a chore to don the boots for the last 19km along the beach. The most torturous part of that section was a 3km bike from the Transition over the river to the beach - it made me hate cycling for a very short period of time.

We trundled our way up the beach for around 4 hours, dodging waves around points and enjoying the sun and sand but keeping a good pace up to avoid any loss of place. Any eccentric loading was certainly a hard task, but walking felt OK. It was a great time for the team to relax, reflect and watch as our hands swelled up from the MTB and Kayaking and started to look like our ankles had after Stage 3! Definitely a degree of overuse there.

Arriving in Brighton and seeing family and friends was superb. I didn’t know what to do when I crossed the finish line as it seemed crazy to think it was all over. Don’t get me wrong, my body was well ready for it to be, but the amount of learning and experience we had had as a group was now done. After such a long period of time surviving off each other it was strange to be saying ‘goodbye’ to the 3 people you had relied so heavily on.

Even now writing this many weeks post the event, you continue to reflect and I seriously miss being outdoors away from all the technology that dominates our lives. I’m really grateful to be able to work in sport and now, from this experience, have even more perspective of what it might be like for someone stepping into the deep end of a new sport. I also now have a new perspective on what is truly hard and a huge respect for not only the teams that absolutely crushed this event but for those that, like us, are out there giving it their best shot on a personal journey of success.

Tim Brazier

May 2022