A new expedition length adventure race is scheduled to take place next year in Queenstown, New Zealand, one of the top adventure destinations on the planet. The race, which is called GODZone Adventure, will be put on by 100% PURE Racing, and is apparently part of the AR World Series.
The race will take place from April 7-14, 2012 and will consists of coed teams of four competing on a course that is 450km (280 miles) in length. This will be an unsupported race, meaning teams won't need a support crew to lug their gear around for them, and will involve the usual AR disciplines of trekking, mountain biking, and kayaking.
GODZone Adventure marks the return of adventure racing to New Zealand, a country where the sport can trace its origins. In fact, this will be the first race of its kind on Kiwi soil since the Raid Gauloisis kicked off the expedition race craze back in 1989. That is FAR too long for New Zealand to go without a major AR event in my opinion.
Organizers of the event believe the fastest teams will take between 3-4 days to finish the course, but other teams will be allowed as much as 5.5 days to navigate their way through the different stages. The race will include navigation, ropes courses, a few other surprises as well.
It looks like races are starting to nail down their dates for 2012 already. This has been a busy year for adventure racing, and it is far from over, but teams and race organizers are already looking ahead to next year. 2012 has the potential to be even better for fans of the sport.