The all-Wanaka Torpedo 7 Adventure Race Team is fighting fit and ready to do their hometown proud when the gruelling GODZone begins on their turf, next Saturday, on February 28.

The newly-named team is made up of the same members of the R&R Sport Torpedo 7 team – Richard Anderson, Simon Bowden, Bob McLachlan and Jo Williams – which claimed a stunning second in last year’s Kaikoura-based GODZone.

Combining their intensive training with full-time jobs means the Torpedo 7 Adventure Race Team is once again an amateur entry up against some seriously professional teams. Among them will be the Kiwi-based Team Seagate, who are the 2014 Adventure World Racing Champions and also the globally first-ranked Spanish/Brazilian team Columbia Vidaraid.

Torpedo 7 Adventure Race Team’s navigator Richard says that after finishing second by a considerable margin at last year’s GODZone, his team goal is to keep the gap to the front-runners as close as possible throughout the race.

“There are many variables which can influence the end results, so a little lady luck is always appreciated. Given the 2015 GODZone race is being held in our home town I hope with the support of our community and families we can deliver a top result,” Richard says.

“Last year’s second placing was a pretty special result. The dark zones just prior to the finish of the race let a lot of teams catch us and it was a very close and hard fought finish. The team did not falter over the last 24 hours and we raced smart. After GODZone 2014 we identified a myriad of ways to race faster by just being smarter and that’s a big motivation for racing again in 2015,” he adds.

To have the race here in Wanaka means everything to the team. They feel Wanaka is blessed with lakes, rivers, snowy mountain tops and some of the best scenery in New Zealand.

“Wanaka is a mecca for athletes and the local athletic community is very supportive of each other. We are not just racing for ourselves and Torpedo 7 – we are representing Wanaka,” Richard, a project manager, says.

It will be the third GODZone Bob, Simon and Richard have raced together and their second time racing with Jo. Their experience as a team means they know each others’ strengths and weaknesses and have learned how to work faster together as a team.

“We all have quite different personalities but we share the same passion for the outdoors. Training with the team and planning adventures, sharing stories, discussing equipment or tactics it’s all about fun in the great outdoors with your mates,” Richard says.

Since last year’s GODZone, two of the team’s members have undergone some lengthily injury rehabilitation.

Building contractor Simon’s was planned, as he had shoulder surgery in early June last year to repair two tears.  He had to spend six weeks with his arm immobile in a sling, followed by six weeks of just a light range of movement exercises.

“After that I could get back into some strengthening. It has been a six-plus month process to get my shoulder fully rehabilitated,” Simon says.

While his shoulder still doesn’t quite feel 100%, Simon is excited about getting out with the team during the GODZone and he hopes all the hard work of rehabilitating his shoulder will pay off during the race.

Physiotherapist Jo was forced to undertake her own physical rehabilitation programme after crashing off her mountain bike when the front wheel came off and breaking her wrist while racing in China in September.

It meant nearly three months off the mountain bike and out of the kayak but Jo filled the gap with regular hikes, time trial bike riding and gym sessions. The past few months have been spent getting her confidence levels back up and a couple of eight-hour rides recently through the Lindis Pass over “gnarly, loose rock” proved her wrist is able to cope with the demands of GODZone.

Winning the tandem section of Coast to Coast last weekend, with Christchurch multisporter Sia Svensden was an ideal way to practise racing in a team environment and getting through transitions, Jo says.

The Torpedo 7 Adventure Race Team have had some great results racing in pairs or in one case all together in local rogaines as part of their preparation. Jo and Bob won the Ben Nevis Rogaine overall and Simon and Richard were second in the open men’s category.

The whole team competed in the inaugural Arrowtown Nav Epic and won the six-hour mixed section over 18 other teams.

Competing together in multi-day and also in shorter events means the Torpedo 7 team are well aware that the right nutrition is one of the essential keys to a successful race. Property maintenance business owner Bob says knowing each other’s food preferences means they can pack lighter for GODZone, which should take them four to five days and will involve trekking, kayaking, canoeing and mountain biking.

“That’s why it is great having Absolute Wilderness on board supplying us with quality freeze-dried meals,” Bob adds.

Once the course is released on February 28, be sure to find the link on the website www.godzoneadventure.com which allows the public to live track the teams. Torpedo 7 Adventure Race Team would love to see their supporters out on course or at the transition areas, cheering them on during their epic adventure.

Torpedo 7 Adventure Race Team would like to thanks their sponsors:

Torpedo 7, Mike Greer Homes – Wanaka,  Salomon and Absolute Wilderness.

Wanaka’s Torpedo 7 Adventure Race Team (behind from left) Richard Anderson, Simon Bowden (front from left) Jo Williams and Bob McLachlan with some of the equipment they will need to get them through the non-stop GODZone Adventure Race, which begins next Saturday. PHOTO CREDIT: CATHERINE PATTISON.