McCaw Steps up for Second Go at Godzone

Thursday 2nd November 2017

McCaw Steps up for Second Go at Godzone

Fronting up for the worlds largest and most technically challenging adventure race GODZone early next year is something former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw is looking forward too.

McCaw will line up as part of the PwC Adventure Racing Team at the grueling race being held in Te Anau and Fiordland in March 2018 alongside his fellow 2016 adventure racing teammates Rugby Players Association CEO Rob Nichol and Wanaka adventure racer Sarah Fairmaid. The fourth member of the team will be Wanaka multisporter, champion kayaker, Bob McLachlan.

“ It will be a good way to kick off the new year and to be honest the temptation and massive challenge that Fiordland will throw at us was pretty hard to ignore,” says McCaw. “ GODZone is the ultimate adventure and it really does test your limits in every respect so it was pretty hard to not accept the challenge to race again with Rob, Sarah and Bob.”

McCaw’s PwC team will compete in the 500km, 10-day event in support of the iSPORT Foundation to raise awareness for the foundation he set up with fellow rugby mates including Dan Carter and Ali Williams. The iSPORT Foundation assists New Zealand kids who are doing it tough and want to play sport, run or kick a ball around, but for one reason or another can’t afford it as well as inspiring them through sport.

NZRPA CEO Rob Nichol says championing the iSPORT Foundation through GODZone is of key importance to the entire PwC team.

“ We always like to support a charity or cause where we can and Richie’s foundation is doing great things for young New Zealanders who deserve a boost and some real encouragement and guidance,” says Nichol.

“ Using team sports, such as adventure racing, to inspire kids to better themselves strikes a chord with our whole team and we are delighted that leading multinational company PwC have also come on board to support our goal.”

Last time McCaw, Nichol and Fairmaid raced at GODZone in 2016 they attracted thousands of supporters who cheered them on to complete the exhausting 539km course through Tasman in just 5 days.

100 teams from around the world will compete at GODZone Chapter 7 from the 1st – 10th March 2018. It's the first time the event has been held over 10 days rather than seven and the multidisciplinary course will include mountain biking, kayaking, pack rafting, trekking and a ropes section.

Nichol says there is a real buzz and excitement around the event and the PwC team are anticipating a true adventure.

“ Fiordland is such a wild place and a real drawcard as a location. We can’t wait to see what sort of challenge the Race Director Warren Bates has laid down for us through this amazing national heritage landscape,” says Nichol.

“ We expect there will be many days spent immersed in Fiordland wilderness and with the pack rafting sections we could be out there for a long time. It is going to test us in the extreme, mentally and physically. This will be classic New Zealand adventure racing at its very best.”

For more info on GODZone go to:
http://www.facebook.com/godzoneadventure or http://godzoneadventure.com/

For more info on the isport Foundation go to https://isport.org.nz/

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