Dunedin man Josh Harris will be part of a mixed team of four which will compete in New Zealand's only multi-day, non-stop adventure race in Queenstown.
The Godzone race is an event where teams have to navigate, trek, mountain bike and kayak over an array of different landscapes within a three to five-day period.
Harris said he had taken part in many ironman events in the past, but this was the first time he would participate in such a gruelling event. "It will be something completely new to me, but I am looking forward to the challenge."
Harris (23), a marketing consultant at Dunedin City Motors, will compete alongside team-mates and University of Otago students Hamish Flemming (22), Willy Sams (21) and Emily Wilson (21).
He said the competitors would have to push themselves to the limit as during the race all team members had to stay within 200m of each other.
"When you are doing an event like this good navigational skills can cut your time by two to three hours. We are lucky to have a guy like Willy in our team who has an army background and can give us a good lowdown on where to go."
Team strategy would be key in having a successful race as well as knowing when to sleep and for how long, said Harris.
"The first couple of days we will be sleeping for 20-minute periods and how often we do that will depend on how our bodies feel."
For the remainder of the race it would depend on how tired everyone was, he said. "Sleeping is not moving, and not moving is not helping."
The team would be eating as much food as possible with a big emphasis on a lot of carbohydrates, and balancing that out with some "good protein".
Harris's favorite fuel food is "a cup of tea with heaps of sugar and a jam sandwich".
The route for the course is kept secret until a day before the race.
Harris said this was to stop people getting an unfair advantage by planning their routes.
There would be multiple route options to chose from as well as designated transition areas where teams would have the option to restock on food and drink.
Harris is training twice a day, for two to four hours, in cycling, swimming and running.
He competed earlier this year in the Lake To Lighthouse multisport race in Wairoa, and has been training all year for the Wanaka half ironman and the New Zealand ironman.
The Godzone will be the first time he has competed in a team of four, but not the first time he has competed with Flemming.
Both men took part in Bremner Station Gut Buster in October, a 12-hour adventure race, where they placed fourth.
"I was as sick as a dog that day and Hamish was just fantastic. He basically carried me through that race."
Harris, who is originally from Christchurch, has been living in Dunedin since February's earthquake.
The Godzone event is part of an adventure racing world series in 10 different countries.
