McCaw will line up for his fourth crack at the gruelling 10-day expedition event that will celebrate its 10th anniversary from March 3-12 with a remote course taking competitors from one side of the South Island to the other.
"Godzone represents the ultimate New Zealand adventure that absolutely tests you both physically and mentally," McCaw said.
"The opportunity to race down in the South Island again is really appealing, particularly because it’s the 10th chapter."
McCaw raced chapter nine of Godzone in Rotorua last year, finishing in a creditable second place alongside Coast to Coast champions Dougal Allan, Simone Maier and Theo Wordsworth.
This year, he is back with multisport team-mate Rob Nichol, chief executive of the Rugby Players Association, and Wanaka athletes Jo Williams and Tim Sikma.
"Unfortunately, Rob did not get to race in Rotorua last year due to a Covid lockdown in Auckland, so it will be great to be back together along with Jo and Tim, who we have not raced with before.
"I like taking on this particular adventure challenge, where team dynamics are so important in everyone getting to the finish line.”
The group will race as Team iSport to support McCaw and Dan Carter’s foundation that inspires and removes barriers for youth to be involved in sport.
For Nichol, Godzone is about how you react to pressure situations.
"Taking on a significant challenge like Godzone and being placed in these uncomfortable places is a chance to see how well you react," he said.
The 90-plus teams arrive in Wanaka next Thursday for registration and gear check.
It was anyone’s guess where the race might go, Nichol said.
"When the start is maybe three to five hours from Wanaka and you’re going coast to coast, it would be easy to surmise that we might head back into Wanaka from the coast and then maybe end up somewhere south of Christchurch or north of Dunedin — but reality is we just don’t know.
“I love that we simply don’t know where we are going until the last minute — so no checking out the course or feeling like you should.
"Just get to the start line and go from there."
