Overseeing their gym’s challenge was personal trainer Greg Witika, who is also the former event director of Wairua Warrior, a Nelson-based obstacle course race.
Redward said Witika’s input has been invaluable throughout their journey.
“He’s passionate, it’s almost military-style training, but he’s really motivational, too.”
From their initial discovery of the sport, the three have now qualified as part of a New Zealand team of 19 athletes for the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships, which will be in Costa Rica this August.
Obstacle course racing is an emerging sport, which is gaining popularity in Europe but is still not well known in Aotearoa.
Races can be anything from sprints to long-distance and involve obstacles that can take any form, from over-and-under walls to concrete-filled tyres to flip and rope traverses.
Some courses even involve laser target-shooting.
They will enter the individual races - a 100m race with 12 obstacles, a 3km with 20 obstacles and a 15km event with 50 obstacles - and are hoping to take part in all three to get the most out of the long trip.
In each event, the athletes begin with three wristbands.
They are expected to attempt every obstacle, but only get one chance to clear it - failure to do so leads to one of the wristbands being cut.
If they lose all three bands, their race is officially recorded as DNC, or did not complete.
Athletes will only find out the layout of the course and the obstacles it contains about a week before the event, so Grant, Sando and Redward are focusing on all-around training rather than practising specific courses.
There are also two mystery obstacles in each race, which athletes need to tackle on the fly, meaning preparation is key.
Intense training
All three train six days a week, sometimes twice a day, which they balance with work and other commitments; Redward and Grant have young families, and Grant is completing a quantity surveying qualification.
Grant said it was a case of making time for it all, but did require a lot of work and sacrifice.
“You need to give up quite a bit to train for this kind of thing.”
Added to this is the need to fundraise for travel, accommodation and other expenses, as the team are currently without a sponsor.
They have already held several fundraising events and have been canvassing local and national businesses for financial support, but are still looking for assistance to make the trip to the world championships.
Although training does not require a lot of equipment, the costs of participating are still high due to the amount of travel needed to take part in races.
There are only a handful of events in New Zealand, some of which are in the South Island, so gaining enough points to qualify for international competitions means they have no choice but to spend a lot of time on the road.
Inspiring others
The trio said they hoped the sport would continue to gain popularity, not just to generate more races in New Zealand but also because of the amount of fun and fitness they and others got out of it.
Redward said getting to climb and swing on courses was effectively like going to the playground for adults.
“There comes an age where kids stop playing and they shouldn’t have to.”
Sando said she hoped people would give it a go for themselves, as they might be surprised to find what they could achieve.
“I get really emotional watching people cross the finish line- it’s just so inspiring.”
Milly Fullick is a journalist based in Taupō. She joined the Taupō & Tūrangi Herald team in 2022.
