DCR Episode 22 - Scott Worthington, The Revenant

Kia Ora whanau. This week Eugene and Matt speak with Scott Worthington, co race director of The Revenant. This race, which bills itself as an Ultra Adventure Run will be taking place between the 18th-20th of January at Welcome Rock, which is 45 minutes south of Queenstown, Otago, will comprise four loops over 190 km and 16,000m of vertical ascent. A 60 hour cut off time, navigation only by map and compass (no GPS or other timekeeping) and a myriad of other challenges make this race undoubtedly the toughest in New Zealand and one that is even tougher to get into, with an application process and individual engagement of each competitor by the race directors. They want this to be hard, unachievable even. It’s a perfect storm of the worst excess of the North American race directors that are consistently pushing the limits of what is possible and a laconic standpoint that typifies the toughness of the lower South Island of New Zealand. Think of it as Sir Edmund Hillary putting on the Barkley Marathons. This is a fantastic insight into the rationale and care behind an event that Scott does not expect, indeed they would be satisfied if, no one finished. Oh, and also, the definition of a Revenant? Someone who returns from a long absence, presumably from the dead…. Enjoy!