Molly Spark competing at an event in Ecuador. Photo: Molly Swift / Facebook
Adventure races don't get much tougher than the Godzone event which starts on Thursday in Marlborough.
Thirty-two teams of four are taking part, with the aim to cover 615 kilometres of often rugged terrain as quickly as possible on foot, mountain bike and even raft.
They can only use maps and compasses to navigate, and have to finish within eight days.
Hunger, fatigue, sleep deprivation and hallucinations are common. That's music to the ears of Molly Spark who's part of team 'Fear Youth'.
"I just love that feeling, that sense of achievement and satisfaction when you cross that finish line" she told First Up.
"You go into almost like a feral dog, you turn into this animal, and you've got the things on your back, you've got your teammates, you've got the course, and you get to see some of the most amazing places in all of the world really, but this time's going to be in Marlborough."
Competitors don't know where in Marlborough though - they aren't given the exact course details until a few hours before the race starts.
They would be given some information beforehand about the distance and nature of each stage so they could pack accordingly.
"Taking the right amount of equipment is important because if it gets cold, you need your thicker jackets and warmer clothes, but then taking too much, you get more fatigued because your backpack's heavier.
"So there's that fine line between don't starve to death and run out of food versus carrying way too much and having days worth of food left," Spark said.
Despite beng just 22, Spark is already a seasoned athlete, and said this would be her eighth expedition race.
She classified an adventure race as anything over three days long.
"Most people live comfortably and they don't push themselves outside that comfort zone. I feel when you do a race like this, just that expansion of your brain and your comfort zone, it just builds resilience really.
"Once you can get through an adventure race, I feel like you can get through challenging times because you've raced seven days with three hours of sleep."
Pushing yourself to the absolute limit could have some strange side effects though. Spark said she's prone to hallucinating during races.
"I quite enjoy it. I see lots of cool animals. I saw penguins in the middle of the New Zealand bush.
"Lots of dogs. If you're walking on rocks, every single rock is a dog looking at you. You see huts quite a lot because you often want to sleep. So your brain imagines trees as huts.
"When we were in America, we saw lots of tree roots and I thought they were snakes. So I would be jumping up screaming at the snakes in front of me, but it's not, it's just a stick. "
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