Magellan gives Kiwi adventure racing team the edge

Leading outdoors GPS navigation brand Magellan has announced it is sponsoring an up-and-coming Kiwi adventure racing team as they prepare for the second annual GODZone event in Queenstown in March 2013.

Team Magellan Adventure comprises experienced multi-sporters Mike Walker from Auckland, Jo Williams of Wanaka, and Mike Kelly and Tom Lucas from Queenstown.

 

Their first race as Team Magellan Adventure will be the Central Otago 24Hour on 17 November 2012.

 

Magellan’s Marketing Manager for New Zealand and Australia Noeleen Lechner says: “Magellan is all about helping athletes and fitness fanatics safely navigate their course and constantly measure and improve their performance. We want Team Magellan Adventure to be in the best shape of their lives for GODZone and we’re just delighted to be able to give them the training edge they’ll need to get there.”

 

Mike Walker of Team Magellan Adventure says: “Magellan’s support is really the difference between being able to compete in GODZone or not for us. We all still have day jobs and some of us have young families, so training sometimes takes a back seat. Magellan’s support will be invaluable and means we can have an excellent crack at it.”

Team Magellan Adventure will be using Magellan products as they compete as both individuals and as a team in several events in the lead up to GODZone. These include Magellan Switch fitness watches, which track pace, heart rate, elevation and distance; and Magellan eXplorist GPS units, which feature detailed topo maps, plus a 3-axis electronic compass and barometric altimeter for extremely accurate positional information.

Jo Williams says: “We’ll be wearing Magellan Switch watches during our training and build up which will put a line in the sand for each of us in terms of our own fitness, and our respective progress leading into our focus race, GODZone 2013.”

Tom Lucas, team navigator, comments: “The other crucial area is navigation. The 24-hour nature of adventure racing (and young families) means a lot of our training is done at night in remote and sometimes dangerous terrain. While we can’t use GPS devices during the races themselves, the Magellan eXplorist will provide us with the ideal back up if we take a wrong turn in the Southern Alps during one of our training adventures. The Magellan products allow us to satisfy our natural desire for adventure, safely.”

The team was first formed in 2012 and competed in the inaugural five-day GODZone race that year as Team Tiki Tour, where they were one of the few to finish the full course and placed an impressive sixth out of the 31 starting teams.

GODZone is one of 13 qualifying races held around the globe each year as part of the Adventure Racing World Series. The top two teams from each qualifying race win entry to the Adventure Racing World Championships – the pinnacle of the sport.

Follow Team Magellan Adventure’s progress as they build up to GODZone on Magellan's Facebook page.