Richie McCaw and teammates prepare to tackle the new Red Bull Defiance X4 race format.

Best Food Forward NZ teammates discuss what it takes to compete in one of the world’s toughest endurance races. 

WANAKA, New Zealand – Thursday, 17 January 2019, 4:15 pm – Red Bull Defiance is one of the world’s most gruelling multisport events, so racing the new four-person X4 option this year is ideal for athletes, who are a) just had a baby, b) meant to be retiring and c) want to race with more than one mate over the two days.
Team Best Foot Forward NZ made up of Richie McCaw, Bob McLachlan, Rob Nichol and Sarah Fairmaid tick all those boxes.

McCaw impressively raced to the men’s sport category win last year with McLachlan, in what was the former All Black captain’s first multisport event. They went on to finish sixth in the 2018 Godzone Adventure Race in Fiordland, alongside teammates Nichol and Fairmaid.
As a new dad to baby Charlotte, McCaw’s experience of adventure racing sleep deprivation has recently come in handy.

“The broken sleep sort of changed things. Normally when you are training hard, you want to get a good sleep. You get woken up a few times, which is something different to deal with. It’s all cool. It’s all worth it,” he says, of life with a five-week-old.
McLachlan and Fairmaid’s kids are old enough to not keep them awake at night but after years of international adventure racing, they are ready to spend more time at home with their families.
“Originally Bob and I were planning on having a quiet summer, maybe even retiring,” Fairmaid laughs.
“X4 was a good excuse to get rid of the Christmas dinner and get off the couch and just enjoy it really with our friends.”

For Nichol, this was also the motivation to get the awesome foursome back together again.
“With the X4, you get to race with your friends and mix up the combinations, which makes it all a bit more dynamic. It will be hard and fast as a result, so I’m keen to see how we go in that space versus the more consistent and solid pace required in an adventure race,” he says.
Having raced together several times, they know each other well and can rely on the fact that they are all tough nuts to crack.

“The biggest thing that we have is mental strength. No one will quit. We could be crawling through the finish line and we will still be crawling,” McLachlan says.

Red Bull Defiance
Wanaka, New Zealand
19-20 January, 2019
Race Information online at redbulldefiance.co.nz #RedBullDefiance.