NZ's toughest all-terrain obstacle course comes to Auckland   1 Jul 2015

New Zealand’s toughest all-terrain obstacle course comes to Auckland

The challenge has been set, the gauntlet laid down.

Forget all other events claiming to be the muddiest, the meanest or most memorable.

This is The Madness – staking a claim as the country’s toughest all-terrain obstacle course both mentally and physically, but also the most fun you can have in New Zealand’s great outdoors.

Kiwis of all ages and levels of fitness are being encouraged to take up the gauntlet when The Madness comes to Auckland in September.

Aptly named, ‘The Madness’ is a ten mile (16km) obstacle course that throws different curveballs every mile. From river crossings and angled walls to a ‘stretcher carry’, the course has been created for teams of two or four and demands teamwork, a sense of adventure and strong morale.

So much more than a bunch of hay bales, a bit of barbed wire and a mud bath, organisers have designed and built a range of re-locatable features to add to the natural characteristics of the private land on which the event’s being held.

The Madness is organised by Mule Event Management, the team behind Queenstown’s popular event The Mule. Owner Dugald Peters is a former platoon commander in the British Parachute Regiment and has successfully managed public and corporate events in New Zealand for almost a decade.

“The Madness is the ultimate teambuilding challenge,” he says.

“It’s designed to give people the opportunity to take part in and embrace a mental and physical challenge with the full support of a team around them.

“Ultimately, morale will win the day. You must finish as a team; it’s all about working together to overcome the obstacles.”

The course was designed with the help of other former Parachute Regiment and Royal Marine Corps members, combining aspects from their most elite units’ selection processes to create a unique obstacle course for the adventurous.

“This is a genuinely tough challenge, but it’s created for anyone who’s up for it,” says Peters.

“It’s not just about running far, fast or hard, it’s about tackling the obstacles together and putting in a sterling team effort.

“That said, teams will be timed, so it’s a great opportunity to push your boundaries.”

Peters’ Queenstown-based company also runs specially designed teambuilding programmes using The Mule course at Moke Lake which have become hugely popular with local schools and businesses.

Based on the same principles as The Mule and The Madness, Peters’ has developed incentive, leadership, facilitation, training and conferencing programmes which can all be customised to include other activities such as rafting, heli-trips, camping and four-wheel driving.

“It’s all about a positive, can-do attitude. The toughest adventurers in the world wouldn’t be successful if they couldn’t laugh in the face of adversity and enjoy themselves to boot.

“Grab your mates, your colleagues and push yourselves to the limit.”

The Madness is being held on Saturday September 19. For more details and to sign up a team visit www.mulenz.com/themadness

ENDS

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