Next week nineteen-year-old Christchurch endurance athletic Molly Spark will join Fiordland teammates Dean Stewart (19), Fynn Mitchell (17) and Josiah Murphy (19) to compete in the grueling One New Zealand Godzone Expedition Racing World Championships.

'Fear Youth' in action in 2022. Photo: Godzone

The eight day endurance event will start in Te Anau on Thursday (23 Feb) and follow a rugged course through Fiordland - with details only being released to contestants on the day.

Spark's team, 'Fear Youth', first competed in the event in 2022 and is the youngest team ever to do so.

Spark, who has just won last week's Coast to Coast tandem mixed category, said 'Fear Youth' was super excited "because the boys all come from Fiordland, so it's home ground to them".

“The guys should know some of the places we are going; however, the course is over 500km long so we could end up anywhere. We have pretty good team dynamics and relate to each other well because we're all of a similar age, so it’s great racing together.”

“We love the ruggedness of the region; the more gnarly and steeper the terrain, the better,” Spark said.

Godzone Race Director Warren Bates picks the 'Fear Youth' squad as a strong contender for the eight-day race that starts in Te Anau on Thursday, 23rd February.

"They are in racing contention, competing in their hometown this year," says Bates

"As a young team with plenty of strength, I don't expect the navigation to freak them out, but it's whether they can get their race strategy right. They will need to be mindful of that.”

Next week's championships are expected to bring hundreds of adventure racers to Te Anau, including Godzone reigning champion team "Avaya" (Nathan Fa’avae, Stu Lynch, Chris Forne and Sophie Hart).

The event was last held in Te Anau in 2018 and included rugby legend Richie McCaw.