The teams on “Race to Survive: New Zealand” are quickly dwindling down as the race is now more than halfway to the finishing mark.  The brutal land of New Zealand has taken out many victims.

Last week, viewers saw marathoner moms Ashley and Rhandi give it their all, only to come up short of medallions at the end crate, which would have allowed them to progress into the next leg of the race.

A New Level:

In episode seven, the racers faced perhaps the most brutal race yet.  Because Race 4 entailed 25 miles of non-stop, yes, that’s right, non-stop navigation that was a new level added.  This meant, the teams were thrown into a 24 hour tailspin of a race, called “Kahurangi.”  This also meant that the end portion was to be done in darkness. 

The prior races were all timed for ten hours each.  Some even had cut-off marks of when racers could continue to the next point due to safety.  Well, Race 4 was a whole other animal.

This race started with a brutal ten story climb up a dune, leading to 11 miles along a shoreline, followed by towering cliffs, giving way to thick bushwhacking jungle.  A chore for most, yet a breeze for racers like Tyrie and Ethan who said bushwhacking was their specialty (so to speak).

The race totaled 20 hours for those who didn’t stop.  Most of these teams certainly were NOT ready for it.

The 24 Hour Race:

It was a mad dash from the start of Race 4 for all teams except for one – Kennedy and Nik.  They kept a slow and steady pace behind the rest of the teams.  For the reasons of learning from their peers who went home due to injuries. 

Pictured: (l-r) Nikola Milutinovic, Kennedy Taylor — Photo by: Brian Finestone/USA Network

Nik and Kennedy’s reasoning was that after looking at the majority of the eliminations, all but one were due to rushing so much, that these teams caused injuries to themselves so much so that they could no longer stay in the race.

Their strategy was to not burn out fast and preserve their energy for preparation for the 24 hour race.  However, the reality of it was this strategy also caused them to trail as the very last team.

Oliver and Corry had already made it to the first mandatory check point to pick up a pack raft for the next portion of the race.  Tyrie and Ethan were coming in close behind.  Tyrie used talking to dead relatives as strong motivation to pull himself and Ethan forward in maintaining a fast pace.

It apparently worked well for them, because – SPOILER ALERT— by the end of the episode, Tyrie and Ethan pulled ahead to the first place finishers of Race 4.

Pictured: (l-r) Ethan Greenberg, Tyrie Mann Merrill — Photo by: Brian Finestone/USA Network

Another Injury:

Exes Paulina and Creighton took over third place in the race from in-laws Ryan and Bronsen.  That meant that for the first time, Creighton and Paulina were in the Top 3.  Ryan said they would “keep pushing till the end.”

Ryan was struggling through his injured knee that happened earlier in race one.  But during this race, he also suffered an arm injury.  Kennedy and Nik were also looking to over-take Bronsen and Ryan.  They saw Ryan’s knee injury as a way of having an advantage over the in-laws.

As the teams approached Zone 3 of Race 4, this was the most challenging.  They had to navigate inland through thick, bushwhack forest.  The most dense bushwhack yet.  After that, there was a five mile jungle to get through.

As Tyrie and Ethan were entering this portion of the race, they noted how bushwacking is one of their strengths, whereas for their most threatening competitors – Oliver and Corry, not so much!

They used this as a way of jumping ahead of Oliver and Corry who continually finished in first place.  Until now.

Pictured: (l-r) Oliver Dev, Spencer “Corry” Jones — Photo by: Brian Finestone/USA Network

A New First Place Team:

It was the navigation before (and after) the second mandatory check-point and cache that caused Oliver and Corry to lose their strong lead.  They chose the tougher route along the shoreline, whereas Tyrie and Ethan headed straight into the jungle.

After roughing it for a bit, things got a lot easier for Tyrie and Ethan once they found the freshly cut trail that led the way to the finish mark of Race 4.

Oliver and Corry had not even attempted to enter the last leg of the race, when apparently, it seemed that starvation and lack of energy caught up with them, hitting them all at once.  Because the two front-runners chose a camping break rather than to continue in the 24-hour race.

Rule Breakers:

Maybe that was against the Race 4 rules.  Because a preview teaser of the next episode shows that at least one team will be disqualified of a broken rule.  We will have to wait and see in next week’s episode.

It did appear that other teams were also choosing to camp.  Ryan and Bronsen took a break, they said overnight, and planned to start again in the morning due to Ryan’s bum knee.
Paulina and Creighton were shocked to find Oliver and Corry on an extended break by a campfire.   The ex couple decided to take a break with them.  Which Oliver and Corry were not thrilled about.

Pictured: (l-r) Creighton Baird, Paulina Pena — Photo by: Brian Finestone/USA Network

To make matters even worse, Creighton proceeded to flaunt his hunting skills in front of the two hungry men by showing off his game – three hedgehogs.  Then an eel that he had caught.

To Be Continued…
At the end of this episode Oliver said the race has been truly “demoralizing.”  That was juxtaposed to a preview to next week’s episode where one team will be disqualified after breaking a rule.