2006 Southern Traverse to be 24 Hour Race

Rob Howard / 22.02.2006

Queenstown will host the Southern Traverse for the fourth time in 2006, and this year the race will have a new, shorter format and be known as ’24 Hours of Southern Traverse’.

The Queenstown based Southern Traverse company have announced that they will stage the event on the rivers, lakes and mountains surrounding Queenstown over the weekend of the 4-5th November.

"In a change from normal format this year’s traverse will take on the 24hr mantle and will be designed so that all teams will finish" says Race Director Geoff Hunt. "For the front of the field there will intense competition as these athletes race to finish the event in a time of around 15hrs, while the teams at the back should be able to make the finish in just on 24hrs.”

"We are delighted to be able to stage the event in our own backyard and are keen to once again show the adventure racing world some of the gems of the Wakatipu."

Last time the event was held in Queenstown in 2001 many of the local athletes were surprised to discover parts of the area that they had not seen before, and the traverse of the high peaks of Cecil Peak is seen as one of the all time great stages in the 15 year Southern Traverse history.

Destination Queenstown Chief executive Dave Kennedy said, “We are delighted such a high profile event is returning to the Queenstown area. Queenstown has always considered itself to be the spiritual home of adventure racing in the world and as always our region will provide a major challenge for contestants who will compete in our diverse alpine terrain.”