The NZ Enduro is Giving Back

A couple more days to go until the 4th annual NZ Enduro. New Zealand’s wildest multi day enduro adventure. Held on natural single track in the native forests of the magical Marlborough Sounds with a helicopter shuttle to keep it Kiwi as. The sold out NZ Enduro draws riders from all over the world each year, riders from ten countries will be racing in this years edition. The relaxed format and fun atmosphere, taking in some of New Zealand’s finest iconic native trails has drawn the cream of the international enduro pros and multiple World Champions in past as well as riders from all over NZ and Australia.  

Last year saw Sven and Anka Martin take over as new event owners and organisers. With decades of combined experience, covering all aspects of racing, they made some tweaks, additions and changes to the event. One of the first (and most meaningful) things they incorporated into their event is setting up of the hugely popular NZ Enduro trail advocacy raffles. Sven said “The area our event is held in and the trails that we use over the course event is our biggest asset. Other than rider stoke and good vibes one of the main goals in the running of our event is being able to give back to the trails and community we operate in. Some of the trails are Marlborough MTB Club trails and others are dual use Dept. of Conservation forest park trails. We are extremely thankful to both parties for allowing us to host a race on this special trails so being able to give back both financially and with working parties was key for us” 

A condition for all partners and sponsors was contributing to the trail advocacy raffles that they run. They are two fold, on site during the race and then after the race online in conjunction with www.trailfund.org. So far together they have raised over $7500 and with this final raffle of the Santa Cruz frame (any frame of winners choice) they should see their target of $10 000 surpassed. “Its a win-win situation.” says Anka, “You try your luck in winning a cool frame from Santa Cruz or Juliana but even if you are unlucky you have still contributed positively to New Zealand trails.” 100% of the proceeds go straight back to the trails. 

Fraser Brown of the Marlborough MTB club adds, "Last year our good friends, Sven and Anka Martin - NZ Enduro and Trail fund very generously donated a significant amount of money to MMBC. This became a catalyst for our latest project, restoring, upgrading and potentially developing new trails around the Whites Bay Recreation reserve. 

This support from NZ Enduro and the team at Trail Fund ensures our plans for our region to become a MTB destination will come to fruition. Exciting times!!

Trail fund reports, "We have had people up and down the country buying tickets, from Whangarei in the north to Otago in the deep south. The winner of one of the raffles ended up sharing the gear out with some friends. One of those lucky enough to get some was teenager Maddy Sinclair who was so stoked that she put all her pocket money into tickets in the next raffle and ended up winning the whole thing. I guess that is trail karma in action.”  

The NZ Enduro’s focus on trail stewardship goes beyond just the raffles though. Its trophies in all the categories are super cool personalised engraved Silky Saws, Silky also sponsor the organisation with a variety of saws for trail work all year long. “Working with local NZ businesses, suppliers and companies is what this race is about. An international world class event that promotes and celebrates everything local and kiwi from the Moa Beer to the Pics Peanut butter and pounamu prizes. Follow the racing here and on @NZenduro next weekend. 

To coincide with next weeks race trail fund has just launched their final NZ Enduro raffle. Win any Santa Cruz or Juliana frame of your choice while donating to New Zealand’s trails and help see NZ Enduro reach their 10K funding goal. The winner will be announced March 18th. Get the full scoop HERE.

The NZ Enduro would like to thank all its supporters who share our passion in giving back to the trails. Thanks to Santa Cruz, Bontrager, SRAM, RockShox, Mons Royale, Silky, Moa, Marsh Guard, Awaken, SDG, Oakley, Camelback, Crankbrothers, YUM, Squirt, Ground Effect and Juliana.