Folks, it all comes down to this. Our ten-episode Race to Survive: New Zealand journey has reached its conclusion. We’ve watched these athletes spelunk through caves, bust their bodies, and starve themselves through the most punishing race on reality TV. Now, a winner has been crowned.
In Race to Survive: New Zealand Episode 10 “The Golden Medallion,” the final three teams spent their last days in the competition racing for all the marbles. The result was somewhat predictable, but either way, we were turned into every single second. Here’s what went down in the epic season finale of Race to Survive.
Race 6, Day 1
For the final race, the producers pulled out all the stops to give the racers a taste of everything that New Zealand could throw at them. With two of the frontrunners suddenly out of the competition, they had to make sure that this final race would be something worth watching
The final course was 15 miles of rugged terrain, starting with a sprint through a rocky creek. From there, the racers had to go into a cave, up an alpine pass, over a ridge, and then up into a 1500-foot climb.
It’s a daunting course, and all the racers had mixed emotions. Of course, everyone was drooling over the idea of winning half a million dollars, but they’d already spent 38 days in the wilderness. Tired would be an understatement.
Despite the juggernaut of a final course, the Smokejumpers were feeling confident and proud of how far they had come. They talked about how they learned a lot about themselves throughout the race. They already called each other “brothers,” but now, they’re even closer.
The Divorcees were also feeling a sense of pride and closeness going into Race 6. With all of the emotional baggage from their divorce, they both agreed that win or lose, this was an exciting and healthy way for them to close the book on their marriage. They probably were better at this competition as a divorced couple than they would have been as a married couple.
Meanwhile, the Oil Riggers had nothing but victory on their mind. Nik mentioned that they had to overcome a “self-doubt cycle” to get this far in the race, but at this point, they felt confident. He spoke about how he was seeing visions of him and Kennedy winning the whole thing. He said it felt like divine intervention, or maybe his brain was playing tricks on him after spending all of his time outside. Either way, the clock started and the racers were off on their final adventure.
Dead End Cavern
The Smokejumpers blazed through the first part of the course and were the first team to make it to Dead End Cavern. They’ve sprinted to the front of the pack in every other race so why would this be any different?
However, when they got into the cave, it became clear that this wouldn’t be easy for even the fastest teams. According to the narrator, a straight pass through the tunnel was only 1200 yards, but the twists and turns push you into dead ends, hence the name. It’s another maze, and the Smokejumpers started struggling.
Nik and Kennedy were the second team to make it into the cave, and somehow, they zipped right through it. They passed up the Smokejumpers and went into the final hours of Day 1 with a first-place lead.
At the back of the pack, Paulina and Creighton were scrambling to get to the cave. Part of that was because Paulina fell at least 300 times trying to run through the creekbed, which dramatically slowed them down. Regardless, the cave maze gave them a huge chance to make up for that lost time.
Day 2’s game-changing decision
Although the Oil Riggers went into Day 2 with a lead, that faded pretty quickly. The Smokejumpers popped up out of nowhere and passed them up. They kindly said, “Good push, guys” as they passed up their competition, but you know that felt like salt in a wound. Nik’s vision slowly started to fade away.
The next zone presented them with a navigation decision. There were two routes. Route 1 was shorter, but it was straight uphill. You would need some serious quad strength for that route. Route 2 had a more gradual incline, even though it was technically a longer route. There was also a food cache, which on the last day, seemed like a huge slap in the face. Where was this earlier?
When faced with the navigational decision, the Smokejumpers felt confident in their endurance and their muscles. They went for the vertical option. It looked exhausting, but they pushed through. After all, they literally jump into wildfires for a living. It’s hard to scare them.
Nik and Kennedy decided to take the longer route. Not only were they starving and desperate for that food cache, but they also recognized that climbing an extremely steep hill just wouldn’t be their strength. Slow and steady has been their approach throughout the whole race, so why change up the strategy now?
When Paulina and Creighton got to the decision point, they decided to take the steep route as well. They do this kind of stuff for fun, so they weren’t phased by the idea of climbing up that insane hill. It proved to be a smart choice because they caught up to the Oil Riggers right ahead of the next challenge.
The Battle on the Dome
As if they hadn’t already broken their bodies enough, the final challenge in Race 6 was a vertical rock climb. They called it The Dome. It was the last obstacle standing in between the racers and the final sprint towards the last Survival Crate.
The Divorcees were stoked to see another rock-climbing challenge. This is their element, so they felt confident that they could quickly get up the wall and gain some ground in the race. They did and wound up settling in a solid second-place position. The Oil Riggers struggled and fell further into third place. Nik’s vision was completely dead.
Such a physically demanding challenge could have very well been another race-defining moment where someone could pull ahead of the frontrunner. However, that didn’t happen. Each of the Smokejumpers climbed up the wall Spider-Man style and pushed forward with a tremendous lead. At this point, it became super clear who was about to win the $500,000.
A final push to the Golden Medallions
As if it wasn’t obvious, the Smokejumpers pushed through the final part of the race and were the first team to make it to the last Survival Crate of the season. They popped it open and were awarded two Golden Medallions and a grand prize of $500,000.
Although the grand prize had been determined, the other two teams still pushed forward through the course. Everyone seemed excited to try to cross the finish line, except for Nik who seemed over it. He got grumpy when the producers tried to talk to him, and he moaned about how he was just going to push through to the end for Kennedy.
“I no longer cared about anything because the jungle took Nik’s soul,” he admitted.
Ultimately, the Divorcees wound up making it to the finish line in second place. They didn’t win the money, but they were still celebrating their major accomplishment. As the last hurrah of their marriage, they both said they felt happy and healthier with their relationship as exes. The money would have been nice, but crossing the finish line together was still the ultimate closure for those two.
Once the Oil Riggers reached the finish line, the final three teams all embraced each other in a huge celebratory moment. Just like the previous eliminations on the show, losing doesn’t feel like defeat on Race to Survive. After finishing a 40-day, 150-mile race through New Zealand, how could you not feel proud?
Now that the race is over, let’s hope these teams got a huge meal, a warm shower, and a good night’s sleep in a real bed. They deserve it.
Race to Survive: New Zealand is streaming on Peaacock.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF RACE TO SURVIVE: NEW ZEALAND EPISODE 10? WERE YOU SURPRISED AT THE OUTCOME OR DID YOU SEE THIS COMING? WHAT COUNTRY SHOULD THEY DO FOR SEASON 3?