The Amazing Race - One husband-and-wife team competed in a 150-mile race across New Zealand, but that wasn't their real adventure.

The Amazing Race - One husband-and-wife team competed in a 150-mile race across New Zealand, but that wasn't their real adventure.

By Mary Ashley

The night before the race, my husband, Brad, and I are so nervous we can barely talk. Tomorrow, I have to run 21 miles over New Zealand's Southern Alps with two ways out: on foot or by helicopter. Terrified, I go into the bathroom and stifle sobs. What if I get lost, break an ankle, or don't finish after coming this far? We're a relay team, and Brad has to kayak 42 miles. He hasn't kayaked in weeks. What if he drowns? We have two boys. What were we thinking?

The race was Brad's idea, a romantic adventure he'd been pondering for years. He'd often had these plans, but this time he was persistent. The Speight's Coast to Coast, a multisport, two-day adventure race, crosses New Zealand's South Island on a 150-mile course. I'd do the mountain run and he'd kayak, with additional running and cycling for us both. Brad knew that New Zealand was a life-list destination for me, and he said it could be the honeymoon we never had, a fact I ribbed him about endlessly. Just like a honeymoon ... except for the 21-mile mountain run.

Read the rest here: http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity-lifestyle/articles/living/travel-weight-loss

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