Whether its for Olympic gold or mere bragging rights… People all-across the world, put their bodies on the line every day – In competition. If you can name it, somebody’s probably made sport of it… Cheese rolling, slapping contests, bull riding! … And whereas the few up top of huge organisations like Formula 1, NBA or the Champions League are well compensated for their risks and sacrifice… Most go either almost, or entirely unrewarded. Yet they keep coming back – So, why? In pursuit of an answer, I came to the Oparau 8 Hour Cross Country – New Zealand’s biggest Dirt Bike endurance race ever! In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, 200 riders would race from 8am to 4pm across 30km of rain-soaked and rugged farmland, for… You guessed it! – Little-to-no reward. It was for them, that I had just one question: Why?

SOCIAL MEDIAS
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  / sowmanfilms  
  / sowmanfilms  
  / sowmanfilms  

CREDITS
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Written, Shot, Edited & Narrated by:
Ash Sowman

Starring/Helmet Cameras:
Brad Groombridge (  / brad.groombridge  )
Cody Cooper (  / codycoopermx  )
Wil Yeoman (  / wil_yeoman96  )
Tommy Watts (  / tommywatts_912  )
Seton Head (  / setonhead  )
Ashton Whyte (  / ashton_733  )

Production Sponsors:
Whyteline (https://www.whyteline.co.nz)
KEA Trailers (https://keatrailers.co.nz)
Forestland Motorcycle Club (https://www.foresttrailevents.net)

Photographer:
Madison Clarke

Event Commentary:
Neil Ritchie

Extra Hands:
Brad Groombridge
Kiri Clarke
Kirri Gardener

Hospitality:
Brad & Kiri

Land Owners:
The Scott Family

Other video, photo & audio sources (in order of appearance):
Muhammed Ali knocks out George Foreman - HBO (https://www.hbo.com)
Cristiano Ronaldo bicycle kick - UEFA (   • CRISTIANO RONALDO OVERHEAD KICK FROM ...  )
WRC Rally Finland jump - Tom Pieri (   • Best Of FLAT OUT WRC Rally Finland 2021  )
Michael Jordan three pointer - Netflix (https://www.netflix.com)
Cheese Roll - Urban Pictures UK (   • Injuries at annual cheese rolling con...  )
Severe weather warning - 1news (https://www.1news.co.nz)
Saturday sign in chaos - Andy McGechan (https://www.bikesportnz.com)
Cody Cooper montage - Kawasaki NZ (https://kawasaki.co.nz)
Cody Cooper chasing James Bubba Stewart - The Great Outdoors (https://www.tgomotocross.com)
Tarawera 100 podium champaign - Blue Wing Honda (   • Cody Cooper with Honda CRF450RX at Ta...  )
Kawasaki KX450 cooling system - Kawasaki (   • The All-New 2024 Kawasaki KX450 | Off...  )
F1 cooling system - Renault Sport F1 (   • Video  )
F1 car on fire - FORMULA 1 (   • FP1 Highlights | 2023 Azerbaijan Gran...  )
24 hours of Spa - Top Gear (   • Chris Harris Drives The Bentley Conti...  )
Cooper Scott photo - Andy McGechan (https://www.bikesportnz.com)
Cooper & James pitstop photo - James Scott (  / j.scott_108  )
Walk from Cape Reinga to Bluff - Tim Voors (https://timvoors.nl/projects)
Tractors with no suspension - NZ Today (https://nztoday.co.nz)
Hamish Carter triathlon gold - Olympics (   • Men's Triathlon | Athens 2004 Replays  )
WWII combat footage - Netflix (https://www.netflix.com)
Egyptian war carving - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_...)
Ukrainian helicopter – UNITED24 (   • MI-8 in Azovstal & Zmiinyi Island. To...  )
Destruction in Gaza – WBNS 10TV (   • Drone video shows destruction in Gaza...  )
Monkeys fighting – BBC (   • Animal fights: Snub-nosed snow monkey...  )
Battle of Hogwarts - Warner Brothers (https://www.warnerbros.com)
Call of Duty clip - Tomographic (   • Clean House - The Most Realistic Miss...  )
Jarhead solider reminiscing - Universal Pictures (https://www.universalpictures.com)
D-Day landing - DreamWorks Pictures (https://www.dreamworks.com), Paramount Pictures (https://www.paramountpictures.com)
Vietnam helicopter strafe - Paramount Pictures (https://www.paramountpictures.com)
Cavalry charge - HBO (https://www.hbo.com)
Slow-mo motocross start - Racer X (https://racerxonline.com)
James & Cooper post-race photo James Scott (  / j.scott_108  )

My apologies if this list is missing one or two accreditations. Some of the video, photos and audio files were only available from illegitimate sources who hadn’t provided credit.

CHAPTERS
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0:00 Why Do People Compete for Nothing?
1:04 Intro
1:22 Severe Weather Warning
2:05 Team Kawasaki
3:49 Race Start!
6:24 Team Yamaha
7:41 The Sun Finally Returns…
8:46 Pit Chaos!
9:41 Cody’s Trial by… Mud
12:58 The Scotts
15:03 Wil’s Rain Dance
17:07 Brad’s Nightmare Lap
19:25 Mid-race Dramas
22:53 Battle for the Lead!
24:35 James’ Double Stint
26:35 Tommy goes Sicko Mode
28:01 Final Lap
30:18 Race Finish!
31:22 Why People Compete for Nothing
35:42 Credits/End Screen