- In November 1999 a group of world class athletes who had never trained together, much less raced together, formed a team to race in the Southern Traverse - a five day, non-stop multi-sport endurance race. The team experienced the highs and lows of pain and pleasure, however for one athlete it was more testing than for the others as he experienced an extraordinary journey into the world of pain, pleasure, endurance, depression and ultimately, redemption.—Anonymous
- Pain and Suffering is a character driven documentary investigating what it takes before the human body, spirit and will to win breaks. The program provides a unique insight into the world of Adventure Racing - pain, mental fortitude and human endurance.
In November 1999 Australian medical doctor Andrew Peacock, British adventure racer Louisa Stieger, New Zealand adventure tourism operator Eric Billoud and French alpine guide Francoise Allemoz were invited to form a team and enter in one of the world's most demanding multi-sport, adventure races - The Southern Traverse.
The athletes had never trained together, much less raced together and personality clashes surfaced even before they lined up at the start. During this five day, non-stop event, team Air New Zealand raced day and night, halting only to snatch brief periods of sleep, consume food and tend to damaged body parts. Sleep deprivation and physical as well as mental exhaustion combined to push the athletes to the limit of their endurance. All the team members experienced the highs and lows of pain and pleasure however for one athlete, it was harder than for the others and we experience an extraordinary journey into the world of pain, endurance, depression and ultimately, redemption. In addition to the trials and tribulations of Andrew and his team mates,, Pain and Suffering features three other teams:- Team Star & Garter from New Zealand who raced as a machine - walking, talking, sleeping and breathing as one unit until they crossed the finish line over 12 hrs ahead of the nearest competition. This team did not race to come 2nd but is winning enough?
- Team Sabah 2000 from Malaysia whose courage and perseverance in the face of insurmountable difficulties was an inspiration.
- Team NOC Perception from the USA. Two couples, two teams within a team . . . married life is never easy, relationships are fragile at the best of times and the intensity of racing in difficult and demanding conditions tested team NOC as far as they wanted and a little more than they enjoyed.
Pain and Suffering - the story of ordinary people who choose to place themselves in difficult and demanding circumstances requiring extraordinary effort to succeed.
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