Utah moms Rhandi Orme and Ashley Paulson embarked on a challenging three-week journey in the wilderness survival competition “Race to Survive: New Zealand,” facing numerous obstacles that tested their endurance, survival skills and willpower.
The competition featured nine teams of two competing over several weeks for a grand prize of $500,000.
Orme and Paulson were among three teams representing Utah, as previously reported by the Deseret News. Despite their efforts, they were eliminated after completing Race 3.
The other Utah teams — Bronsen Iverson and Ryan Stewart, and Creighton Baird and Pauline Peña — remained in the running for the grand prize.
Injury leads to elimination
Orme and Paulson’s journey experienced difficulty after Paulson twisted her ankle during Race 2. They were one of several teams with a member who became injured during the first half of the competition.
Despite this setback, Paulson managed to complete both Race 2 and 3.
Paulson shared the mental and physical challenges of competing while injured, especially when it came to slowing down her partner.
“Even though I know injuries happen and (Rhandi) was super understanding with it and patient and showed me nothing but love, that was hard for me to work through mentally, slowing down her race,” Paulson told the Deseret News.
Orme expressed admiration for Paulson, emphasizing the difficulty of adapting to unforeseen circumstances.
“I didn’t think either of us would get injured,” Orme said. “It was never in my mind ever because I saw us clearly going all the way to the end.”
Upon returning to the U.S., Paulson received medical treatment for her ankle, which required surgery.
“When I got home, I went to a doctor. They did an MRI, and they saw that the tendon was completely torn,” Paulson told Reality Tea. “I had surgery about a week later.”
She recovered quickly and now carries a scar as a reminder of her time in New Zealand.
“The scar is gnarly,” she said. “I love the scar, it reminds me of New Zealand every time I look at my foot.”
Deciding to compete
Both Orme and Paulson have extensive backgrounds in competitive races, including triathlons, marathons and ultramarathons.
Orme, with more experience in rock climbing and mountaineering, felt well-prepared for the competition.
“I grew up doing it all, and it’s definitely shaped me into who I am today,” she said. “It’s my profession as a coach, it’s my passion as an athlete and it definitely frames a lot of who I am as a mom.”
The decision to compete in “Race to Survive” came when Orme received an offer from a casting producer. “A million times, yes,” was her enthusiastic response to whether she would agree to appear on the show.
Orme immediately thought of Paulson as her partner.
“You want to pick somebody who you know is going to be uplifting, who you know you can trust, who you know is going to support you. And I know that Ashley 110% has my back,” she said.
Paulson initially had reservations due to her lack of wilderness survival experience but was ultimately convinced by Orme’s trust in her.
“I was so honored that she would want to spend that much time and that much faith in me that she was willing to reach out and have me as her partner on the show,” she said.
Motivation and motherhood
Throughout the competition, Orme and Paulson were known as the “Cool Moms” due to the significant influence motherhood had on their approach to overcoming challenges placed in their way.
Their friendship began after they connected through social media, bonding over shared experiences as moms and competitive athletes.
“It was crazy because it’s like we had known each other forever,” Paulson recalled of their first in-person meeting.
Motherhood taught them to be flexible and creative. The hardships they endured as parents built them into the competitors they are today.
“Motherhood really gave us a leg up because we have been flexible for our entire athletic career,” Orme said. “We have to constantly pivot, constantly get creative, do really hard workouts on maybe no sleep and maybe not at the ideal time.”
Paulson echoed this sentiment, saying, “It gave us the upper hand when it came to getting through some of these hard things. I’m like, this is going to pass, just like rocking my baby at night that’s screaming. I know this is going to pass. It’s going to be over and I’m going to miss it.”
“I teach my kids to work hard and dream big,” Orme added. “They don’t need to race like me, but hopefully they do see that whatever their dreams are, if they work hard, they can do crazy awesome things.”