An Interview with Coree & Jeff from ‘Race to Survive: New Zealand’

RACE TO SURVIVE: New Zealand -- "Eels, Heels and Deals" Episode 204 -- Pictured: (l-r) Coree Woltering, Daniel "Jeff" Watterson -- (Photo by: Brian Finestone/USA Network)

Normally when people go home on a television that is grounded in competition, they do so… because they lost. Or they didn’t reach whatever qualifier would allow for them to head to the next round, and that is such a standard, that we expect nothing less and that is why Race to Survive: New Zealand on USA Network continues to surprise us. Because it does not abide by that rule, in fact, this season we’ve now seen two teams tap out and go home in the name of safety and health, and it just so happens that we here at NTG sat down with Coree Woltering and Daniel ‘Jeff’ Watterson, who left the show last night when Coree sustained an injury, to discuss their difficult decision and their time on the show.
 
John Betancourt: So first I have to ask, Coree, are you okay?
 
Coree Woltering: I'm okay.
 
John Betancourt: That's good, because that was very scary, I think, for obviously, for you and for all of us at home as well, and regarding your injury, I'm very curious as to what each of you were emotionally experiencing throughout that day.
 
Coree Woltering: Man, emotionally that day, that was a rough day. It was a rough couple days actually, just trying to decide, like, how bad the concussion is, how my body is actually feeling. And when you're doing something this long, you almost have to take emotion out of it, and you just have to just focus on getting from point A to point B and doing the tasks along the way. And so, when you have to do that, and then still remember, “Oh, wait, I am a human. I'm a person. I have a partner in this thing as well.” Like, there's a lot that goes into that, and it was just kind of an overwhelming moment.
 
John Betancourt:  Jeff, what was it like for you? Because obviously you were, you know, the observer here, and tried to do your best to make sure that Coree was taken care of.
 
Daniel ‘Jeff’ Watterson: So, for me, it was, you know, it was rough to see Coree in that situation, you know, he got quiet in those couple days leading up to that, you know. I knew there was things going on, and I knew that he was struggling with this internal battle of, you know, how much farther can I push? So, for me, you know, like you said, as the observer, I'm noticing a physical change in Coree’s attitude and how he's performing. So, I have to just kind of set back and be like, “Okay, what does he need?” So, you know, it's rough when you're taking care of yourself as well. And not that I was upset, you know, I was worried about Coree, and worried about myself. It just, it was tasking on all of us, on both of us, you know, he's dealing with his stuff I'm dealing with, you know, getting us through the day and then making sure he's okay. So, it was a tiring few days leading up to, you know, leading up to the end.
 
John Betancourt: Now, I would be remiss not to ask, how hard was it to come to the decision in question. Because you guys really kept pushing hard.
 
Coree Woltering: Yeah, it definitely wasn't an easy decision. It was one that I had kind of been trying to play over and over in my head of how, how it would go down. And I didn't even want to say anything to Jeff for a while. And finally, I was just like, “Dude, like, here's what's going on” and he's like, “Yeah, I support you, 100% whatever you need,” which made me feel better. And then we still continued to walk for a little bit longer, because I just really wasn't ready to go. But finally, it's just like, this is not going to get any better, and we were just getting farther and farther into the backcountry. And finally, it's like, you know, if something goes wrong out here, it's not going to be a quick exit.
 
Daniel ‘Jeff’ Watterson: Yeah. So, the decision was, was a hard one, but I supported him 100% we had talked about that, you know, I said, “I am with you 100% if you want to push, we will push. If we need to be done, we'll be done.” But my decision is, I am with you 100% there is no second guessing this at all. I want you to be healthy, so I am with you 100% you know, we talked, and I was like, you know, I obviously want to go as far as I can go, but when you say it's time, it's time because I can't, I can't make that decision for you. I think that's maybe even in a soundbite. I can't make that decision. But whatever decision is made, I am behind 100% and I stand to that today.
 
John Betancourt: I think we, as audience members, we kind of find a bit of inspiration in what people do when they do incredible races like these. I'm very curious what each of you hope, audiences take away from your journey?
 
Daniel ‘Jeff’ Watterson: So for me, and I've said from the beginning that, like I want people be inspired to do something, I've always said, “Just be passionate about something.” And I was coaching some of my cross-country girls last week, and I think, you know, this pertains a lot. Just last week, we were coaching somebody, and the girls were sitting down, we were talking, we were all done. Just got done with our run. And one of the girls said, “You know, every time I think about not wanting to go that extra mile, I think Jeff did this in New Zealand. I can't, you know, I can't let him down”, and not that they were letting me down, but you know, “if Jeff can do this, then I can push that extra five minutes.” So that's all I want. I want to see people being passionate about something at whatever age. You know I'm 46, years old, and I want people to realize that it that they can do whatever they want to do, whenever they want to start it. That's, that's my take on all of this.
 
Coree Woltering: I didn't start basically, training, running, ultra-running anything like that, ‘till I was 24 years old. And I just didn't even know that it was, didn't even really know that it was a sport. And so doing something like this, I just hope that it inspires people to get out and be active in whatever form they enjoy. But, you know, I hope that there's some kids sitting at home watching this that's like, “Oh, wow, there's some dude that looks like me on TV that's doing this.” And I didn't know it was a thing, but now it's a thing. So that's what I want to do, you know? Because I think that when you get put in a position like this, where you can have a platform. It is, you know, like it is your responsibility to be a role model, and, you know, inspire people to get out and do awesome things.
 
Daniel ‘Jeff’ Watterson: To kind of piggyback on Coree real quick. You know, for us, we're the unlikely couple, you know, we're the odd couple out there. You know, we have a husband, father, you know, partnering with, you know, a gay black man. So, you know, it's like, I want that to be in the forefront of… just whoever your friends are, be friends with them. You know, that's kind of the message we wanted, and not that, you know, we went out to set that message, but it was like, just go out and be friends and have fun.
 
John Betancourt: Obviously, you guys had and have a passion for this, and it took a lot to really come to the decision to leave, what are each of you going to miss the most about this competition?
 
Coree Woltering: Um, so one thing that I miss is just like, honestly, the other contestants, I really do miss them, because it was fun getting to meet all of them, learn their backstories, and we're all still friends today. But I actually miss camping under a tarp. As wild as that sounds, I was not a camper before this thing. Like, I actually hated camping, and would 100% pick a hotel over a tent any day. So then to be out there under a tarp without even a tent, like, “Oh, like, this should be interesting. “And I loved it. Um, I slept like nine hours straight through the night. The first night I was out there. Absolutely loved it. And I'm just like, we need to do this more. So, I actually miss that.
 
Daniel ‘Jeff’ Watterson: Yeah, and I'll agree with that 100% like you kind of… two parts here. One morning, we woke up in Survival Camp, and I was normally the fire starter. And I woke up and I said, “Well, I'm gonna get the fire started.” And Coree said, “I've already got it taken care of.” So, you know, to see Coree start the fire and be excited about sleeping under a tent that was, you know, to see that transition in him, like, “Okay, this isn't so bad.” And for me, I agree 100% within the first week of me being home, I pitched my tarp in the backyard and slept outside for the weekend because I missed that aspect of being out there.
 
John Betancourt: The last question that I have you gentlemen, today, we'll start with Jeff here, what are you each most proud of when it comes to what you accomplished on the show?
 
Daniel ‘Jeff’ Watterson: So, for me, what I'm most proud of, I really feel like it captured my nature of helping people, you know. And it sounds self-supporting there, but I really like that. That's what I'm really proud of, is that it kind of showed, it kind of shined in the show that I want to be able to help people, you know?
 
Coree Woltering: I would say that. I think I'm most proud of just the decision to advocate for ourselves, you know, like, sure we were medically clear. I was medically cleared to continue, even though there was a concussion and Jeff's ankle and all that. But it's like, when you know there's something wrong with your body, like, don't be afraid to speak up, and don't be afraid to say it. And I think that you know, even as a professional athlete, at times, you know, you're still expected to push through injuries or just get through this or whatever. And sometimes you just have to be like, “No.” Like, this is not good for my physical or mental health, and like this is not something I should be doing. And so, I'm just happy that we made the decision we made, and it was like it was a unified decision of, okay, this is not a good choice. Like This needs to stop. And here we go.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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