Ottawa native to compete on TV show airing Monday for chance to win $500,000

Ottawa native and distance runner Coree Woltering will be a part of one of nine teams competing in the second season of USA Network’s “Race to Survive.”

“Race to Survive” will air at 10 p.m. Monday, May 20, with a 75 minute episode of the season premiere in New Zealand.

In the show, challengers must rely on a combination of endurance racing, survival skills and intuition as they navigate 150 miles of New Zealand’s harshest terrain for a chance to win $500,000.

Nine teams of two will compete. Woltering’s teammate, also referred to as an ultramarthoner, is Donald “Jeff” Watterson Jr., of Newcastle, Indiana. In each leg of the race, the last team to reach the finish line will be eliminated from the competition.

Known for running ultramarathons, which are races longer than a marathon, Woltering, who nows lives in Chattanooga, Tennesse, completed the Ice Age Trail, a nearly 1,200-mile long trek in Wisconsin in record time. He finished that stretch in 21 days, 13 hours and 35 minutes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Woltering ran every street in Naplate and Ottawa, totaling 204.5 miles in 12 days, to raise more than $10,000 for small businesses. Woltering also won the Starved Rock Country Marathon twice.

The show is on USA Network on TV, but also can be streamed on Peacock and Hulu premium.