The high-octane adventure series Race to Survive returns this Monday, May 20, at 11PM ET/PT on USA Network with an all new location: New Zealand. With its stunning scenery and challenging terrain, the Land of the Long White Cloud is the perfect place to test the strength and endurance—both physical and mental—of 9 elite teams comprised of two people from different backgrounds and disciplines. The winning pair will split the $500,000 prize pot that awaits the racers at the end of 150 miles of the country’s harshest topography.

Still not sold? Well, we have an exclusive three-minute sneak peek that is sure to entice any skeptic. The scene opens on a beautiful field as the 9 teams emerge from the woods and race towards a wooden crate in the center of the meadow. Weighed down by their backpacks full of gear, the teams scramble over each other to be the first to reach the crate and secure their packets. “Welcome to the adventure of a lifetime,” reads Rhode Island racer Emilio. “Your first race leg: water and ice,” reads ultramarathoner Jeff. We then zoom out to a drone shot of the breathtakingly beautiful landscape as a voiceover shares the details of the Race 1. “The first multi-day race is a physical nightmare crafted to separate the contenders from the pretenders,” booms the narrator.

The contestants must embark on a 40 mile gauntlet with 5 unique zones that will “test decision making, team work, and stamina.” After traversing a mucky bog, the racers will have to paddle 8 miles in a canoe and then climb 6,000ft to a frozen mountain pass before descending a treacherous chasm and traversing stage 3 river rapids to get to the finish line. Teams will have only 20 hours to complete Race 1. As the racers review their maps and course guidelines, they are shocked to learn that they will not be provided with food. They will have to earn nourishment through time-consuming detours to food caches or forage for substance in the wilderness around them. The voiceover lays out the stakes: “Teams will have to decide: do they risk starvation or elimination?”

River guides Oliver and Corry seem undaunted by the task at hand. “I think this plays into some of our strengths, which is awesome,” says Oliver. Endurance athletes Ashley and Randi are pleased too that they’ll be able to use the river bed as a guide for the hike to the top of the mountain. “That’s good for us ultra runners,” says Ashley. “We all here and competing for the same thing and that’s half a million dollars,” says adventure athlete Creighton to the camera. “That would change my life.”

It’s revealed that the teams must reach a crate at the finish of each leg to pick up medallions that must be earned to keep racing. The top placing teams will also receive “game-changing” advantages in forms of mysterious “reward items” that will help them out as they continue. The last team to arrive to the finish crate at each leg of the race will be eliminated. With the daily race clock set for 12 hours, the 9 teams take off in the bog to start the greatest adventure of their lives.

Be sure to tune in to the season premiere of Race to Survive: New Zealand this Monday night at 11PM ET/PT on USA Network to find out what happens next!