Coast 2 Coast - New Zealand

Many of today?s adventure athletes will recall watching the great John Jacoby run to victory in New Zealand?s Coast to Coast race in 1988 on Channel 9?s Wide World of Sports. The race coverage left my imagination running wild. What an adventure! To race across a WHOLE country with the prospect of winning a brand new car if you broke 12 hours in a feat of superhuman strength and endurance. At the age of 14, the event appealed in an almost primal way, what 14 year old boy doesn?t feel the need to head into the wilds and prove themself? And did I mention you could win a car? Helicopters, white water kayaking, rugged mountains - the event oozed testosterone and before the end of the show I had committed to one day becoming an adventure racer. Preparation for Coast to Coast 2009 was spent training predominantly with Luke Haines who helped me break down the event in a way that made me believe it was mine to achieve. Luke has now completed 3 Coast to Coast races in a row, and given the time he has spent pulling this race apart, he must be the most qualified current Australian adventure racer competing in this epic event. Having Luke as a training partner was a gift, there is no way to account for the advantages it gave me as a first timer in the land of Velcro gloves and rubber gumboots. My wife Iris and daughters Emily and Jade were enlisted as support crew which allowed a few extra kg?s for baggage allowance on the flight to Christchurch about 9 days before the race.



Once landed we picked up the hire car, fitted the boat and bike racks, and headed straight to Topsport to pick up the kayak I had arranged. Luke had warned me about the NZ?ers casual approach to being organised, and I was nervous about the fact that Topsport had not responded to my email to confirm the boat hire. Needn?t have worried though, when I arrived they knew exactly who I was. In fact, the main holes had just been repaired (holes!?) and the resin would be dry and ready to go in a day or two! I tried to conceal my shock when I first saw the boat I was to paddle; it was my first introduction to a typical NZ racing boat, and mine was a good example of the damage paddling rocky rivers can do to a lightweight racing hull. With assurances from the boat?s owner that it was (?was??) a fantastic boat, I tied it (ever so gently) to the roof and headed for our accommodation to cry? Despite the frequent cracking noises the kayak made with even the gentlest contact, it was to prove a comfortable and stable craft on the water. The week before the race we managed 3 paddles on the course and only had to take it back to have the holes repaired once? In the week before the race we trained on about 30km?s of the 70km paddle, 7km?s of the 33km run, and 50km?s of the 140km we were to ride. Whilst it was only a fleeting glimpse, Luke provided heaps of detail and I felt we had done all we could given the time available. An adventure racer arriving at Kumara must experience a similar euphoria to an Elvis fan arriving at Graceland.



I have never seen as much bike and kayak porn as at the registration area at the Kumara race course. Race briefing at the town hall followed registration and will be remembered as the day my 4 & 6 year olds learnt to swear, really swear? Event organiser Robin ?Juddy? Judkins was in fine form as expected. Race day dawned and my mind and body were primed, gone were any feelings of self doubt, gone were the niggles that had haunted me in past months, all that remained was an awesome feeling that I was in complete control and prepared for what lay ahead. I could say I was terrified by the pace of the first run, because of course I was, but that was fine, Luke had warned me it was stupidfast. It was exactly what it was supposed to be and I was in the middle of the first bunch and running without injury concerns. Heart rates hit their maximum in the course of what we do, but there?s no reason to be concerned if it happens before sunrise, just tell yourself it?s not real if you?re supposed to be in bed? The first transition was the melee that was expected, but without a substantial break away this year the chaos soon subsided to be replaced by frustration as the rather large leading bunch took turns trying to avoid the head wind. The bunch needed a little dose of ?harden up? but there was no one willing to administer it so we bumbled our way along without a lasting breakaway. At one point I unwittingly found myself at the head of a breakaway group of 3 and cursed the people behind for not keeping up. If no one else wanted to sit out there, why should I? Even after sitting up it took the lethargic riders a long time before they caught us. Luke leaped from the front with a few km?s to go and I crossed the gap hoping for a smooth passage through the expected wall of people at transition. Luke and I came in together in 2nd and 3rd place, we knew that wouldn?t last but who cares, it was a great moment!



Numb fingers at transition meant I did a bad job of tying my shoe laces which cost me a further 4 stops throughout the run to re-tie them. The transition didn?t quite go to plan, but I was out in good enough time to watch the whippets cruise past me effortlessly before the first river crossing. Cripes those boys can run! Resisting the urge to pose questions of inadequacy I continued down the trail counting the runners as they motored past, damn their upright posture and efficient technique! I recognised some of the faces that had been promoted as favourites and wondered about their destiny for the day as they surged across the first river beyond the Deception River foot bridge. With my first river crossing I endured my first cramp. Concentrating on lessons learnt during the Bull of Africa mid last year about the human body?s incredible powers to adapt, I ran on slightly slower in the hope that the cramps would be forgotten. About 15-20 people passed me before the main rocky section, for me this was awesome news, once on the rocks I could keep up with most people if I didn?t get lost. If I were to maintain that kind of deficit for the day and come in inside the top 20 I would be stoked. Enter Neil Gillespie. Neil is a resident of Hokitika where we had stayed the night before and as I followed him through his training grounds he mentioned that he ?knew this track like the back of his hand?, a truer word was never spoken. Neil was running at a solid pace so I politely declined his offer to pass and go on ahead, a-der! If Luke was the foundation of my Coast to Coast education, Neil Gillespie was the free guide that came with the entry for a very lucky few. The trail climbed but the altitude gain wasn?t anything to difficult, hardly noticeable when every bit of concentration is centred on maintaining your footing! All in all it was a most enjoyable run up the river bed, culminating in an amazing view from Goat Pass across an incredible mountain range with only the odd cloud framing the magnificent peaks. Despite knowing I was in the best running knick I?d been in for a long time, I also knew I didn?t have the miles in my legs to finish the run without a fight. Running downhill from Goat Pass raped my legs of their remaining strength, but despite that I felt elation when I saw Klondyke Corner. The hardest part of the race was over. I knew I could paddle and I knew I could ride, the only thing that stood in my way was gear failure and cramps. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be the one doing the overtaking from now on unless something broke. I flicked the angry switch and set about seeing how many I could chase down, picking up a few on the short ride linking the run to the paddle. I ate my fill on the bike and snarled at the camera as I rode through towards Mount White Bridge where Stewart Cowie accompanied me on the jog down to the river. The cramps had been there all along, but it wasn?t until I was hoisted into the kayak that they bit with aggression. The panic button was hit half way into the boat and I was yanked out quickly to stretch out. A marshal?s suggestion that I sit down in the water to help with the cramps reminded me that I wasn?t there to sit around (sit down and rest? Good on ya!), so I wedged back into the kayak and pushed off. I found my first rival around the next bend and hoped there would be many more, unfortunately it wasn?t to be, in fact it was about 3 hours before I glimpsed another competitor. By then I had run out of water so was happily sipping from the river as I overtook Wayne Oxenham, we exchanged the normal pleasantries, before finding out that he had had diarrhoea in his boat 4 times, and had stopped to wash it in the river!!! No more drinking from the river? One last competitor just before Gorge Bridge meant I had picked up 3 for the paddle and paddled my way into 14th spot, this was incredibly exciting given I believed the last ride was another of my strengths! I was pulled from my boat and my legs worked which was great news, that is, until I tried to run. Walking gave me no pain at all, but running was impossible, I had several tries but all to no avail. It took an eternity to get to the bike, and to make matters worse, the bloke I had just passed on the river jogged past me as I struggled up the hill. I climbed on and started to look for a rhythm that wouldn?t induce cramps. The first hour of the bike was a dream come true, averaging 39kph into a light head wind despite one stop to pick up a dropped water bottle. At about the 45 minute mark I decided it was time to eat again, but any attempts to swallow anything but liquid resulted in gagging. I hoped that the food I had eaten up to now would be enough to get me there, but kicked myself for not including a TORQ Forrest Fruits gel in my Bento box.

 

Reeling in another couple I rode up into 12th place with the 4th fastest last ride split for the day finishing as the highest placed first timer, and the highest placed non NZ resident. I?m almost glad I didn?t take a gel for that last ride; it gives me the opportunity to ask ?what if?, which is all the motivation I?ll need to try again ? Since watching Coast to Coast on Nine?s Wide World of Sports as a teenager, I have sub-consciously worked towards achieving the goal that I set all those years ago. It?s been done the Chinese way, mastering disciplines one at a time to form the building blokes which slid neatly into place on Multisport?s greatest stage. I have secretly had an almost Zen-like belief in the knowledge that I would get there someday, and the feeling of empowerment from fulfilling this life goal and rewarding the belief in myself has left me deeply satisfied. I am grateful for every cold dark morning, every obstacle, injury, moment of self doubt, and every alarm shocked removal from contented slumber which made me ask ?the question? and gave me the opportunity to answer with determination and defiance.

Of course thanks must go to TORQ for inventing the greatest gels in the world, and to Iris, Em, Jade, Luke, Kez, Stewart, Del, Matt, Tony & Fi for being part of the experience in your own ways. A special thanks to Stew, knowing you were living vicariously through me on the day helped engage the angry switch, living up to your faith in me made my achievements all the more special and I appreciated the enthusiasm. Thanks again to Luke, so lucky to have gone along with you. Above all of course the biggest thanks go to my wife Iris who cast aside the pre race jitters and was simply awesome. I was so grateful on the day, and none of this could?ve happened without the sacrifices Iris and the kids make with me every day, I am seriously the luckiest bloke I know.

Notes - The Speight?s Coast to Coast covers about 244km?s from Kumara beach on New Zealand?s East coast to Sumner (Christchurch) on the West coast, including the following legs ? 3km run, 55km cycle, 33km mountain run, 15km cycle, 1km run, 67km paddle, 70km cycle.