Innovation during lock down

Being recognised as a finalist in the Event of the Year category at the New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards is testament to the culture and vibe of the Kathmandu Coast to Coast, according to Race Director Glen Currie. With 1,035 entrants in 2019, New Zealand’s longest running Multisport event sold out for the first time in more than a decade, which was more than double the number of entries in 2015 when Queenstown-based owners Trojan Holdings purchased the event. And in less than a week, the reinvigorated event had again sold out for the following year. ‘Completing the Kathmandu Coast to Coast is a massive achievement,’ said Race Director Glen Currie. ‘But that’s only half the story,’ he went on to say. ‘The months leading up to the event weekend, training in your local area, finding new places to train, the people you meet and the community that has been created around the Kathmandu Coast to Coast is something that we feel gives the event such a unique flavour and plays a big part in why Kiwis have fallen in love with the event again.’ Under new ownership in 2015 the Kathmandu Coast to Coast focused on making the event accessible for anyone who was prepared to put in the work. ‘For a long time, the event was primarily about who could get from one side of the South Island to the other the fastest. But through opening up categories such as the tandem, the three-person team, the Sport Canterbury Schools competition and also a stand alone Mountain Run, competitors with a much wider range of abilities are able to find ways to take part in the event, and once they get to experience the event first hand, they invariably want to do more or find other new ways to be involved in the event.’ ‘We’re really happy that we’ve been able to expand those categories, whilst still maintaining the event in its original format too. The competition in both the men’s and women’s longest days has been immense over the past few years, with both local and international competitors taking out the event.’ Currie made special mention of the raft of commercial partners that also add their special vibe to the event, ‘we’re really blessed to have a great bunch of like-minded supporters that share our passion for the outdoors. To run an event like the Kathmandu Coast to Coast takes a lot of moving parts and without the likes of Kathmandu and all the others, we simply wouldn’t be able to achieve what we do.’ In 2019, the Kathmandu Coast to Coast won the Event of the Year Award at the Sport Canterbury Awards.

The Kathmandu Coast to Coast has experienced unprecedented demand for entries, with the 2021 event sold out just over a week after entries opened. The waitlist is also now full for all categories of the 39th edition of New Zealand’s most iconic multisport event. “It’s really humbling to have such great demand for entries, we work very hard to create an exceptional and unique experience for our competitors, support crews, and volunteers. Selling the event out in less than ten days is testament to the fact that we must be achieving our goal.” said Race Director Glen Currie. “Our team is actually still buzzing from a really great event experience this year and to have such great interest in the next race already has just amplified those feelings,” Currie added. Queenstown based Trojan Holding purchased the event in 2014 when entries were below 500 participants. However, a number of subtle changes such as additional categories, increased use of technology to broadcast the event, and a broadening of the target market saw the 2020 event sold out in April 2019 and a record one thousand and thirty-five athletes competing over February 7th and 8th 2020. Mike Davies Director Trojan Holdings said “we’re extremely pleased of where the event is sitting now with double the entries, we had five years ago. It’s great to see people are re-connecting with it again. We’ve made some positive changes and now have a proven, solid event that we’re really proud of. A big thanks has to go to past race director Richard Usher and current race director Glen Currie for their efforts in making it such a success.” The efforts of the event’s sponsor’s and media, including naming rights partner Kathmandu, have also helped reinvigorate the event as entries increase from both sides of the Tasman. “We have some really great partners that share in our common goals to see New Zealanders and an increasing number of internationals enjoying the outdoors whilst also setting ambitious goals and achieving great outcomes,” Currie added. “At Kathmandu we believe in making the outdoors accessible to everybody. We are proud to support the iconic Coast to Coast – to grow participation numbers and create a more diverse and inclusive starting line. The event has seen this with the rise of female participation and team entries growing every year to record numbers,” says Kathmandu Brand Manager Olivia Barclay. Currie says that while there’s plenty of demand to potentially increase the total number of entries it’s very much a balancing act between ensuring all athletes have a great authentic experience, their safety is maintained, and minimising any environmental impacts. “We have a really good relationship with DoC who provide us with a concession to run across Goat Pass and will continue to work with them to best manage the numbers in the event.” “It’s an amazing achievement to run, ride and kayak 243 kilometres from one side of the South Island to the other and we really want to ensure we’re around to continue to provide that opportunity for the next 39 years and beyond too.” Entries remain available for the Mountain Run, which will open separately on September 1st . More details around this process will be communicated closer to the time. However, if 2020 is anything to go by the demand will remain high, with 2020 Mountain Run entries selling out in less than 10 minutes.

Course changes, course records, and a new name on the women’s Longest Day trophy are all highlights from the 38th Kathmandu Coast to Coast which also saw a record number of 1,035 athletes competing in New Zealand’s longest-running Multisport event. High rainfall in the headwaters of the Otira and Deception rivers forced organizers into a new ‘Plan B’ run course last Friday, meaning 649 athletes headed up over the Otira Viaduct for the first time in ten years. However, they were still able to experience plenty of off-road running after Race Director Glen Currie and former Race Director Richard Ussher re-invented the original ‘Plan B’ course over the last six years, which would have seen the athletes stick to Highway 73 for the entire 32 kilometres. “If we’d made the decision any later, we wouldn’t have been able to get the off-road elements organised in time for Friday, so I’m really pleased we made that call,” said Currie. Feedback received suggest the course was challenging and it was certainly better than running the entire course on the road, which was the outcome ten years ago, the last time the ‘Plan B’ course was activated due to bad weather. Wellington’s Daniel Jones was the 1st to etch his name next to the new run course record in a time of 2:14:51. “This B course was a pretty good alternative. It’s got a massive mix of terrain, running up the Otira for the first time and running over the viaduct was a bit of a once in a lifetime opportunity, who knows if I’ll ever do that again. And some of the trails coming off Arthurs Pass are absolutely stunning. I come over this way a few times a year but have always focused on the Deception Valley and the Mingha.” Rain at the main divide saw some of that water spill into the headwaters of the Waimakariri river which in turn provided perfect conditions for two new kayak records. Jones’s teammate and local kayak instructor Kate Cambie was pretty delighted to add her name to the history books, paddling the 67 kilometre stretch of the Waimakariri river in 4:03:44 to set a new women’s paddling record. “I’ve been paddling for a long time now and I’ve always seen myself in the shadows behind the girls that I have looked up to like Sophie Hart and Olivia Spencer-Bower and they have always been my paddle idols, so it’s great to have my name alongside theirs as well.” “I wanted to go under 4 hours on my watch time and I was really happy that I was able to stick with a couple of boys who caught up to me at Woodstock and I dug really, really deep to stay with them and I managed to come into the bridge with them.” Cambie’s new record sits alongside a new men’s kayak record, of 3:41:14 set by Daniel Busch on Saturday. Busch’s paddle record, along with solid efforts from Jeremy McKenzie and Patrick Higgins, ensured Marlborough’s Forrest Wines claimed the three-person team title ahead of Topsport Kayaking #2 which included last year’s second and third-placed getters in the Men’s Longest Day Sam Manson and Alex Hunt. Jones, Cambie and cyclist Sam Horgan won the three-person team mixed category in 10 hours, nine minutes and forty seconds ahead of Further Faster and Envirowaste, who also claimed the Corporate title, while Quad Fury, made up of Sarah Helmore, Penelope Watson and Juliann Simeonid, snuck across the finish line a shade under the 13-hour mark to claim the women’s three-person team title ahead of ‘Are we there yet’ and ‘Girls are on’. Christchurch’s Bevan Jones got the surprise of his life on Sunday morning following his win in the men’s two-day individual race; collecting an entry into next year’s men’s longest day race as part of his prize. “I opened the old envelope as a prize winner and I saw a free entry into the individual next year so that’s upped the game, I wasn’t expecting it. It’s non-refundable or not redeemable for cash so I might have to get into it, I wasn’t anticipating that, but I’ll take a little time and rest up a bit before I start to think about it.” “It’s an amazing effort, a lot of time and effort went in (to get the win), it was pretty tough missing last year’s race because I got injured just before the event, so another year of training and I managed to get across the line.” Jones added. Team CP’s Richard Greer bagged the silver medal behind Jones but earned the men’s two-day individual veteran title in 11:32:59 with Jason Dobson getting home in third. Just five minutes separated the three podium getters in the Women’s Two-Day individual event with Courtney Prestage crossing in 12:57:38 Trish Hastie in 13:01:44 and Hannah Lund in 13:02:16 Wakatipu High School were the inaugural winners of the Sport Canterbury Secondary Schools trophy, winning the school’s mixed category reaching the finish line in New Brighton in 12:23:49. Porirua’s Aotea College took home the girls title in 16:17:40 while Christchurch Boys High was the first overall school team home in 12:17:47. Josh Harris and David Slater headed off Richie McCaw and Rob Nichol by eleven minutes to win the men’s tandem title, while Nicole Radburns and Alice Mullins swept the women’s tandem in 14:22:48, Athletes powered by MITOQ got across the line in the mixed tandem ahead of Regretti Spaghetti and Windy City Multisport.

Date: 8-2-2020 The Kathmandu Coast to Coast has a new elite women’s champion after Tauranga’s Corrinne O’Donnell claimed the 38th Longest Day title, fighting off a chasing pack to win the 243-kilometre stage race in twelve hours 53 minutes and 39 seconds. It was O’Donnell’s fourth crack at the event, beating event first timer Ali Wilson by just 3 minutes 05 and Christchurch’s Fiona Dowling who crossed the finish line just a minute over 13 hours to earn a third-place finish for the third time. “I know Alison is an awesome cyclist, so I was pretty worried on the bike.” O’Donnell was a little unsure of her chances of holding onto her lead, but suggested the cold conditions played into her hands. “I was feeling pretty average on the run, it might have been my slowest run time I’ve done over the course, so after the run I was just like let’s see how the day goes.” “It was pretty rough, and I guess I like those sorts of conditions, so I was like, oh, this is my year, I’m just going to go for it.” The difference between the two coming down to a little more experience in the kayak for O’Donnell than Wilson, whose background has been in triathlon and who only started kayaking a year ago. “I managed to stay in the boat, but there was a few closer calls than I would have liked.” “I went for a swim, haha, that bloody wind was strong,” said Wilson referring to falling out of her kayak. “That wind just blew down that gorge and pushed me on to a rock and I went for a spill and it was bloody freezing.” Wilson also went for a swim during the first major river crossing in the 32 kilometre run section, losing her footing and being swept around 5 meters downstream before regaining control. “Yeah, I went for a good old swim, but fair play to the organisers not letting the 2 day competitors go down there (yesterday) because it was very touch and go.” Wilson summed up her first Kathmandu Coast to Coast; “It was brutal, there’s just no let up, but I’ll be back.” “It’s getting a bit tough to handle actually,” Dowling said whilst still catching her breath at the finish line as she was quizzed about her 3rd place finish. “I was pretty disappointed with my mountain run today, I just didn’t run very well, I feel like my form was better than I showed today, leading into it my course showed that I should have still run as good as last year but I think just the high rivers and the slow run just doesn’t suit me too well. But that’s just an excuse, I didn’t run too well,” Dowling admitted. Four-time Longest Day champion Elina Ussher finished in fourth in what was her 15th consecutive Kathmandu Coast to Coast. While Wanaka’s Emily Wilson came home in 5th in a time of 13 hours 29 minutes and 24 seconds. Dunedin’s Alisa Rollinson finished in 6th. Defending champion Simone Maier did not finish due to an issue with her kayak.

Date: 8-2-2020 Whakatane’s Sam Clark returned to the Kathmandu Coast to Coast to win his fourth elite men’s Longest Day titles, a title he described as his best yet. Clark, who sat out last year’s race held off defending champion Dougal Allan by 7 minutes forty-two seconds to finish in 10 hours five minutes 01. “I left absolutely everything out there. I’ve never worked that hard in my life for a victory,” a spent Clark said post victory. “Out of all my victories, yes that’s got to be the best. Dougal and I are so evenly matched, we race together, he’s one of my best mates, it’s just a shame we have to go out there and battle each other like we did today but that’s the way it was always going to be. Him or me going home empty-handed, but this was an opportunity for both of us to lift our game and we did.” “I know how much Dougal wanted it, and to be honest my biggest fear today was that he wanted it more than me. That when it came to crunch time I wouldn’t be able to do what I needed to do to get it across the line but I managed it!” Ryan Kiesanowski crossed the tape first at the end of stage one to set a new record of one hour 35 point 28 seconds, before Clark built his lead through the grueling 32-kilometre mountain run, even swimming during the bitterly cold first river crossing of the Otira River. “As soon as I got swept off my feet I was going please, please let there not be any big rocks there, because they could have taken me out just like that.” “To be honest I was gutted with the conditions, they couldn’t have been worse for me” said Allan as he sat recovering from the race. “I would have liked a hot day, I would have liked an easterly on the last ride, I would have liked a low, long paddle on the river but these are all excuses to be fair, but I knew I was going to struggle in the cold and I wore as much as I could but I’m probably better suited to the hot weather.” “He deserved to win the race, I certainly wasn’t on my A-game, but the tank is empty, and I think it’s a pretty fair reflection of where we are both at.” Christchurch’s Rhys John completed a long-held dream of beating his father Steve’s best time of 12 hours 01, crossing the finish line in 11:17:56 to earn the final spot on the podium while Maketu Dairy farmer Bobbie Dean slipped into fourth in 11:29:29. Former Longest Day winner George Christensen earned a well-deserved veterans division victory along with the 49-year-old earning 10th overall. “I didn’t have any ambitions I just went as hard as I could, I haven’t been on the course since about 2010, so pretty delighted. I knew I couldn’t keep up on the bike, so I just took my time there.”

7-2-2020 The competitive spirit is alive and well in the men’s two-day individual category at the Kathmandu Coast to Coast with just two seconds separating first and second at the end of day one. Christchurch’s Bevan Jones who lead for most of the Mountain Run stage was pipped at the Klondyke corner finish line by Marcus Woutersen , a dairy farmer from Cambridge. “I had no idea he was on my tail,” said Jones, “so he must have had a strong 5k or so, I could kind of hear someone behind me for about the last 100 meters and then he literally passed me right on the finish line.” Jones added. “I’m reasonably strong paddler so hopefully I can make us some more time on the river (tomorrow) and get in a group on the bike into Christchurch to set myself up for a podium finish”, Jones said at the finish.” Woutersen finished in 4 hours 39 minutes and 41 seconds, with Matthew Clough holding third spot in 04:47:13. In the women’s two-day individual event Hannah Lund holds a three-minute advantage over Trish Hastie with the pair coming home in 5 hours 18 minutes 51 and 05:22:11 respectively. Samatha Owels currently sits in third as well as leading the veteran women in 5:26:23. Te Anau’s Devon Grant’s efforts to get to the start line paid off, wining the women’s Mountain Run stage in 3 hours 11 minutes 25. ‘We nearly didn’t make it because of the flooding (in Southland) but we got through in a convoy last night, so this is a good reward.” Like the two-day racers, the Mountain run competitors also raced across the Plan B course due to the river levels in the Deception and Otira Rivers being too high to make a safe crossing for all competitors. “I thought it was actually quite fun really. It was a bit steep coming up the viaduct, if anyone could run up there it would have been impressive because I had to walk but it was really nice because it was undulating and pretty rocky, there wasn’t anywhere near as much on the road as people were saying.” Former All Black Cap Richie McCaw and teammate Rob Nicholl, who suffered through severe cramp sit in third in the men’s Tandem competition, 28 minutes behind Josh Harris and Dave Slater who lead the category in 05:06:40. Ben Williams snuck in just under the 2-hour 30 minute mark to win the men’s Mountain Run, finishing 10 minutes ahead of second placed Rob Lord with a time of 2 hours 40 point 42. Top Sport lead the three-person mixed team category after Daniel Jones cantered across the Plan B Mountain Course, which saw the competitors run alongside Highway 73 to Otira, over the Otira viaduct before ducking into the Bealey River. Jones set the fastest time of all competitors across the day, storming home in 2:14:51 Forest Wines lead the men’s three-person team, while the Girls Are On lead the women. Greymouth High School lead the 3-person school category over Wakatipu High School, who are five minutes behind, but lead the mixed team section who are competing for the inaugural Sport Canterbury Trophy.

01-02-2020 The pre-race registration and festivities for the Kathmandu Coast to Coast is shifting to one of the West Coast’s major hubs, Greymouth, in time for the 2020 event. When the Grey District Mayor approached Kathmandu Coast to Coast about their new Westland Events Centre hosting the registration process, the organising team were excited about the opportunities. Race Director Glen Currie says although the Kumara Racecourse has provided a fantastic venue for the registration process, the change to the Westland Events Centre allows for a number of exciting additions to this process and the opportunity to give competitors and support crews the best possible experience. “The Kumara Racecourse has been a fantastic base for us for a long time and we will continue to offer camping there, via the Kumara Racecourse committee, the Kumara Community have also indicated that they will still be serving up their great meals as they have done in the past for the campers. However, the increased demand for space and the ability to future proof the pre-race registration by having the ability to go indoors meant that the Westland Events Centre was the perfect alternative.” “Greymouth has also really embraced the opportunity to have over one thousand competitors and all their support crews come into their beautiful city and they are looking forward to being the city that hosts the registration process of the event in the future,” Currie added. (Former) Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn echoed those sentiments and praised the race organisers. “The professional approach by the race organisers has raised the bar around quality facilities in this 243-kilometre world famous event and for us to be able to offer the Westland Recreation Centre to help support that is extremely pleasing. Also, given its central location in Greymouth, we’re looking forward to the events many competitors, back up crews, and supporters getting a chance to take in the amazing things our city and region has to offer.” “We hope they’ll enjoy our hospitality, quality accommodation, and transport options and come back to explore more of Greymouth and the West Coast,” Kokshoorn added. The official start of the Kathmandu Coast to Coast two day and longest day events will still start from Kumara Beach. Details of the registration process will be released to competitors with the October Handbook.

Date: 31-1-2020 While much of the pre-race talk has been about the looming battle between defending champion Dougal Allan and returning three-time champion Sam Clark, the wise money would be to keep a firm eye on rising star Hamish Elliott. Rumour has it that the 25-year-old has been floating over Goat Pass recently and has also been likened to three-time champion Braden Currie on his feet. “Yeah, I’ve had a few people make those comparisons,” said Elliott. Since completing the Kathmandu Coast to Coast Longest Day in 12 hours 14 minutes two years ago, the Southlander has ditched all other sports as well as a full time job working on a farm, instead shifting to Christchurch to concentrate on multisport. “I’d only just finished a rugby season last time, so I’ve stopped that and have also been racing in China a bit over the past year or so, so I’ve built up a better endurance base that will hopefully help me even more.” Elliott is ranked fourth, behind Christchurch’s Ryan Kiesanowski who finished 5th in 2019. Kiesanowski lines up for what he thinks will be either his 12th or 13th Kathmandu Coast to Coast. “I can’t wait to get out there and race, it’s been a great summer. I think the Mountain Run is looking as fast as I can remember seeing it so we could be in for a real battle. It’s a great field and I hope myself and the others can keep Dougal and Sam honest.” With a strong first bike and mountain run last year Bay of Plenty dairy farmer Bobby Dean also returns with the intention of troubling the leaders. “I’ve had a pretty good build-up with no issues to speak of. I’m feeling healthy and fit. I had some issues last year but still managed to come off the Mountain with the leaders so hopefully I can go even better this year.” Dean emerged from the Mountain run in third position last year but slid back to seventh after he was overtaken in the kayak. “I’ve been working on my kayak a fair bit, so fingers crossed it all comes together on the day.” Whakatane’s Oliver Thompson steps up into the elite men’s competition having won the two-day individual title in 2018, while Elliott’s flatmate Daniel Barry, who is an extremely strong cyclist, has been seeded in 9th spot, one ahead of Kurow dairy farmer Paul Gow who rounds out the top ten seeds. “This is a really exciting bunch of athletes and it was extremely hard to complete the seeding for the race,” said Race Director and former podium getter Glen Currie. “All the wise money leading up to the race is on Dougal and Sam, however this allows the other men to waltz in with little pressure. I am excited to see young athlete Hamish Elliot attack the run and although he is a dark horse to the general public, I am sure the other elites will be aware of his ability. Bobby Dean and Ryan Kiesanowski are quintessential Coast to Coast athletes, both juggling full-time jobs and full training loads. Bobby completed the event with an injury from the run last year which would have most athletes probably looking for a heli vac so he definitely has the ticker to put on a great display.” “It’s also great to see these young guys like Oliver, and Rhys continue their development at this level and I’m really excited to see what they can produce, no matter what I think that arguably the world’s most boring stretch of road could potentially become very exciting on Saturday the 8th of February.” Top ten men seeding for 2020 1 Dougal Allan Wanaka 2 Sam Clark Tauranga 3 Ryan Kiesanowski Christchurch 4 Hamish Elliott Gore 5 Rhys John Christchurch 6 Bobby Dean Maketu 7 Oliver Thompson Whakatane 8 Scott McDonald Tauranga 9 Daniel Barry Nelson 10 Paul Gow Kurow

Date: 23-1-2020 Adventurers and long-term friends Richie McCaw and Rob Nichol will return to the start line of the Kathmandu Coast to Coast in two weeks’ time with a feeling of unfinished business. Competing in the two-day tandem competition, McCaw fell ill the night before the start of the 2019 event and battled through on limited energy, fuelling himself on baby food and jellybeans because that’s all that would stay down. “Pretty much as soon as we crossed the finish line, I knew we could do better, that I’d want to come back and have another go at it,” said McCaw. “If I was on my own, I would have really struggled, I don’t know what the outcome might have been, but as part of a team (with Rob) you just don’t want to let your team mate down, so I just put my head down and kept going last year.” Teammate Rob Nichol, who is head of the Rugby Players Association, and who was battling some pretty bad cramps on day one in 2019, spoke of McCaw’s mental toughness at the time and is pleased to be back to see what the two can achieve. “It was quite a mentally challenging day for both of us to be honest, but I think he was probably worse than he even thought he was. The tricky thing was before we really knew it, it felt too far to turn back, so we just kept going.” “I guess that’s one of the reasons we both like these sorts of challenges,” Nichol added. “You can’t replicate or manufacture the sort of situations events like the Coast to Coast throw at you, and it’s pretty cool to cross the finish line with a sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that you either did really well, or feel like you’d like to go back and do something better next time. And that next time is in a couple of weeks.” The duo has raced together a number of times since the two-time World Cup winning All Black captain retired from rugby, including the non-stop adventure race GodZone on two occasions. “One thing you learn during these types of events is, inevitably you’ll have some bad patches, but if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other, those patches fade and you end up achieving something really cool and having some great times with your mates,” said McCaw. Nichol also enjoys the challenge as well as the culture and vibe the Kathmandu Coast to Coast has. “Everyone’s really fun to be around, they’re all going through similar highs and lows but they’re all prepared to get out there and give it a crack and I think getting ready and with mates is just as much a part of the experience.” This year preparations have also been a juggle for McCaw with wife Gemma, who completed the Kathmandu Coast to Coast Mountain Run in 2017, returning to international hockey with the Black Sticks, meaning McCaw has been juggling childcare, training and work commitments. “I’m pretty lucky that Gemma understands the need and want to go training. She’s involved in a team sport, so I’ve been working around her but, like most people, it’s all been about planning and fitting sessions around each other.” When asked if McCaw would ever consider taking on the world renowned “Longest Day” he was quick to reply, “I wouldn’t rule it out one day, but one of the cool things about these types of events is the training with a mate, checking in to see how things are going and pushing each other. Whereas the Longest Day is a very individual thing, which is not what really motivates me at this stage.” .