IT Consultancy and Adventure Racing

http://www.coasttocoast.co.nz/

'Coast' as it's universally known among multisporters is the biggie. Possibly the original multisport race (depending on who you listen to), the Speight's Coast to Coast is an annual race that traverses the South island of New Zealand from Kumara on the west coast to Christchurch on the east.

I moved to NZ in January 2002, and was in the South island with Kevin when Coast was running, and we both liked the look of it and put it on our respective 'to do' lists. In 2004 I did half of it, and have been trying to get back to do the whole thing since - stymied in turn by a trip to the UK, a stupid foot injury, a body knackered by too much stress, and supporting Rach' fantastic 2nd place last year. A disastrous XPD threatened to disrupt 2009 as well, but 6 weeks of intensely doing what my wonderful physio told me to ( and having needles stuck in me, and probably most importantly, _not_ doing what she told me not to do ) had me jogging and riding just after Christmas.

This only left me 5 weeks of specific build up, rather than the 13 weeks I was hoping for, but with a prescribed training plan I decided to put my entry in, and see how much I could get out of the experience.

One thing that I got out of the experience before I even left Wellington was a lesson in preparedness, as I went to store the accommodation details in my diary and discovered that I'd booked our beds for the week _before_ the race, DOH! A call to the motel resulted in a change of booking to the correct date, though they only had a smaller room with 3 beds left. Thankfully one of my support crew had a birthday to attend, so this was now going to be big enough, and was gratefully accepted!

After that little panic, everything was trucking along nicely until the day before departure when Rach suddenly realised that her car -our nominated coast transport- was warrant-less. No problem, a trip to VTNZ would sort that ... Unless you get the tester all concerned about a bit of moisture in a light cluster, and a teeny bit of fraying to a seat belt ... Bugger!

Once we got the FART loaded up, the trip down South was pretty uneventful, and we arrived with plenty of time to hang out with other competitors, grab as many freebies as we could, and head down to check out the start line. There we bumped into Joe sherriff (winner of the inaugural race, and back again as an individual), and a couple of Australian adventure racing mates - Luke and Grant.

Rachel had promised the year before to return the crewing favour, and her wonderful mother Anne joined us for her annual Coast trip, getting picked up from the airport by Rach after she watched the 2 day start and went for a MTB ride and I slept! Oh yes, and went for a jog along the beach to stay fresh and break in my new, very pink inov8 285 shoes.

The rest of the day was spent going through transition notes with my crew, making sure all the gear was just right, and watching with some mirth the very serious transition practise that some very large team was carrying out on the lawn in front of us.

A hearty meal, a packed up FART, and we all retired early, with an Oh 4 hundred start planned (and what does the Oh stand for?) and beautifully executed.

After a reasonable night's sleep I rolled out of bed into my pre-prepared race gear, jumped in the van with a cup of tea and my breakfast, which disappeared during the trip to Kumara, and then there I was racking my bike at the start of the longest day!

Rach and Anne wished me luck and headed West while I faffed around sorting out a good, easy to find location for the bike, chatted to racers and support crew as they filtered past, and found a Wellingtonian to walk down to the start line with.

Rather oddly, about half way down to the start line my jacket suddenly felt really tight around my neck, and though I loosened it and my shirt off, this wasn't enough and my breakfast decided to exit stage left! If I'd been feeling nervous or hyper then I could have understood this reaction, so I started feeling a bit more apprehensive to justify it ;-)

A leisurely walk and toilet break and suddenly I was all alone on an empty road with about 10 minutes to the start, so I decided a little warm up jog was in order ... a point agreed by the marshals suggesting I may be last ;-)

Ditching my jacket and chewing on a piece of Go Fast gum to complete my warm up routine, and then it was just that last wait as the countdown approaches.

A couple of people were wearing lights on their helmets, which I thought was a little unnecessary, as the pre dawn glow was just starting to appear, and my only vision issue was just after the start when a camera flash went off right in my face.

I had been warned that the pace on this first run was generally frantic, and not really befitting of a 11+ hour race, so I was quite pleased to find myself running comfortably in the lead bunch with about 15 in front of me. One guy was slowly pulling off the front, but he wasn't wearing his helmet, and I guessed was putting major effort into winning this stage, unlike the much more impressive effort being put in by the guy alongside me doing the 3K in cycling shoes!

Running along a dark road in a large bunch of cycle helmet wearing athletes towards a several hundred metre long line of flashing red and white lights, while people cheer you on, and others drive alongside photographing and filming the whole thing was a very surreal experience!

Thankfully we soon arrived at the line of flashing lights, and I had to re-engage my brain to find my own particular lights, and the bike they were attached to. Knowing that my bike was almost last, and quite close to Wayne Oxenham and Gordon Walker's, I just kept running until they started looking, and ta-da, there it was ... trainers off, bike off the stand and I was in the bunch, making sure I had a tow before pausing to slip into and velcro on my bike shoes.

Stage 1 successful - I'd made it into the first bunch, now for an easy couple of hours.

Almost immediately, someone went off the front, and the bunch did nothing about it. Whether the consensus was that with Richard absent, Gordon was guaranteed the win, and the minor placings were going to conserve all their energy to start racing on the run, I don't know, but whatever the reason it was seriously shabby! The front of the bunch yo-yoed horribly as virtually everyone shirked the front, gaps wer constantly appearing in the line, such that at one point I found myself on the front of a group of 3 that had simply ridden off the front without trying. We worked it around for a bit, but were too far away to have a serious go with the constant headwind we were riding into, and the bunch caught us again a few K later. A couple of K before Klondyke Luke and Grant pulled off the front, so they were 2nd and 3rd into transition after Carl Meyer (great effort!) and then came the main bunch. Complete with idiotic overtaking moves just before the line - thankfully the car coming the other way pulled off the road to let us past - about 50 previously apathetic athletes suddenly got the bit between their collective teeth and decided that now was the time for death or glory. Luckily none of them got death, and I'm damn sure none of them got much glory other than in their own slightly melodramatic little worlds!

Anne and Rachel were wearing the same Burkes colours as I, so stood out brilliantly, and executed a smooth transition amid the pandemonium. Anne was away with my bike before I crossed the line, then Rach led me to a clear spot where I fumbled with my shoe laces in the only inefficient part of the process, and then I was off, eating banana and donning backpack as I went.

Across the farmland section at the start of the run, and I was losing as many places as I was taking, being handily overtaken just before the river crossing by someone that showed me a nice way across, into the trees on the bank and I found myself running with Luke. A few congratulations on a nice move at the end of the ride and we wished each other a good race as I got into my stride and pulled slowly away. I had just passed Emily before the river, and was concerned there might still be some more of the women's field ahead, so felt pushing on was in order!

About 15 minutes later I was surprised to see Gordon Blythen come past, but apparently he had missed the first bunch, so his loss was my gain as I spent a few minutes following him until he inexorably pulled away.

There were always people in sight on the run up to goat pass, but unfortunately this doesn't necessarily always mean that you can follow them, so a few poor lines were chosen, and a few places given up, before the final slog up to the hut. Walking up here with a couple of others, we wondered what it would be like to see someone like Dan Jones attacking the section, and being very jealous that people like him are probably still running at this stage!

Over the top and along the board walks was fine, but I'm fairly sure that a lack of aggression on the down hill cost me some time - I'm definitely still concerned about my leg after XPD, and getting back to a decent downhill pace is definitely an area deserving of work.

Reaching Dudley's Knob the photographer took his usual memento of your day of pain, and then it was time for the long trudge out along the river.

I had a good tussle along this section with someone that I managed to reel in, as he would slowly pull away as it got rougher underfoot, and I would hold the edge on smoother running. By a lucky chance he happened to be carrying some crampstop, which was very handy as my left hamstring decided that now was a good time to remind me of it's presence.

It was good to see a few familiar faces on the way into the run transition, and then I was through the gate, and running to my bike swapping gear with Rachel, grabbing my bike and away down the road, all without ceasing forward motion - thanks guys!

The middle bike ride is often tagged as a good chance to refuel before jumping in the kayak, so I took the opportunity to eat and drink as much as possible over that 15K. I was overtaken by 1 guy early on, and then just plodded over the ride, mentally preparing for the river slog ahead, and trying to lose as little time as possible.

Approaching the transition, I knew that my team would be down at the kayak, so it was up to me to sort my bike out at the top. Seeing Luke's support crew Del at the road side, I called out to her and gave her my bike before jogging off down to the boat, seeing Glenn Muirhead's incredibly dedicated crew coming up the hill.

Rach met me on the bridge, and gave me a banana to eat on the way over, but we weren't allowed to start changing until I was off the bridge, at which point the transition officially started. Another good, well drilled routine was once again only held up slightly by my putting my shoes on, and then the most concerning part of the race was underway!

I know my reports are long and detailed, but there's no way that even I can suitably convey the 5+ hours of pain, tedium and occasional spikes of adrenaline that followed.

I managed to lose a couple of places, I managed to pass another couple, run the nose of the kayak up on the bank a couple of times, and most importantly, keep the boat upright!

For the first time ever I actually enjoyed the section below woodstock, with the river so low that there was really only 1 line, so I just followed that, only deviating once to beach myself.

Coming in towards gorge bridge was nerve wracking - there are a couple of opportunities to can out just before the end, so that you float into transition beside your boat, but I survived them too, saw Rach on the bank and paddled in to beach the boat.

I'd like to say I sprang from the boat, but I try to tell the truth, so I'll admit that Rach helped me out, and I hobbled up the road complaining to her that 'you ran up here last year'. All my clothes were changed and a banana consumed before the road was reached, and Rach brought my bike over to the gate while I ditched my booties.

On the bike and I waddled up the hill trying to get my feet into the shoes, and got down onto the aero bars and started slurping away on the Go Fast in my aero bottle!

Turning into Minchins Rd I passed my first 2 day competitor, and wished him well - he’d had a long day so far, and was probably still at least 3 hours from Christchurch, an awesome effort and deserving of all the encouragement he could get.

I got the Specialized Transition Time Trial bike about 6 weeks ago, and had been doing most of my training rides on it since, which seemed to really pay off - after 10 hours of racing I was down in the aero tuck and very comfortable.

I only got out of the tuck when I had to sit up for lights or due to excess pressure on my bladder, whereas I overtook a couple of people who were sat up stretching their backs out, obviously having comfort issues.

The head wind that had been with us all day seemed to have abated slightly, but with no drafting ( supposedly ) in the one day, it was just head down and get on with it, slowly trying to reel in anyone I could see in front and trying not to get dropped by anyone that passed me.

There were still a few people out supporting on the road sides which was appreciated, and I was early enough for most of the police to still be on traffic light duty, so had a reasonably clear run through town.

One set of lights did go red on me and a guy that had caught me, and as we checked it was clear and went through there was an odd, siren like sound behind. I figured if it was a cop they’d pull the other guy first, but as he was still with me a minute later it must just have been some joker with a fake megaphone - very funny ;-)

Riding through the suburbs towards Ferrymead I was aware of a ute overtaking me with a ‘Cycle Race’ road sign on the back of it. He was going about my speed and I assumed they were just doing laps, keeping the public informed about the race. For about a minute or so. Then I realised what it meant - the lead woman must be close!

Arse! One of my aims for this edition of the race was to beat the girls home ( especially as I was expecting Wellingtonian Jill Westenra to take it out ), so that gave me some added incentive for the last 15K or so.

I managed to overtake the Ute and it didn’t come back past, but I still flew into the end of ride transition - putting everything into sprinting round the last corner on the sand, and doing just enough - Emily Miazga crossed the line 32 seconds after me!

And that was me. Wrecked.

23rd overall, 22nd open men, 13:39:01 and pretty stoked.

This race was all about having a look at Coast for a more serious go in 2010 and it fulfilled all it’s obligations nicely. Most stuff worked - the Go Fast was great for getting me going, the inov8s and the Transition TT bike worked really nicely as did the new kayak and most of the transitions. Other stuff didn’t - mainly nutrition, but a couple of other detail issues too like taking a minute to change shoes.

So I’ll be back next year, hopefully for a better result on a better day, but certainly knowing that I can do this race, and do it hard.

Oh, and the guy that was providing our entertainment on the Friday with his earnest transitions - Luke Chapman from Nelson, a surprise 3rd place getter ( should have been 2nd but got misdirected by a cop in CHC ;-( ) - well done Luke!

Huge thanks have to go to Rachel and Anne, without whom I would still be standing at Aitken's, and to Go Fast, Burkes Cycles, Fergs Kayaks, inov-8 shoes and Fabrum for ongoing help with participating in this silly, fun pastime of mine!