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Latest event news:

Adrians' Coast to Coast 2011 Buildup

Coast 2 Coast 2010

Well, this year’s coast to coast will surely be oneremembered by many for a long time. It will certainly be one I remember for along time too. With the course changed drastically and the race turned on itshead, it was always going to be a huge challenge for athletes and support crewsto adjust to a completely different event from the original one visualized and trainedspecifically for.

The weather was the reason for the course changes:Torrential rain, gale force winds gusting in excess of 130km/hr, and theconsequent risks associated with the high rivers and limited accessibility tothe traditionally isolated backcountry routes. Everyone involved with the racefrom media to athletes, support crews to officials – had their work cut out forthem today.The start line was miserable: dark and extremely wet. Anything not attached to somethingsubstantial would very likely be swept away by the hurricane-like winds.Despite the conditions, I sensed a building excitement amongst the competitors.After the disappointment of the course change (some athletes had only learnedof this at the start line!) there seemed to be some consolation in the horrificweather – the Speight’s Coast to Coast Longest Day was still going to throw upthe massive physical and mental challenges we had all prepared for – thankgoodness!

With Juddy’s hooter and the usual mayhem of the start – Isoon found myself running near the front over the 3km dash to the bikes. Neverknowing what to expect from the first run and bike, my plan is always to get onmy Giant Trinity bike early and give myself every opportunity to be part of thefront cycle bunch. As it turned out, the first bunch was not huge, perhaps15-20 cyclists. In the heavy rain, and on the advice of my support crewmember/former Olympic cyclist Jon Andrews, I stayed close to the front. Ididn’t want to get caught up in a crash if someone went down on the wet andslippery road surface. I stayed focused on riding efficiently with highcadence, and kept an eye on the wheels in front which would occasionally getshifted half a metre laterally by an unexpected wind gust. Luckily the strongwinds were predominantly Nor’ West, and we flew through to Aicken’s in 1 hour41 minutes – over 10 minutes faster than last year.

From the bike it was quickly through transition into Asicsshoes and an Osprey pack, and into the 32km run. Everyone would argue thattheir support crew is the bestsupport crew in the race, and on this day, mine certainly were! The first 3kmwere the only steps we would take along the traditional run route. At theDeception foot bridge, we crossed the road and followed SH73 all the way toKlondyke Corner. Not far into the road run I was busy checking my heart ratezones on my Polar RS800cx watch, when I noticed I was running a similar pace todefending Coast to Coast champion Gordon Walker. This was to be the start of along partnership between Gordy and I over the course of the race.

We ran stride for stride, keeping the Leppin going in the mouth,patiently and comfortably trusting in our own pace judgments, moving up theincline from Otira to Arthur’s Pass. One by one, we started to pick runnersoff. First was Carl Bevins, then Trevor Voyce. Both, it seemed, were muchbetter suited to boulder leaping and river crossings than steep sealed mainhighways. Seeing our support crews along the way and being fed splits was bothunusual and enjoyable. As we crossed the main divide and began the leg zappingdescend in to Arthurs Pass Village, we were aware that theonly athlete in front of us was Cantabrian Simon Kristiansen. Neither Gordy norI had heard of him, but we were told he was a gifted Duathlete. He had almostfour minutes on us as we dropped down towards transition at Klondyke. I wasnever really worried to be honest as I knew Gordy and I were going to push eachother along on the bikes and it would only be a matter of time before we wouldcatch Kristiansen.

As it turned out we caught and passed Kristiansen about 30km into the 135km cycle stage. From here it wassimply a matter of working with Gordy for much of the bike and putting as muchtime into the chasers as possible. We shared the work for the entire ride, attimes sitting up for one another if a chain slipped or drink bottle waschanged. It was exciting for me to be sharing much of the race with an athleteof Gordon’s caliber and certainly made the bike ride less arduous having himfor company. However, I knew it would be hard for either of us to make a break,and I knew that finishing the race with a paddle would certainly play into hishands. However, I knew even if I finished 2^nd, it would exceed myexpectations, and so I was happy to take the chance of losing the lead byentering the kayak section with Gordy – if it kept my chances of holding off 3^rdplace alive.

Coming off the bikes was welcome relief for the bum, and meant a big change in muscle groups. The transition to the Avon River was hectic, but as had beenthe case all day, my support crew was all over it. Gav, Tim and Jon had thingsso well organized that I was down and into my Sisson Evolution Omega before Iknew it. I paddled away before Gordy had got on the water, and quickly realizedthat while the Avon was very tame compared to the Waimakariri, it would offerits own unique challenges. For a start, I was only able to enter about half mykayak blade into the water before it hit ground. There was weed climbing allaround my kayak bow and rudder. There were tourists learning how to operate seakayaks – right in my path. There were punters trying in vain to offer client’sserenity as the Speight’s Coast to Coast poured past. And of course there weretwo day competitors negotiating the same obstacles, at half the speed. Ireminded myself that it was the same for everyone, and I needed to focus on myown race. These thoughts were quickly interrupted though as a hover craft inthe form of Gordon Walker came past. ‘Bugger’ I thought, these new Omega kayakswill give me an advantage, but Gordon is paddling one too! And that would bethe last I would see of him as he paddled off into the distance with his thirdtitle a virtual certainty.

The commitment and adaptability of my support crew wasoverwhelming all day. A great example of this was Gavin, who ran alongside the Avoncheering for me the entire 17km of the kayak section. I received wonderfulsupport throughout the kayak; a haka performed to me on the shores of the riverby two very close friends from university got me particularly emotional. Thebiggest challenge was finding out how far the kayak was going, from peoplewatching the race. I had heard someone mention a bike ride to the finish andwas keen to find out where this would start from. In the end I had heard somany conflicting things I knew the best thing to do was put my head down andpaddle until I saw a transition.

The get-out for the kayak was at the Pleasant Point YachtClub near the start of the Estuary. This left an 8km cycle to the sands ofSumner beach. Transitions are always such wonderful places to me. They are aplace of endless encouragement from crowds, a place full of food and drink, andusually a place where equipment and muscle groups are traded in for newer,possibly fresher ones. I was glad to be out of the kayak and onto my bike onelast time for the 10 minute sprint to the finish. I tried hard to appreciatethe last few kilometers and concentrated on avoiding disaster with the trafficinto Sumner pretty heavy as support crews hunted for parks.

The finish line was pretty special to me. I had poured mylife into achieving a top 3 finish at the Speight’s Coast to Coast over thepast four months. I had based myself in Wanaka where I had shaped everythingaround training. To finish 2^nd in 2010 meant so much to me. It feltlike a celebration of the belief of my sponsors, the support of my family andfriends, the work of my coach Val, and the influence of my home towns of Foxtonand Wanaka. In the past I have often found it hard to feel truly successful in2^nd place. But I am also aware that I am still serving myapprenticeship in the Speight’s Coast to Coast. Gordon Walker is a truechampion, and I can also report – a bloody nice guy. We had fun pushing eachother along during the day. And I was thrilled to see him add his name to therace’s history books with a 3^rd win.

It seems that as far as the Speight’s Coast to Coast goesnow, I have one burning question circulating in my head: “Was my 2^ndplace made more tangible by the course change?” I guess there is only one wayto find out, see you on the start line in 2011…

Cheers,

Dougal Allan

Sponsors: LEPPIN, R & R SPORT,ASICS, POLAR, Sisson Kayaks, Giant Bikes, PhysioMed, Osprey Packs, WanakaMedical Centre, Central IT Services.