Well, this year's coast to coast will surely be one remembered by many for a long time. It will certainly be one I remember for a long time too. With the course changed drastically and the race turned on its head, it was always going to be a huge challenge for athletes and support crews to adjust to a completely different event from the original one visualized and trained specifically for.
The weather was the reason for the course changes: Torrential rain, gale force winds gusting in excess of 130km/hr, and the consequent risks associated with the high rivers and limited accessibility to the traditionally isolated backcountry routes. Everyone involved with the race from media to athletes, support crews to officials – had their work cut out for them today.
The start line was miserable: dark and extremely wet. Anything not attached to something substantial 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 learned of this at the start line!) there seemed to be some consolation in the horrific weather – the Speight's Coast to Coast Longest Day was still going to throw up the massive physical and mental challenges we had all prepared for – thank goodness!
With Juddy's hooter and the usual mayhem of the start – I soon found myself running near the front over the 3km dash to the bikes. Never knowing what to expect from the first run and bike, my plan is always to get on my Giant Trinity bike early and give myself every opportunity to be part of the front cycle bunch. As it turned out, the first bunch was not huge, perhaps 15-20 cyclists. In the heavy rain, and on the advice of my support crew member/former Olympic cyclist Jon Andrews, I stayed close to the front. I didn't want to get caught up in a crash if someone went down on the wet and slippery road surface. I stayed focused on riding efficiently with high cadence, and kept an eye on the wheels in front which would occasionally get shifted half a metre laterally by an unexpected wind gust. Luckily the strong winds were predominantly Nor' West, and we flew through to Aicken's in 1 hour 41 minutes – over 10 minutes faster than last year.
From the bike it was quickly through transition into Asics shoes and an Osprey pack, and into the 32km run. Everyone would argue that their support crew is the best support crew in the race, and on this day, mine certainly were! The first 3km were the only steps we would take along the traditional run route. At the Deception foot bridge, we crossed the road and followed SH73 all the way to Klondyke Corner. Not far into the road run I was busy checking my heart rate zones on my Polar RS800cx watch, when I noticed I was running a similar pace to defending Coast to Coast champion Gordon Walker. This was to be the start of a long 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 the incline from Otira to Arthur's Pass. One by one, we started to pick runners off. First was Carl Bevins, then Trevor Voyce. Both, it seemed, were much better suited to boulder leaping and river crossings than steep sealed main highways. Seeing our support crews along the way and being fed splits was both unusual and enjoyable. As we crossed the main divide and began the leg zapping descend in to Arthurs Pass Village, we were aware that the only athlete in front of us was Cantabrian Simon Kristiansen. Neither Gordy nor I had heard of him, but we were told he was a gifted Duathlete. He had almost four minutes on us as we dropped down towards transition at Klondyke. I was never really worried to be honest as I knew Gordy and I were going to push each other along on the bikes and it would only be a matter of time before we would catch Kristiansen.
As it turned out we caught and passed Kristiansen about 30km into the 135km cycle stage. From here it was simply a matter of working with Gordy for much of the bike and putting as much time into the chasers as possible. We shared the work for the entire ride, at times sitting up for one another if a chain slipped or drink bottle was changed. It was exciting for me to be sharing much of the race with an athlete of Gordon's caliber and certainly made the bike ride less arduous having him for 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 his hands. However, I knew even if I finished 2nd, it would exceed my expectations, and so I was happy to take the chance of losing the lead by entering the kayak section with Gordy – if it kept my chances of holding off 3rd place 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 been the case all day, my support crew was all over it. Gav, Tim and Jon had things so well organized that I was down and into my Sisson Evolution Omega before I knew it. I paddled away before Gordy had got on the water, and quickly realized that while the Avon was very tame compared to the Waimakariri, it would offer its own unique challenges. For a start, I was only able to enter about half my kayak blade into the water before it hit ground. There was weed climbing all around my kayak bow and rudder. There were tourists learning how to operate sea kayaks – right in my path. There were punters trying in vain to offer client's serenity as the Speight's Coast to Coast poured past. And of course there were two day competitors negotiating the same obstacles, at half the speed. I reminded myself that it was the same for everyone, and I needed to focus on my own race. These thoughts were quickly interrupted though as a hover craft in the form of Gordon Walker came past. 'Bugger' I thought, these new Omega kayaks will give me an advantage, but Gordon is paddling one too! And that would be the last I would see of him as he paddled off into the distance with his third title a virtual certainty.
The commitment and adaptability of my support crew was overwhelming all day. A great example of this was Gavin, who ran alongside the Avon cheering for me the entire 17km of the kayak section. I received wonderful support throughout the kayak; a haka performed to me on the shores of the river by two very close friends from university got me particularly emotional. The biggest challenge was finding out how far the kayak was going, from people watching the race. I had heard someone mention a bike ride to the finish and was keen to find out where this would start from. In the end I had heard so many conflicting things I knew the best thing to do was put my head down and paddle until I saw a transition.
The get-out for the kayak was at the Pleasant Point Yacht Club near the start of the Estuary. This left an 8km cycle to the sands of Sumner beach. Transitions are always such wonderful places to me. They are a place of endless encouragement from crowds, a place full of food and drink, and usually 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 one last time for the 10 minute sprint to the finish. I tried hard to appreciate the last few kilometers and concentrated on avoiding disaster with the traffic into Sumner pretty heavy as support crews hunted for parks.
The finish line was pretty special to me. I had poured my life into achieving a top 3 finish at the Speight's Coast to Coast over the past four months. I had based myself in Wanaka where I had shaped everything around training. To finish 2nd in 2010 meant so much to me. It felt like a celebration of the belief of my sponsors, the support of my family and friends, the work of my coach Val, and the influence of my home towns of Foxton and Wanaka. In the past I have often found it hard to feel truly successful in 2nd place. But I am also aware that I am still serving my apprenticeship in the Speight's Coast to Coast. Gordon Walker is a true champion, and I can also report – a bloody nice guy. We had fun pushing each other along during the day. And I was thrilled to see him add his name to the race's history books with a 3rd win.
It seems that as far as the Speight's Coast to Coast goes now, I have one burning question circulating in my head: "Was my 2nd place made more tangible by the course change?" I guess there is only one way to 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, Wanaka Medical Centre, Central IT Services.
