Sitting aboard our 747 from LA to London, it's finally time to reflect on "Coast to Coast 2010". The experience was like nothing we could have imagined, or stressed about, during our 10 weeks in NZ. Well … at least not until 7 pm the night before. That's when we got word that a rare weather pattern expected to dump torrential rain had forced the race director to take the unusual step of putting Plan B into action 12 hours before the race even started. The alternative course still retained the unique "coast to coast" format, but took racers on a much less dramatic route.
In short, we ended up running (twice) and biking (three times) on 230 km of asphalt roads. To ensure it retained a "multi"sport feel, a token 15 km paddle on an urban stream was tacked on for good measure just before the finish (calling this a 'river' would be a bit generous). While producing great pictures and providing great memories, the weeks we spent training on this challening course provided us little benefit on race day. In fact, our ankle-strengthening trail runs over Goat Pass and our mental energy spent trying to memorize the quickest routes up the river bed probably did us more harm than good. In short, we trained for course A, but found ourselves standing at the starting line of course B, at 5.45 am Saturday morning, under a pitch black sky, taking cover in trash bags against a tropical gusty wind and horizontal rain. But, of course, so did everybody else.
We fought hard but came up short of our goals. Scott finished 41st overall (rather than the top 20 he was hoping for) and Emma was cut short from crossing the finish line due to a frustrating last-minute change by race directors. Here's our summary ….
The starting line chaos quickly thinned out during the 3 km uphill run to our bikes. Full of nervous energy, we ran like sprinters to be first on the bike, ignoring the dramatic downpour of rain. Scott, along with the other Swede Martin Flinta, made the first bunch of 20 riders. The reward was a steady spray of pure NZ rain in our faces, as we hung on to the back wheel of the rider in front of us (we knew we were being dropped when we felt water from above, instead of below!). Caught up in the excitement, Scott found himself giving a 110% effort on the ride. A great rush of early adreanline that amounted to a less-than-sustainable race strategy.
The problem with having a really strong race start is that it greatly increases the chance of things getting worse, rather than better :) After an emergency stop in the port-a-potty, Scott found himself totally alone on the asphalt run, having lost the first bunch of racers, but still comfortably ahead of the second bunch, 10 minutes behind. From there, things steadily got worse. The pounding 30 km run took just under 3 hours and, after a quick transition, he began a painful 160 km bike ride. Out of energy, he watched several groups of riders catch up -- and fly by -- without being able to muster the energy to "jump on the train." The boredom was broken by the final 20 minute high speed ride through Christchurch to the kayak transition. The police stopped traffic at every intersection (over 15 of them!) to ensure we could race through without stopping. On the kayak, his energy levels continued to sink and his streak of "getting passed, rather than passing" continued. The final sprint to the finish line resulted in a can of Speights Beer (the main sponsor) and an end to the misery.
Emma also found a group of riders on the first bike ride and her patience paid off. She conserved her energy in the tailwind and driving rain. She transitioned to the long asphalt run feeling good, but with some anxiety: her total run training on asphalt had never been longer than 5 km (like Scott, she prefers forest over pavement!). She braved her way through the 16% uphill grade on the road to Arthurs Pass. An abrupt change from cold rain to hot sun was dramatic as she ran over the divide and started the long downhill run alongside trucks, busses and other tourist cars. Throughout the years, Emma has had a lot of problems with her knees, but never has the pain been greater than during this miserable asphalt run. At the transition, the sun was blazing a hot 25 degrees C (80 F). When asking her support what she should do if her knees didn't keep together, the answer was "just keep biking!" And that's what she did. The knees did OK once on the bike. Riding more or less alone, but still passing some guys, she was well on her way to a respectable finish before nightfall, and well before the midnight cut-off ...
… Or was she? In what seems to be poor race organization, a new cut-off time was created late in the day, which meant that everybody had to be in their kayaks before 5.45 pm to prevent paddling in the dark (sidenote: locals paddle this river all the time in the dark, it's only 1 meter deep and 20 meters across!). The decision was made around 3 pm and none of the racers or support crew were told about it when they started the long 160 km bike ride. While battling a headwind on the way into Christchurch, Emma had no idea what was awaiting her at the transition. Arriving at approx. 6.30 (45 min late) she was not allowed to get into her kayak for the short, final paddle to the finish. But she was not alone. A total of about 40 racers were cut off like this. After completing more than 90% of the course, they were not even allowed to bike the last 15 km as an alternative. They essentially went "coast to coast" but missed out on the incredible feeling of crossing the finish line (and also the free beer!).
We wish we had a more exciting tale to tell, but tune in again in a couple of years. We may just need to take a second crack at this race ...
One the way home we stopped in Sydney Australia for 12 hours and Southern California for 24 hours to see Scott's family, before finally arriving back in Umeå with the night train on Sunday morning. We were greated with a mountain of snow under which lay our car... Enjoy that last pic!
Till next time, happy adventuring!
Emma and Scott
