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The Coast to Coast is a non-standard multisport competition held annually in New Zealand. It is run from the west coast to the east coast of the South Island, and features running, cycling and kayaking elements over a total of 243 kilometres (151 mi). It starts in Kumara Beach and traditionally finished in the Christchurch suburb of Sumner, but since 2015 finishes in New Brighton. The event was created in 1983 by Christchurch personality Robin Judkins, who sold the rights to Queenstown-based tourism company Trojan Holdings in 2013. Richard Ussher took over from Judkins as race director in 2015.
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History
The first Coast to Coast race was organised in 1983 by New Zealand sportsman Robin Judkins who had earlier run the three-day Alpine Ironman. The original race featured only 79 competitors and was considered a largely local event. Subsequent races have increased in size, and by the race's 25th anniversary run in 2007 the field had increased to 840 participants and gained international acclaim as one of the premier adventure races in the world.
Richard Ussher, who had won the event five times, questioned prior to the 2013 event whether it was time for Judkins to step aside. After organising the race for 31 years, Judkins sold the rights in May 2013 to tourism company Trojan Holdings for an undisclosed amount. Judkins was the race director once more in 2014, but just days before that year's event, Trojan Holdings announced that they had appointed Richard Ussher as the race director, to take over from Judkins after February 2014.
Dunedin brewery Speight's had the naming rights for 32 years but cancelled its sponsorship in May 2015, with Moa Brewing Company as the event's new beer sponsor. There was no naming right sponsor for the 2016 race, but in April 2016, it was announced that Kathmandu was the new naming right sponsor from 2017 to 2019.
Course
The race consists of three different timed events which all run over the same course: individual and two-person teams competing over a two-day event, and the titular World Championship race, a one-person, one-day event previously called The Longest Day competition.
The race begins with a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) run from Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea, followed by a 55 km (34 mi) cycling up State Highway 73 to Aickens. The next segment of the race is a 33 kilometres (21 mi) run up the Deception River, through Goat Pass and then down the Mingha River to the Bealey River and SH 73 at Klondyke Corner. For the two-day event, competitors overnight here.
From Klondyke Corner, a 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) cycling leg along SH 73 brings competitors to the Waimakariri River at Mount White Bridge. From here, competitors kayak 67 kilometres (42 mi) down the river to the Waimakariri Gorge Bridge (Route 72).
Until 2014, the final segment was a 70 kilometres (43 mi) cycling race along Old West Coast Road and through Christchurch (via SH 73, SH 76, SH 74A, Ferry Road and Main Road) to the finish at Sumner Beach, on the Pacific Ocean.
From 2015, the route was shifted north of the Waimakariri River to follow South Eyre Road, then travelling through north-eastern Christchurch to finish at New Brighton beach, a total distance just 500 metres shorter than the original. The main reason for the change was to avoid competitors contending with numerous traffic lights through Christchurch's inner suburbs.
Records
The record time of completion of the race is in 10 hours, 34 minutes and 37 seconds, achieved by Keith Murray in 1994. Murray also holds the record for the two-day competition at 11:05:18 from the year before in 1993.
Steve Gurney, a local from Christchurch, has won the event a record 9 times, in 1990, 1991, and 1997–2003.