Coast to Coast (race)
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 . 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. History The first Coast to Coast race was organised in 1983 by New Zealand sportsman Robin Judkins who had already been organising the three-day Alpine Ironman. The original race featured only 79 competitors and was considered a largely local event. Initially a two-day event for individuals and teams, and one-day event for individuals was added in 1987 known as the "Longest Day". Over the years, the 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. Unlike some other triathlon events, drafting is allowed. At the pre-race briefing for the tenth race, Judkins made the following statement: 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. Originally sponsored by NZ Breweries under their Steinlager brand in Christchurch, later transferred to their Dunedin brewery Speight's together held the naming rights for 32 years but cancelled its sponsorship in May 2015, with Moa Brewing 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 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 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 cycling leg along SH 73 brings competitors to the Waimakariri River at Mount White Bridge. From