Having arrived in Kumara Thursday night and got everything organised it was back to my friend and fellow coast to coast athlete Matty Graham’s house for a good night of sleeping. Luckily Matty lives minutes from Kumara and it seemed like only an hour had passed when my alarm went off at 4.45am! It was almost as hard to wake the support crew up as it was to stay calm before the start gun…
The first cycle…
The first ride was very non-eventful. I learned two things: coast to coast individual competitors do not necessarily have any experience riding in bunches, and certainly do not like doing any work at the front of these bunches.
The run…
Into the run and it was soon apparent who the main contenders would be in the two day. I tried to set a good pace but managed to take a couple of wrong lines which meant I was actually losing ground to the guys close behind me. So I decided to run with two guys rather than waste energy. We ran together until about an hour before goat pass where I left them in an attempt to build a lead. However I was soon being passed at tremendous speed by a young lad Rhys John who would finish 5 minutes ahead of me by the end of the first day. I made my way to Klondyke Corner in just over 3 hours 20 minutes and was happy to be sitting in 2nd place overnight.
Klondyke…
I was told by a few people that the race leader’s strongest leg was his run, so I thought maybe I had a chance of actually winning this race. I tried to keep my legs moving and went and stood in the cold river for a while as well as eating plenty of food. It was hot and sunny and my support crew were playing cricket but I couldn’t really have fun as I was only half way to Sumner and tomorrow was going to be tough.
The middle cycle…
I was in the second bunch to leave in the morning and decided just to go for it. I was first to run across Mt White bridge towards the crowds and awaiting support crews. It was such a great feeling having the whole crowd cheer as I ran down to enter my kayak.
The kayak…
The paddle started well and with very low river levels I was happy to survive the braided upper section and get to the gorge without any dramas. However, about an hour into the gorge I found myself heading straight for a rock with no ability to steer. I looked back to see I had bumped my rudder quite badly and it was sticking up out of the water. A short time later I found myself upside down after hitting the rock with such force that my seat was ripped from its glue. Two failed roll attempts later I was floating down stream with a paddle and a six metre boat in tow. After wrestling with my kayak to empty it out and straighten the fragile rudder I was off again zigzagging my way down stream. I was now having serious trouble steering and was losing time with my inability to steer straight. My rudder was bent again and though I hit another rock I managed to stay upright and get an official to straighten my rudder. How it had not yet snapped I do not know as it was now hanging on by less than an inch of fractured steel. I was thus very relieved to reach the end of the kayak just over four and a half hours after I entered it and I had only been passed by about five paddlers.
The last cycle…
I knew I had lost time but was unsure how much so the last ride had to be fast. I caught the leaders within the first 15km and soon after I was left with just two for company, an individual and a team rider. We averaged 40km/hr over the 70km into Sumner and the last task was to run through soft sand to the awaiting Speight’s and handshake from Mr Judkins.
The finish…
It was great to have finished but I had no idea what position I was now in. I soaked up the excitement of the finish line and grabbed some fish and chips with my support crew as we awaited the results. A few hours later they were posted and as I was talking to my mum on the phone I went over and checked how I did: “Wow, looks like I had a win mum”. I had only won by 3 minutes but I was absolutely stoked to have won my first attempt at the two day race. The scariest part of the entire weekend was the prize giving as I had to talk in front of the Christchurch Town Hall. I thanked my crew, sponsors, fellow competitors, and friend Matty for their contributions to my success and got off the stage as quickly as possible. Before I had even sat back down I was starting to think about 2009. The longest day? I guess I will have to give it some thought. It would be rude not to…
Dougal Allan
Winner, Individual 2 Day
