Father-son duo complete Coast to Coast challenge

Paul Lacey and Mark Lacey after completing their first Coast to Coast challenge at the weekend.

A father and son duo couldn't find the words to describe their excitement after crossing the finish line of what they described as New Zealand's most gruelling fitness challenge.

Paul and Mark Lacey made a pact over a cup of a tea on the deck last April that they would complete Coast to Coast 2017 and at the weekend they achieved their goal.

"I honestly had no idea how hard it was going to be, you can read all you want and speak to people about it but nothing prepared me for the reality of it. It was brutal for an old fella like me," Paul said.

The Bayview pair's two-day adventure involved a run, a cycle, a mountain run, a road cycle, a kayak and another cycle from the West Coast to the East Coast of the South Island before they were able to cross the finish line.

Paul said the individual components were fine to train for but it was stringing them all together that took its toll when it came to the real deal.

"When I trained on my bike beforehand I thought I was competent and that was the same with kayaking but when I did one after the other I just ran out of gas."

"Going up the Southern Alps was freezing and you couldn't train for it as even the Kaweka's hit 30 degrees in Hawke's Bay. The gradient and terrain was tough it all added to the brutality of it."

Mark agreed with his father and said that the combination of activities was draining.

"It was an epic challenge but it definitely wasn't a piece of cake. I hit a wall during the run so had to push through that. My vision went all blurry - was pretty intense stuff."

The 70km kayak was another area of the race that challenged Mark.

"I got tipped out a few times, had a damaged rudder and hull by the end of it but managed to get there in the end which was lucky."

After 24 hours of intense physical activity across the South Island all that stood between the pair and the finish line was a sandbank.

"You could see the finish line miles in front of you but it just didn't get closer. I had to keep telling myself put one leg in front of the other and when you got to the sandbank I thought someone must be having a laugh," Paul said.

Paul came third in the over 60s vintage class and Mark came eighth in the open men's class and 15th overall.

Both were stoked with their results and have even discussed entering next year.

"I encourage everybody to do it, it is such an amazing challenge and the feeling of completing it is indescribable."

To top off Mark's experience Richie McCaw was right behind him at the finish line.

"My mate said to me 'turn around' and in my delirious state I looked and was like, wow, it's Richie. I didn't say anything but was a pretty cool way to finish."