Coast to Coast race Usshers in a new era

Richard Ussher (left) with former race director Robin Judkins. Photo / Photosport

Former multisport athlete Richard Ussher has rushed through plenty of transitions between bike, kayak, and mountain running but is breaking new ground in his role as race director of the 33rd edition of the Coast to Coast multisport event.

The five-time winner of the one-day race has ditched the competitor's bib and support crew to take up the clipboard and chief organiser's role for the first time, overseeing the safe passage of nearly 800 competitors as they traverse the famous 243km South Island course from the West Coast township of Kumara to the finish line at Christchurch's New Brighton beach next weekend.

"It's been a pretty full-on year having to learn all of the behind-the-scenes stuff and then there's been quite a lot of change that we've implemented as well," explained Ussher, who won the last of his five titles in 2012 and whose wife Elena is second seed for the women's race.

"I think this will certainly be the biggest year as far as the workload goes. It's certainly given me a decent appreciation of what goes on behind the scenes with the running of not only this event but also any event.

"I don't think many people appreciate just how much work is involved in putting on something like this and certainly the logistics of having a course that spans the country doesn't make it any easier, either."

Pertinent words from the man who raised eyebrows in 2013 with his 10-point critique of how the iconic event could be improved, and questions around the motivation of former race owner Robin Judkins.

Ussher's views sparked a furious response from renowned firebrand Judkins, but out of the maelstrom of debate emerged plans for the race founder to sell the Coast to Coast to Queenstown-based Trojan Holdings Limited, and from there Ussher accepted the position as race director.

"When that happened, Robin ... he's certainly renowned for having some reasonably extreme reactions and when I caught up with him that year on the finish line, he made a point of saying to me there would be no animosity there or anything like that," said Ussher.

Rather than being bound to his own 10 commandments, Ussher said his focus has been on enhancing the race's appeal for participants and spectators and expanding upon and finding new methods to attract both.

"We've really been focusing on more the participation side of it, the bulk of the field, and looking at how we can generate more interest in those areas and then also a big part of it is how we tell the story.

"In the past, the competitors, especially for the mountain run and kayak, disappear off into the wilderness and the crew hears nothing about them for five hours. So we've had a focus on how we engage the supporters and people following online, people who have an interest in the race. How do we tell the story for them?"

Electronic timing and GPS tracking through the mountain run and kayak stages will assist safety concerns and coverage of the race, and sections will be streamed live through social media and upon a large screen at the finish line, enabling fans to keep up with all the action.

"We've now got a Coast to Coast app that's going to bring all of that content together into one place so the support crews will be able to stand in the transitions and see exactly where their competitors or their competition are. The GPS tracking updates every couple of minutes so it has the potential to really create something quite engaging."

With the race start a week away, Ussher has nerves familiar from his days as a competitor.

"I'm really excited and it will be a similar sort of feeling when we actually get down there and get the [two-day] race going on Friday.

"It's going to be an incredibly busy time and potentially quite a stressful time. It is also going to be quite nice knowing we have ticked off all that stuff behind the scenes. It will be nice when we get to race day."

Richard Ussher
• Coast to Coast race director
• Birthdate: July 19, 1976
• Coast to Coast: Five-time winner - 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012
• Adventure Racing: Team Seagate member 2003-0