Multisports: Battle between man and nature

Coast to Coast organiser Robin Judkins. Photo / Simon Baker

The Speight's Coast to Coast has its detractors. Some give the impression it is a fossilised relic of multisport in need of a lick of paint, or as one media colleague referred to it: a "club" race.

But make no mistake, there is no doubt about its rich history; demanding disciplines; its penchant for inducing fatigue.

Hundreds of willing servants stride three kilometres each year from the campsite at the Kumara racecourse to the local beach. In the distance, they resemble glow-worms on the march with reflector beacons beaming from their lower calf muscles.

Waves crash into the West Coast sand but it doesn't stop race organiser Robin Judkins' hooter piercing the early morning air. The crowd begins its crossing of the South Island under a sign exclaiming "243km to go". As if they didn't know ...

It is appropriate, too, that Johnny Cash's song Hurt plays as the first cyclists pass through Jacksons on the two-day race as the media drop marshmallows in their hot chocolates at the local cafe.

Cash laments over the speaker: "I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel; I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real."

Those cyclists will be hurting and feeling it, all right - and those not in teams still face a river crossing and a 33km mountain run to Klondyke Corner afterwards.

Perhaps the Coast to Coast is a relic; perhaps it is a "club" race but, if so, it is a good one. The event draws people all across the country to challenge themselves to a barrage of running, cycling and kayaking that has entrenched itself as part of the Kiwi cultural tapestry.

Credit needs to be given to the architect - Judkins. The celebrated former boozer, multinational employee, house painter and ski instructor had the temerity to conceive the idea, starting the first official event in 1983. The 29th edition might have a few more resource management and safety regulations, but essentially it is the same core battle between mankind and nature.

Judkins described himself as "an autocratic, bombastic, egocentric bastard" on accepting his 2009 New Year's honour as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sports administration. He said if the honour had remained in its past OBE form it would stand for "old, bald and eccentric".

At 61, his hunger to showcase the event is never stilled. How else could you explain media, officials and sponsors being given exhilarating rides up the valley in helicopters to get to destinations like The Big Boulders (where you actually land on a patch of stones), Goat Pass and Klondyke Corner?

There can be cynicism he is "buying" the media but there is no better way to gauge what these competitors go through running up the river. The whole experience showcases Kiwis having a great time in their own backyard, even if the athletes in the chopper's sights scamper like frightened insects across the rugged terrain below.

There is no paper pushing here, no bland work cubicles and no clock-watching tedium. It is just pure exhilaration, fresh air and cheerful camaraderie. There is even an added bonus of being able to simulate the opening credit sequence of the television series M*A*S*H by disembarking in crouching formation under the whirring blades of the helicopter.

A generation ago Judkins had well-documented problems with alcohol, securing funds for his events and more recently survived what he described as a "quintuple" heart bypass. He has risen above these difficulties to live in his home overlooking the finish line to the race at Sumner Beach.

His legacy is a constant reminder the pioneering spirit can still triumph in New Zealand. Long may such euphoric experiences continue for those attending the Coast to Coast.