We don’t know how lucky weare
How lucky are Kiwis who love the great outdoors? I have just spent the last two weeks training for the Coast to Coast during the Christmas period in Central Otago and what a difference the elements and hills can make to your fitness. Not only that, the beauty down here is second to none, which makes training a lot more enjoyable.
Yes, the grind up Coronet Peak and the Crown Range on the bike is tough but, once you reach the top, the views are phenomenal and you forget your lungs were screaming five minutes into the ride.
Kiwis are humble by nature but tend to gloat about our outdoors being ‘better than yours’’. We do it without knowing it and we do it because we simply are a lucky lot.
That’s the reason former Australian Olympic triathlete Courtney Atkinson is returning this year after entering the Coast to Coast in 2017 and finishing 10th.
He says New Zealand provides some of the best training in the world and his homeland could only dream of coming close in comparison.
‘‘We don’t have these mountains we don’t have these rivers in Australia so it’s a unique Kiwi thing.’’
Competitors need to be prepared for the South Island terrain that includes river beds and rock gardens. Running on sealed roads isn’t going to cut the mustard. As with the kayak, floating about in a sea kayak in Auckland’s harbour is not going to prepare you for the rough 67km ride on the Waimakariri River come February.
I amentered in the bike and have already been told that the head winds will be demoralising and will make that last 70km ride to New Brighton Beach in Christchurch feel like 140km. I would take the hills overlooking Lake Wakatipu over those long Canterbury straights any day - but the 35-year-old race ain’t going to change because one reporter doesn’t like wind in her face.
So while my training in Central Otago has been a treat, time to start being clever and preparing for race day. So for cyclists this means riding in groups and for hours on straights roads building up the kilometres to make easy work of race day. Kayakers need to get in the rivers, although safety is paramount so do it with others. Runners, get climbing the hills, running on rocks and get used to water beneath your feet too.
Atkinson says it’s not just the terrain that can change so quickly in New Zealand but also the elements. How right he is. The North Island has been hit hard with flooding this week, while the South desperately needs some rain to ease the drought.
‘‘We don’t have the weather element either. To a point we do in winter up in the mountains, we get a little bit of snow, but we don’t have that true really harsh and vertical element that you have up here at Arthur’s Pass.
‘‘You can start over in the West Coast in the morning and it be beautiful and sunny and warm and then by the time you’re up in the mountains you’re in thermals and fighting the cold. Then by the end of the day it can be 30 degrees in Christchurch. It’s just one of those unique races and that’s what to me makes the Coast to Coast and that’s why I keep coming back over here.’’