Trading cows for kayaks
CALLUM Kingan treats milking and multisport much the same.
The North Otago dairy farmer is no stranger to predawn starts and an intense daily workload — and that has prepared him well for a debut in New Zealand’s greatest multisport event.
Kingan (46) will next week compete in the twoday section of the 243km Coast to Coast, his debut delayed after Covid forced a cancellation of that part of the event last year.
Training for the great race has had to be intermittent from time to time as Kingan juggles kayaks and cows.
‘‘It will be more about the experience and completion as opposed to being competitive.’’
As part of his preparation, the Enfield farmer has had a ‘‘couple of sneaky looks’’ over different stages of the course.
‘‘You don’t want to get too carried away with it. You need to leave something in the tank for the big day.’’
The race will prove quite a family occasion as his crew will be led by wife Twyla and children Breanna (15), Mason (14) and Fergus (9).
He was inspired to enter the race while support crewing for Brighton multisporter Scott Weatherall.
‘‘You do a support crew and get to thinking, maybe I’ll do it next time. And here we are.
‘‘After seeing first hand a whole bunch of people do it, I questioned myself, ‘why shouldn’t I do it?’ And I couldn’t come up with a good enough reason not to.’’
The cancellation last year was a blessing in disguise as it gave him more time to hone his kayaking skills.
He was a bundle of nerves last year but with Covid’s impact lessening and an extra 12 months of preparation, he is now preparing with eager anticipation.
‘‘I just started running when I was 40, and kayaking 18 months ago. So it’s been a pretty steep learning curve.
‘‘I’ve had a few swims with the kayak.
‘‘Generally I’m now hanging it together pretty well.
‘‘The fitter I get, the better my body is handling it.’’
He worked on his kayaking on the Clutha River, between Wanaka and the Red Bridge, near Tarras.
He has been running up the bed of the Kauru River between Maheno and Five Forks to prepare for the alpine run stage, and has had the luxury of getting ready for the three Coast to Coast bike stages by simply heading out the farm gate and on to several loops around Oamaru.