40th Kathmandu Coast to Coast

Top 10 Men set for 2022 Kathmandu Coast to Coast Longest Day

Press Release / 07.02.2022

While last year’s champion Dougal Allan and the two other podium getters Sam Manson and Ryan Kiesanowski return for this week’s Kathmandu Coast to Coast Longest Day, ranked one, two and three, it’s the next half a dozen elites that perhaps pose the most amount of intrigue in the men’s competition.

The more time Sam Goodall dedicates to multisport the better he becomes with the Lyttleton fireman set to wear bib number 4 for the first time, after he stormed home in 11 hours 36 in 2021, only 5 minutes off third place.  

This will be Goodall’s 13th attempt at the event; look for him to make his move in the kayak leg, which is his strongest discipline.

“Sam definitely walked the talk last year and came within a whisker of making the podium. I’m sure that would have given him a real confidence boost and a clear understanding of what it’ll take to make that dream a reality,” said race Director Glen Currie.

The return of Tauranga’s Bobby Dean in bib number 5 has also got tongues wagging. After sitting out last year due to injury, the 36-year-old dairy farmer recently beat New Zealand’s top marathon runner Dan Jones in the King of the Mount, in Mt Maunganui, halting Jones’ 7-year reign in the event.

This will be Dean’s 6th Kathmandu Coast to Coast, and he already boasts a sub-11-hour 30-minute performance, so Dean has the likes of Allan and Manson keeping tabs on him throughout the race, especially if he’s able to slip away at some point in the 30.5 km Mountain Run.

“Bobby Dean although technically not a dark horse, he is probably a real threat to the podium. He's the quintessential Kathmandu Coast to Coasters and his ability is reminiscent of Coast legends such as Gordon Blythen, Neil Jones and George Christianson. He is not a professional athlete and relies on a physical job with some hours squeezed in training prior to work and after work during the hours of darkness to refine his form. Look out for Bobby off the run”! Race Director Glen Currie emphasized.

Fellow Tauranga athlete Brad McNamara steps up to the elite men’s division in 2022, earning the sixth seed spot following a win in the men’s open division last year and finishing seventh overall in 11:56:57.

While a more than competent cyclist, McNamara has had a major focus on his paddling over the past 12 months, paying off with a 4th in the Motu Challenge and a 5th in the Rangitikei River Race.

The 39-year-old also has the added bonus of Scott McDonald, who finished 5th in 2021, as part of his support crew. 

Piha’s Jamie Piggins is another who can expect a few of the more experienced athletes to be keeping a closer eye on him this year. Teaming up with last year’s silver medalist Sam Manson, Piggins played a key role off the front of the first cycle leg last year, splitting the first bunch in two and sending shockwaves through the main group.

The 36-year-old who was competing in his debut Longest Day then suffered an ankle injury just six kilometres into the Mountain Run, basically stalling his race back on the other side of the main divide. To his credit, he battled on, finishing in 12 hours twenty-nine minutes and did enough to catch the eye of Race Director Glen Currie who has ranked the Auckland fireman seventh in 2022. “Jamie came bursting onto the scene last year leading into the run. He turned up like a lot of endurance athletes to tick the box of the Kathmandu Coast to Coast in 2021, however also like a lot of athletes finished and developed an addiction to the course and a belief he could go even better. It will be impressive to see if he can pull together a full race this year.”

Nelson’s Caleb Hill has been seeded in 8th in 2022, following a 11th placed finish last year in a time just over 12 hours, while Nelson’s Lachie Brownlie is back for his 7th consecutive race in 2022, looking to build on his personal best in 2021, like Sam Manson, Brownlie is a kayak instructor and mountain guide suggesting that perhaps his best discipline will be his knowledge of the course.

Napier’s Josh Garrett rounds out the top 10 elite men’s competition.

The 2022 event will start in pods due to the Covid 19 Red Traffic light setting, with the first of the elite competitors set to start at 05:50 on February 12.

Start lists can be found at https://www.coasttocoast.co.nz/start-list