40th Kathmandu Coast to Coast
The 40th Kathmandu Coast to Coast to Go Ahead.
Press Release / 27.01.2022
Organizers of the iconic multisport race the Kathmandu Coast to Coast have today announced their decision to forge ahead with the 40th Anniversary event, albeit in a significantly scaled back capacity.
After being forced to cancel the 2-day event categories earlier in the week due to the country now in the Covid19 Red traffic light settings, Race Director Glen Currie has revealed the Longest Day category and the mountain run will go ahead on February 12. “There was simply no way we could provide a safe event for the two-day athletes, support crew and spectators. But, once more guidelines and information came to light earlier this week, we became confident that we could do so at a much smaller scale.”
“Government feedback has been that they do not want events to cease altogether, rather they’re asking events like ours to restructure to minimize contact of people as much as possible and reduce the potential of a mass spread as a result of the event.”
284 competitors will now line up for the Longest Day and One Day Teams categories, starting in pods of less than 100, while 90 athletes in the mountain run, who start from a completely different section of the course will also get their opportunity to compete. This is a significant decrease from the initial 1,400 registered athletes.
“The Longest Day is often described as the loneliest day by competitors,” said Currie. “You’ve got 243 kilometers of course in a pretty remote setting to stretch out on, which fortunately for us enables us to isolate competitors and support crews to a large extent.”
Athletes’ support crews have been limited to just 2 people, while friends and family will be restricted from entering any of the athlete transition areas.
Food and beverage offerings would also be cut, impacting a number of community groups that often rely on the revenue as part of their annual fundraising. “We’ve traditionally been able to facilitate and donate up to $50,000 per event to the likes of the Springfield, Sheffield and Moana Schools, the Malvern Lions Club, Kumara Community Trust and a raft of others, but unfortunately these changes to the event will have a knock-on effect,” Currie added.
The safety of athletes was one area that Currie and his team wouldn’t be moved on though, continuing to work with Christchurch Helicopters, who provide heli support for the mountain run across Goat Pass, as well as the Canterbury Jet Boat Club who patrol the 70-kilometer stretch of the Waimakariri River. “This is one area that can’t be compromised. But reducing the numbers of competitors on course should already see a reduction in the time that their services are needed across the day. Traditionally the One Day athletes are the more experienced ones too, so their dependency on the safety crews is lower.”
The Mountain run was originally scheduled to take place in conjunction with day one of the two-day event on February 11, however in order for it to take place it has had to be shifted a day later. “We know this will impact a few athletes with accommodation and travel arrangements, but with greater management comes greater cost and we need to find ways to accommodate as many people as possible,” said Currie.
The first wave of competitors will start from Kumara Beach at 07:00 on February the 12th and are expected to begin arriving into the finish area at New Brighton beach any time after 16:30.
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