BEACH RUN: 3km

6 AM: The first run starts on the beach , where racers line up in the dark, dressed to bike.  It will be a mad dash along the road to the discoteque of flashing LED bike lights to find the right bike and get on the open road.

SUNRISE CYCLE: 55km

The course winds up a river valley, climbing 350 metres in 55kms to where the support crew stands ready with trail shoes and a little backpack with warm clothes and a survival kit. This stage often starts fast, with riders jockeying for position in pace groups and then settling in to draft off each other and save some energy for the run.

MOUNTAIN RUN:

The Mountain run begins with three kms through farmers fields before turning to begin its slow climb up the Deception river valley.  The trail follows ‘goat paths’ through the woods and back and forth across the river a dozen times before reaching the “big boulders” section where the real climbing begins. From here the trail is intermittent and the Runners leap from rock to rock up the riverbed, hydrating with handfuls of cool mountain water as they go.  The trail gains about 300m in elevation over the last kilometre of the Deception Climb, passing the Goat Pass hut (where we stayed on our hike) before reaching the summit at 1080 metres. Along the top of the pass there is a nice stretch of boardwalk that quickly descends to the Mingha river. The next 5 km are along rugged trails that hug the side of the valley, with steep descents to cross streams. After climbing back up to 800m elevation, the course drops steeply to the riverbed and shoots along with several more river crossings before the valley widens out; the run ends with 2 km along the rough rocks of a wide, dry riverbed to klondyke corner where the crew wait with bikes.

Back on the Bike: 15 km

The ride from Klondyke to Mount White Bridge offers little rest for tired legs, with 3 short but steep climbs and minimal overall descent. Crew wait at the top of the hill to trade bikes and shoes for running shoes again, and the racers take an 800m gravel track down to the bridge where more crew wait with the kayaks ready to go.

Gorge-ous Paddle: 70 km

The paddle down the Waimakiriri begins with about 20 km of braided channels where route choice is essential to avoid running aground on shingle or taking the long way. We need to be aware of how much river has left the main channel, and where we are in its flow. The river is quite low at the moment, but inflow accumulates from some other rivers to make it easier to paddle as things go on. The 20km gorge features steep walls (but also short shingles and places to land in a pinch), and stretches for about 20km. The most common rapids are ‘bluff corners’ where the river turns at up to 90 degrees. Then 12 km of braided channels to the gorge bridge.

Final Pedal Push: 70 km

The last cycle ride to Christchurch begins with a quick uphill out of the gorge, then a long, slow descent of 300m that leads us around the southern end of Christchurch to Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean, where we leap off our bikes and run through the finish line where  a cold can of Speights awaits!