Its here. after months of preparation, and two weeks ‘on the ground,’ we have paddled, run, cycled, and driven over the entire coast to coast race course, run through it countless times in our minds, rehearsed transitions, prepared nutrition plans, even pre-filled bottles with race fuel so they are ‘just-add-water’ ready.
It all starts tomorrow, 6 AM New Zealand time (so if you’re in Ontario, noon on Friday). The weather forecast is fantastic for a day that will involve:
3 km running (in the dark) from Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea to our bikes
55 km cycling up a peaceful river valley as the sun rises
33 km running over goat pass, featuring 24 river crossings and 700+ metres of climbing
15 km cycling to our kayaks
67 km kayaking through braided river channels, a steep-walled gorge, and several 90 degree bluff corners
70 km cycling in to the finish line at Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean!
I’m here with my friend Barb Campbell, and our crew: Nelvia (my sister) Chris (my brother-in-law) Richard (Barb’s husband) and Andrew (a big-hearted kiwi).
You can follow our progress throughout the day at:
www.facebook.com/vandorpracing
and barb will have a spot transponder to relay her position every 10 minutes:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=03EEh29tdLhuhXnflR3yVggXOniKTvnUa
