Coast to Coast

The Coast to Coast is a non-standard multisport competition held annually in New Zealand. It is run from the west coast to the east coast of the South Island, and features running, cycling and kayaking elements over a total of . It starts in Kumara Beach and traditionally finished in the Christchurch suburb of Sumner, but since 2015 finishes in New Brighton. The event was created in 1983 by Christchurch personality Robin Judkins, who sold the rights to Queenstown-based tourism company Trojan Holdings in 2013. Richard Ussher took over from Judkins as race director in 2015. History The first Coast to Coast race was organised in 1983 by New Zealand sportsman Robin Judkins who had already been organising the three-day Alpine Ironman. The original race featured only 79 competitors and was considered a largely local event. Initially a two-day event for individuals and teams, and one-day event for individuals was added in 1987 known as the "Longest Day". Over the years, the races have increased in size, and by the race's 25th anniversary run in 2007 the field had increased to 840 participants and gained international acclaim as one of the premier adventure races in the world. Unlike some other triathlon events, drafting is allowed. At the pre-race briefing for the tenth race, Judkins made the following statement: