Going Coast to Coast

PETER JONES

Marlborough multi-sporters met with notable success in the Kathmandu Coast to Coast which was staged on Friday and Saturday.

the way the group played and supported each other. To finish second to a very strong Nelson team was a very positive result moving forward to the intercentre event back in Christchurch mid March.”

The men’s team finished day one with four wins and one draw to be placed fourth. Day two provided three more wins and a draw, to see them maintain that position. The singles player recorded three wins, one pair had two successes while the other pair had two draws and the fours also finished with two wins. The men’s competition was also won by Nelson.

Marlborough’s effort, in both the men’s and women’s sections, was made especially noteworthy given the fact there were high-performing players from the current and past NZ Black Jacks and development squads sprinkled around the teams.

The Marlborough teams were:

Women: Pauline Bailey, Kiri Bond, Jenny Anderson, Jan Gallop, Pam Stevens, Trish Downs, Colleen Robbins, Patsy Riri, Helen McIsaac. Manager: Mary Riddell. Selector/ coach: Lloyd Gallop

Men: Simon Hitchcock, Damon Hitchcock, Max Brydon, Chase Bishop, Ken Lond, Craig Macdonell, Mike Mehlhopt, Kevan Greenwood, Paul Matheson. Manager: Dennis Mills.

In the hotly-contested two-day individual section, two athletes of different vintage took out their sections. Marlborough Boys’ College youngster Finn McKenzie won the schools title, finishing the course in 12 hours, 35 minutes and 47 seconds to pick up a highly meritorious fifth position overall. In the same race, Nigel Muir, former Sport Tasman boss, came home in 14:13:20 to claim the Classic (50-59 years grade) title. He finished 37th overall.

Finn was chuffed with his firsttime effort, the 16-year-old only becoming eligible to compete this year. He said he had learned plenty from his first outing in the iconic event, suggesting he had gone out a “bit hard” on the first cycle leg and maybe would have been better served to stay in the pack and conserve energy. He enjoyed the paddle leg, a discipline he is just coming to terms with, saying he surprised himself by getting among the leaders in the early stages but realised he has plenty of work to do to stay in touch on the flatter sections.

Another Marlborough athlete in the two-day individual was personal trainer Kylie Senior. She completed the course in 15:02: 45, placing 77th overall, among over 3000 participants.

Kylie was the 13th female home. Saturday’s Longest Day event took its toll on competitors, notably Coast to Coast veteran Jeremy McKenzie. The 46-yearold Marlborough winemaker damaged his hamstring on the Goat Pass run and battled from there on. Showing the resilience he has become known for, Jeremy completed the course in 13:54:12, ending up 38th overall and fourth in the veteran 40-49 class. He, and his son Finn, are adamant they will be back for another shot at the race next year.

Josh Scott also tackled the longest day, finishing in 15:19:19, for 94th overall, and 20th in the 4049 section.

Another Marlborough multisport veteran, Ian Martella, teamed up with Daniel Stringer and Stuart Barnes to finish 12th overall and third in the veterans category in the two-day three-person teams event. There were also Marlborough competitors in the Longest Day three-person teams event, Kieran Hickman, Tim McFarlane and Nat Gallant (aka the Boomtown Battlers) finishing 11th. Sara Stocker, Tayla Harrison and Mandy McFarlane all started in the individual section of the 243km Longest Day but did not make the required cut off time.

In other results, Nick Rayner finished in a time of 15:50:43 in the Longest Day, Polly Taylor won the vintage section of the Mountain Run, placing 40th overall, while Stefan Schulze came home 266th in the twoday individual.