Torrential rain and a violent lamppost couldn¡¯t stop Queenstown Constable Max Freer from conquering the 2022 Coast to Coast race.
Max was entered into the single day ¡®longest day¡¯ section of the notoriously gruelling event, which sees competitors tackle rugged terrain to complete a 2.2km run followed by a 55km cycle, a 33km run, a 115km cycle and a 30km kayak, before finishing with a third cycle leg of 15km.
It was on that final cycle leg, only a kilometre from the finish line, that Max met his most painful obstacle of the course.
A lamppost.
¡°I¡¯d had my head down on the T-bars, riding pretty close to the curb of the footpath, then I looked up and, I¡¯m not really sure what happened,¡± say Max, ¡°but I collided with a lamppost pretty hard.¡±
It was a collision that separated Max¡¯s AC joint in his shoulder, on the same side as a previously sustained injury where he had broken his collarbone.
¡°I knew it wasn¡¯t right, but with the help of some of the roadside spectators I got back on my bike and just kept going.
¡°It was only a kilometre to the end, and I¡¯d been through quite a bit to get to that point.¡±
'Quite a bit¡¯ might be the understatement of the century when talking about the individual single day Coast to Coast event. Especially more so considering this year¡¯s second cycle leg had an extra 100 kilometres added to it.
¡°That second cycle was tough. There¡¯s about a 1000 metre elevation too, so the climbs are pretty hard going,¡± says Max, ¡°but I had an awesome support crew of mates who kept screaming at me ¨C keeping me going.¡±
If the course didn¡¯t have enough challenges already, the weather came along to play its part too.
¡°It started pouring with rain during the kayak and that just continued right through to the finish, which made things pretty tricky at times.¡±
The ¡®longest day¡¯ event this year saw about 33% of entrants drop out along the way of the 243 kilometre course, which proves to be an extreme test of physical fitness and mental strength.
¡°There¡¯s a cut-off time for competitors at the end of the kayak, so if they don¡¯t make that, they¡¯re out. Thankfully, I made it with about an hour to spare.¡±
Max had been working towards the Coast to Coast race for a year, committing to countless hours of training, and working to a professionally set programme for six months.
All that work paid off for Max, who finished with an impressive time of 13 hours 47 minutes.
¡°It¡¯s a long day, that¡¯s for sure," he says. "And I¡¯ve got to say the burger and beer waiting for me at the finish line went down extremely well after a day of eating gels.¡±
Completing the course is a gigantic achievement for the young constable, and one he hopes to improve on in the future.
¡°There¡¯s plenty for me to work on for next time. But I will probably skip next year¡¯s race, just to get some of my life back for a while.¡±