Heavy rain may force change to one-day event

Heavy rain and strong winds are set to hit the Coast to Coast one-day race tomorrow.

Race director Robin Judkins said officials would start checking conditions in mountain passes from 4am tomorrow. "If there's too much rain, the [33-kilometre] mountain run for the one-dayers will become a road run," he said.

Competitors in the two-day race begin the 243km running, kayaking and cycling event from Kumara Beach to Sumner today.

This year may join 1986, 1992 and 2004 as a year to remember for the wrong reasons.

"In 2004, it was a horror show. I lifted out 101 of 160 competitors in the one-day event," Judkins said.

"In 1992, we ended up having to cancel the mountain run and cancel the kayaking as well, and we ended up with an enormous biathlon."

He said there was no plan to go without kayaking this weekend.

MetService said yesterday that bursts of heavy rain were expected on the West Coast and in the Southern Alps and the headwaters of Canterbury's lakes and rivers tomorrow morning.

Nine-times Coast to Coast winner Steve Gurney said competitors were attracted to the race because of the often-difficult conditions.

"Along with the mountains comes very unpredictable weather sometimes, but that's part of what makes the Coast to Coast so tough and so alluring."

Gurney remembered bad weather in 1992 and 2004. "In 1992, I don't remember much about it except it was raining really hard," he said.

"On the mountain run, it gets quite dangerous to cross rivers. The kayaking river got flooded, and when it's really high the rapids become much more vicious."

Christchurch woman Fleur Pawsey, 30, is taking part in her 10th Coast to Coast. "I've been really lucky over the last 10 years. I've only been rained on once in the first bike ride," she said.

- © Fairfax NZ News