Henham is set on beating his coast to coast race time

Spending $8000 and cycling, running and kayaking for 243 kilometres didn't put one Temuka man off the coast to coast, so he's back for another go.

Malcolm Henham let no expense get in his way for his first two-day individual coast to coast endurance multi-sport race last year, and plans to better his time by 1 1/2 hours this year.

The purchase of a new kayak, bike and the $900 entry fee as well as getting his support crew sorted for the weekend meant 2009 was a costly event for the Temuka tyre technician.

The 39-year-old is hoping to better his time of 16 hours and 20 minutes this year, and believed it was possible after a solid training schedule. "This year I've done a lot more training, a lot more running and a lot more cycling.

"I'm hoping to knock off 45 minutes in the run, half an hour in the kayak and 25 or 20 minutes in the kayak.

"I'm probably [training] close to two hours a night and I might have a good weekend where I do four hours on a Saturday.

"It's a tough race mentally, but it's just as tough physically."

Henham knew he would be back for a second crack at the event while he was still competing last year.

"I'd made my mind up on my last bike leg back to Christchurch that I was going to do it again.

"It's something I've always had an interest in and wanted to achieve well in and having done it last year I felt I wanted to better myself and my time.

"This sport seems to be rather addictive, it's quite enjoyable."

Henham did not consider himself a naturally fit person, but his preparation for this year's race began the day after last year's event.

"I basically didn't stop training, I just kept going."

He said the motivation could be hard to find when you train for a long time, but it was worth it. It does get hard, especially with work. Our hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm so that can make it hard to find the motivation, especially when it gets dark."

Henham said he planned to have a go in the men's one-day coast to coast event sometime in the future.

- © Fairfax NZ News