As the 40th anniversary of the Kathmandu Coast to Coast approaches, many athletes have reflected on what the event has meant to them. For the Patterson family, their association with the race started more than 20 years ago. In 2000 Thomas Patterson was a student at Canterbury University and working at his family business in Christchurch when he and his brother Ken first entered the event.

“One of the guys at work was telling my brother Ken and I how he was doing the Coast to Coast and that we should do it too, so we thought we would give it a go.

“Ken was a slightly better runner than me, so I had to get a paddle and learn to kayak!”

Patterson says there has been a lot of lessons learnt since their first race.

“We knew absolutely nothing about nutrition and we only had one bike between us.”

They both came back again the following year; this time entering as individuals and finished the event only four minutes apart.

 “At that time in my life, being a student, it was easy to train and I had a lot of mates who were keen to either just train with me or give it a go too. I think back then it was always about being able to go as fast as possible and get the best results possible,” Patterson says.

The brothers competed as individuals for the next five years, racking up many memorable moments on the course.

“One year it was completely washed out and my brother and I, along with other competitors, had to be evacuated by helicopter. It was one of those things where you are disappointed at the time but you realise how bad things could have gone. You fully appreciate the thorough health and safety protocols.”

Patterson’s late father Tom Patterson, enjoyed the event so much he was keen to become a sponsor through their family hotel, The Commodore.

“My parents were always there supporting us and my Dad used to say, if something like that had been around in his day, he would have been in to it. I think the fact we were all so passionate about the Coast to Coast is why we were keen to be involved commercially, it just connected with us.”

 “Over the years we have had a lot of domestic and international athletes stay with us. We really enjoy meeting them and love talking to them about the race, especially the week of the race. Often, we actually end up going for a run or a cycle with them,” Patterson says.

Since 2020 The Commodore Hotel has been operating as a Managed Isolation and Quarantine Facility, meaning it hasn’t been able to open to the public. In 2021 the Pattersons had the opportunity to purchase the Hotel Montreal in the Christchurch CBD and once again welcome guests.

Patterson says he is looking forward to restoring some of their old traditions with the event.

 “My Dad used to make sure we kept the bar and restaurant open late at the end of the event for all the officials, admins and competitors to be able to come back and unwind. It was always a good night.”

The Pattersons involvement in the event has also grown to include more family members. Thomas and his wife Jo have competed together in both the two-day team and tandem. Last year, Thomas did the two-day tandem with his nephew Hamish Patterson and this year some of his nephews are doing it as a team and another is entered in the Mountain Run. While, wife Jo is doing the three-person team with her brother Hayden.

“It’s great that they are all getting involved. I think Robin Judkin created this magic event and then every race director since has added their own touch and further enhanced it. I look at someone like myself who started out wanting to be as competitive as possible in the individual events to now just doing it because I love it. I’d almost want to do the tandem every year, I really enjoy sharing the experience with someone.

“Having all the different categories means it’s an event that can suit anyone at whatever stage in life or fitness level they are. It keeps people in the event for longer.”  

With Thomas and Jo’s kids having grown up watching their parents, uncles and now cousins all taking part in the event they have been inspired to do it one day too.

“My son Will says he wants to do it, he’s only 10-years-old, so part of me thinks I should keep doing it and keep fit so I might be able to do it with him one day.



“Whatever happens, I think I will always want to be involved with the Coast to Coast one way or another.”