I shot off into the mountains by foot with Carl Bevins, Scott McDonald, Ryan Kiesanowski and Steve Melton for company and Sam 2.5 minutes ahead. We quickly found our rhythm and I could sense that the effort to run with this group was striking a nice balance between efficiency and pace. I figured if we weren’t losing too much time we’d be best to keep moving along as we were. The trouble was, we had no clue whether we were making or losing time to Sam. It wasn’t until Goat Pass when a media person mentioned 3 minutes in a less-than-convincing tone, that we had a rough idea the time gap wasn’t changing too much.

Somewhere between the pass and the Minga flats (approximately 7km from the end of the run) we lost time and were told Sam’s lead was now around 7 minutes. Admittedly I panicked a little when I heard this and decided it was time to get on with it. I push along to Klondyke Corner as the second athlete to arrive, but 7 minutes in arrears. Certainly not a split to send massive alarm bells off, but equally not one that allowed any complacency. I was on the middle bike and starting to hustle.

On the run down to the kayak I ate a couple of boiled potatoes and told my crew that while my body wasn’t giving me amazing vibes, I was sticking to the plan and looking forward to getting on with the kayak. They reinforced the need to trust my plan and it was just what I needed to hear. When I set off in the kayak from Mt White Bridge, I made sure to keep my heart rate down at a level that I know offers my best chances of a consistent paddle across four hours. 

It would be another 3 hours (at Woodstock) before I would get any information on the gap to Sam. Those 3 hours felt like a long time to keep shelving the doubt and continue to believe that I might see Sam again before New Brighton.

I just pretended I was paddling with my training mate Hamish Pepper on Lake Wanaka, to help pass the time and feel the simple sense of joy that paddling a kayak brings. The split at Woodstock was 3.45min which was great news, because it meant I had pulled back 2-3 minutes and by Gorge Bridge it was down to 2.50min. As I exited the kayak I knew I had to stay in the moment and keep doing what I had done all day, focus on the job at hand.

The last ride was a bit of a blur. It really just involved putting my head down, eating and drinking and pushing the pedals. Funny how 10-11 hours of racing leaves the brain in a very simplistic state. That is about all I could think to do. Luckily I was able to catch and pass Sam about 25km into the 70km stage. As I went by I put my hand on his back. Nothing was said. But I intended it to be a display of respect and admiration for the way he had raced. I have been runner-up in this race four times, so I knew the feeling and wanted to acknowledge his performance at a time where he was no doubt devastated. As I said at the finish (and as Gordon Walker once said about me in 2010), he will win this race one day.