The KathmanduCoast to Coast is proving to be more than just a multisport endurance race forsome groups of young people in Canterbury. Fora number of years Trusts in the region have been using the event to provideopportunities for vulnerable young people in the community. Some of these youngpeople have come from difficult backgrounds where there may be issues ofsubstance abuse or poverty and some may have convictions. All are looking tomake positive changes in their lives. Coastto Coast Rangers, 180 Degrees Trust and Waipuna Trust have been working with thesegroups of young people to train for, and compete in the Coast to Coast withoutstanding results. TheCoast to Coast Rangers is now in its sixth year of offering students fromChristchurch East, predominantly Linwood High School the opportunity to participate.JessyMoffatt, a founding member of the Coast to Coast Rangers, says she initially startedrecruiting competitors by going into school assemblies and pitching to them. Thisyear with covid-19 it meant she wasn’t able to go into schools, but as itturned out that wasn’t a problem.“Wehave had the most kids ever turn up this year wanting to be involved and it’sbasically been through word of mouth.“We initiallyhad 30 people turn up and we are now down to 12 after we put them through someintense training. But we have got a really great group and they’re going sowell.” Moffattsaid this year has also been exciting to see some siblings of students who havebeen a part of the group in previous years join up.“It’sawesome to see. I think the best feedback we could have hoped for is seeing howmany kids turned up this year. It’s just so cool they want to be involved.” “Theyget really well looked after and have so much support, Kathmandu are amazing atproviding all the gear.” “It’sa massive deal for both the Trust and the kids to have the support ofKathmandu, having everyone dressed in the same kit offers a real sense ofbelonging and also ensures everyone’s out training in appropriate gear.”Another Trust using the Coast to Coast as a tool tohelp young people is the 180 Degrees Trust which was established in 2007. Managing trustee, Jeremy Nurse, says their mission isto use the Canterburyhigh country as a classroom and as an opportunity to challenge at risk youngpeople to turn their lives around.The Trust’s signature expedition isthe Southern Alps Traverse where they broadly follow the classic Coast to Coastroute. This year for the first time, the Trust is working with Cashmere HighSchool to train up two teams of really keen students for the Coast to Coast.  Nurse said they are really happy withhow it’s going.  “This year we have selected sixstudents from Cashmere high school and arranged sponsorship for them for the 2021Coast to Coast. We have a great team around them and look forward to theirsuccess in February.” Success is the key word for Nursewhen it comes to these young peoples’ involvement in the event. He wants themall to experience a taste of it.  “It’s not about where they come, justby being involved they will have achieved success,” Nurse says.  Dan Eastwood and Reon Nolan work withyouth offenders in Canterbury in their role at Waipuna Trust and TeRangatahi Tumanako. Eastwood said this is the fourth year they have been involved intraining and entering teams in the Coast to Coast.  “One of the best parts of the eventfor the guys is to stay away together, it gives them a good opportunity to bondnot just with each other but with the volunteers and support people as well.It’s also a great event for them to see a group of positive, healthy peopleworking hard and for them to be a part of that environment.  “The flip side of that is that theother competitors get to see our guys as humans and they can see theirpositive, kind and caring sides.”  Eastwood said the journey leading upto the event is even more important than the race itself. He said it’s not justthe physical, but also the emotional and psychological gains. “Most of these guys are already quitefit and through their life experiences they know a lot about resilience. Butit’s the chats on the long bike rides where they can open up and share thingsin a pressure free environment that’s really beneficial too.” Eastwood says there’s something specialabout the Coast to Coast. He says multisport is a sport without egos and inmany ways the event is a leveller.  “The work we do with these guys isfor the long haul; we can’t expect massive changes in just six months. But what we focus on is the thousands of little wins along the way.”