The 40th running of the Coast to Coast will take place on Saturday, just weeks after it seemed the longest day event would be called off due to COVID-19 'red light' restrictions.
But after the race was given the green light last month, Wanaka's Dougal Allan launched head-first into his preparations to defend his title.
"There were a few days there where I was pretty sure we weren't racing," Allan tells Newshub.
But the show is going on, and now the two-time defending longest day champion is ready to push the boat out.
"If people have never done it they want to do it, and if people have done it they want to go back and do it better again," Allan says of the gruelling event.
That unique challenge has seen the event's popularity grow rapidly since it started in the early 1980s.
And with the pandemic making it tricky to compete overseas, Allan is grateful he can line up again in the iconic multi-sport race on his own doorstep.
"Any opportunity I get to do a race at the moment is one that I cherish," he says.
The race boasts some of multi-sports' most well-known figures, including names like Steve Gurney, Richard Usher and Braden Currie.
Allan is now hoping to make it title No.3, when the event gets underway early Saturday at Kumara Beach.
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