Bay of Plenty’s Katie Hodge completes Coast to Coast 30 years after liver transplant

It took Bay of Plenty woman Katie Hodge 16 hours and 18 minutes over two days to cross the finish line of the South Island’s 243km Coast to Coast multisport race.

Hodge participated in the February 9 and 10 multisport race to mark 30 years since her life-saving liver transplant.

She finished 15th in the open category for athletes aged 18 to 39, and was the 23rd out of 74 females to finish the individual event.

The massage therapist and plant-based chef, originally from Pikowai near Whakatāne, had a “lot of nerves” leading up to the race, with “tears walking to the start line”.

However, “as long as I finish it, that was the goal”.

Katie Hodge paddling through a Grade 2 rapid on the Waimakariri River.

Memorable moments included ending up upside down in the river while kayaking, learning how to pack ride with other cyclists and a fellow athlete asking her to take a bag of lollies out of his pack so he didn’t have to remove it, and sharing the lollies.

“I swear that got me to the end of the first day.”

Katie Hodge running over Goat Pass, which was past the halfway point.

One of the first things Hodge did after finishing the race was go for a swim at Brighton Beach in Christchurch.

She said she raised more than $6000 for Starship hospital “to say thank you” for the care she received as a child.

Liver transplant

Hodge was a year old when she travelled to Australia for a life-saving liver transplant, she previously told the Bay of Plenty Times.

As a newborn, Hodge looked as if she had jaundice, so her mother took her to a specialist where she was diagnosed with biliary atresia.

“They weren’t doing transplants in New Zealand so it was a big deal ... We were there for six months waiting for that transplant.

Katie Hodge during the first cycling leg of the race.

“It cost a lot of money to go and do it ... and not knowing also if I’d make it.”

She said the first seven years of her life were “really hard” and she often got “really sick” as her body adjusted to the new liver.

At one point, Hodge spent six months “coming and going” from Starship hospital for surgeries.

As an adult, however, she has regular check-ups and blood tests and could live life as “normal”.

“I feel very lucky that I’m here and I’m this healthy and I’m able to do all the things I want to do.”

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.