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Australian comedian, Hamish Blake, best known for his work as a part of the comedy duo Hamish and Andy, is attempting his first Coast to Coast.
The two-time winner of the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, now faces his toughest challenge yet, when he attempts the gruelling 234-kilometre run, cycle and kayak from the West Coast to the East Coast of the South Island.
Speaking to the Herald, Blake said he heard about the race many years ago.
“It seemed like such a unique challenge. It always stuck in my mind, and over the years my teammate and I had always talked about one day doing it.”
“The opportunity to enter popped up at a time when I’d recently turned 40 and it occurred to me that unless something wild happens with the laws of time, I’m not getting any younger and it was time to have a crack,” he said.
Blake, the current host of LEGO Masters Australia, told the Herald he’s most excited to be in the wild for a few days with a mate, to see how well they can overcome all the challenges that arise.
Hamish Blake faces his toughest challenge yet when he attempts the gruelling 234km race from the West Coast to the East Coast of the South Island.
“The nerves come from the fact we’re both beginner paddlers, and I’m quite frankly a s*** runner. Really the only thing I have experience with is cycling. So having a pretty shallow bucket of skill to draw from makes it a bit daunting, but also, that’s where the fun is. No one wants to do this event because it’s a comfortable day or two,” he said.
The comedian, actor, host, podcaster and author shared some insights into his rigorous training regimen for the endurance event.
“As well as an increasing biking and aerobic building programme, I’ve also invested a bit of time in yoga and strength training to hopefully be a bit more robust out there.”
“Paddling was the trickiest, I don’t happen to have a good whitewater river roaring past my house in Sydney so after getting certified at the Olympic whitewater course I have had to train on Sydney harbour in a surf ski trying to get caught in the wake of ferries to give me some experience.”
“Thankfully too we spent a few days earlier this year on the ‘Waimak’ so the race wasn’t our first ever day in a boat together, and that proved invaluable. I would say it moved the needle from us being “negligent” doing this to now just wildly optimistic,” Blake said.
Hamish Blake’s career ballooned following his radio show with his friend Andy Lee in the early 2000s, as the comic duo Hamish & Andy. Photo / Wendell Teodoro.
Blake’s career ballooned following his radio show with his friend Andy Lee in the early 2000s, as the comic duo Hamish & Andy.
Their show was the highest-rating radio programme in Australian history, reaching more than 2.5 million listeners a week.
“There’s not a lot of overlap between what I do for a job and being ready for this race, except for the fact I reckon we’re going to need a pretty good sense of humour out there,” he told the Herald.
“Luckily I have managed to fit in the sessions early mornings and around family life and like everyone else lining up, have a very tolerant partner who needs to be thanked.”
Blake said his goal is to have a good time, not get a good time
“If we cross the line, we’ll take it as a win. I’m doing this too because I think it’s important in life to tackle big hard things not because you think you can do them, but because there’s part of you that thinks you can’t.” he said.
