Multisport: Curious George

George Christison wasn't exactly the picture of a model athlete propping up the bar with a beer in one hand and a rollie cigarette in the other.

Arguably, New Zealand's fittest man isn't exactly your model athlete. He comes across as someone who cares little for designer clothes, designer training programmes and designer egos, and he's certainly not one who treats his body like a temple.

While he might appear to be the antithesis of today's elite athlete, in many ways George Christison actually epitomises the Southern Man image of the Coast to Coast - one of the toughest one-day races on the planet.

To win, you need to be hard (his opponents all agree he's one of the hardest around), you need to be a little mad (just look at Steve Gurney) and you need to be down to earth and be able to have a laugh at yourself.

As Christison was enjoying a few beers and dragging on his rollie last February, he was also reflecting on the fact he had just toppled Gurney from his mantle and ended his seven-year grip on New Zealand's pre-eminent multisport event.

The 34-year-old father of four doesn't have "gizmos" like a mobile phone and wouldn't know how to use a heart-rate monitor. He doesn't even have a coach or training programme, preferring to go out and train as hard as he can.

"I've never gone in for that scientific stuff," Christison says from his farm in Tutira, 30 minutes north of Napier. "And I'm certainly not worried about the odd beer now and again. You've got to have a life as well and can't be completely fixated with sport and your health."

Although Christison very rarely smokes now, it's a throwback to his past when he and a few mates would sit around a campfire on hunting trips enjoying a cigarette and a cup of tea.

While he had a love of the outdoors, Christison also had a competitive streak and it was a natural progression for an athletic young farmer to get into a fledgling sport like multisport in the 1980s.

His first crack at the Coast to Coast came in 1998, when he finished fourth. He backed this up with a fifth in 2002 before his win last year.

Many were shocked to see Christison beat Gurney last February, in a race in which only a third of the competitors finished because of bad conditions, but it didn't surprise the former policeman.

"I hadn't worked hard in previous attempts," he says. "I knew I could win it one day if I put a lot more effort in and that's what I did last year, I suppose.

"What made the win more satisfying was the fact I beat Steve Gurney, especially by over 12 minutes, which is quite a margin in that race. He was certainly the man to beat because of his history and profile, so it was very special for me to be able to knock him off."

Christison admits this year's event will lose some of its gloss because of Gurney's absence who, once again, said last year's event would be his last but who is now out with an ankle injury.

While everyone will be gunning to beat the defending champion when the one-day race starts in the early hours of February 5, Christison, in his laconic way, isn't really too bothered whether he wins or not.

"I've got a fulltime job and a family and it doesn't mean anything to me to go out there and win the Coast to Coast," he explains. "It's my hobby and my sport. To others it means a lot."

That's not to say Christison holds a dim view of the event and won't be trying his utmost to win on the day. It's just that he's achieved what he's wanted and can see a future beyond the Coast to Coast.

Before last year's win he had told his wife and friends it would be his last race if he didn't win. Of course he did win and it has opened a number of doors that could remain open for some time in the sport of adventure racing - events contested over a number of days.

Christison teamed up with some of the biggest names in the sport to finish second in the Borneo Outdoor Quest last November and, while it might not seem like a remarkable result, it didn't tell the full story.

The night before the race, Christison fractured his wrist rollerblading - "I had never learnt how to stop," he says - but didn't want to let his team-mates down and completed the race.

On the fourth day he cracked a rib when a kayak slammed into him, meaning he had breathing difficulties. If that wasn't bad enough, he was also recovering from a bout of giardia.

"It was pretty hard," he says in his understated way. "There were a lot of expletives, but it was an opportunity I just couldn't miss because you can make a bit of money from these events."

Christison's battle against the odds makes it easy to see why Gurney said after last year's Coast to Coast that Christison had the "skin of a rhino and must push bulldozers for a living" in reference to his toughness.

The man himself, though, is a bit coy about the backhanded compliment.

"I don't think I'm any different to anyone else," he says, no doubt before lacing up his running shoes and taking to the hills around his home. If normal for a top athlete is competing with broken bones and enjoying a smoke and a drink, then he's one hell of a regular guy.


Winners

1987 - RUSSELL PRINCE
1988 - JOHN JACOBY
1989 - JOHN JACOBY
1990 - STEVE GURNEY
1991 - STEVE GURNEY
1992 - R. MONTGOMERY
1993 - JOHN JACOBY
1994 - KEITH MURRAY
1995 - IAN EDMOND
1996 - NEIL JONES
1997 - STEVE GURNEY
1998 - STEVE GURNEY
1999 - STEVE GURNEY
2000 - STEVE GURNEY
2001 - STEVE GURNEY
2002 - STEVE GURNEY
2003 - STEVE GURNEY
2004 - G. CHRISTISON

- HERALD ON SUNDAY