Multisport: The coast is clear

As far as lifestyle choices go, putting your body through hell for days on end would seem to many to be a strange choice.

But for Kristina Strode-Penny, who packed in her job as a PE lecturer to become a fulltime adventure racer, it's a lifestyle she loves.

The 30-year-old Cantabrianhas a fine list of achievements on her CV and goes into Saturday's Coast to Coast as the defending women's champion.

She decided only a couple of weeks ago to enter, however, realising she could fit it into her busy schedule of adventure racing that saw her overseas for more than four months last year.

"The race season follows the Northern Hemisphere summer from April to December so if I didn't take a break after that, it would mean I would be racing the whole year," she said.

"It was a difficult choice to do the Coast to Coast again, but I took three weeks off in December and I'm really glad I've decided to do it.

"It's a classic race to travel from one coast to the other and the terrain is stunning. That draws me back to it, but I can't see myself doing a Steve Gurney and coming back to it for years in a row."

Strode-Penny's pedigree was spotted from the outset when she finished second behind five-time Coast to Coast winner Kathy Lynch in only her second race in 1996.

During the prize-giving she was asked to join a team for a race in Canada and she's since gone on to claim the women's event in the Length of New Zealand race in 2001 by more than a day and replaced Lynch to join New Zealand's top professional adventure racing team, Team Seagate, three years ago.

Saturday's Coast to Coast will have a team element for the individual one-day competitors for the first time.

Event creator Robin Judkins has added a World Teams Challenge this year in an attempt to grab more international coverage.

Seven international teams have entered - New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, China, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom - with teams of two men and one woman.

All members have to complete the course, with the lowest combined time the winners.

Strode-Penny, who will be joined by last year's men's winner George Christison and third-place getter Richard Ussher, is excited about the concept.

"You're racing as an individual, but it will feel like you're part of something a little bigger," she said. "That's why I like team racing."

New Zealand will start as favourites in the race, with the biggest challenge likely to come from an Australia team headed by former surf lifesaving champion Guy Andrews.

The two-day event starts on Friday and will include world champion and Olympic silver medal-winning kayaker Ben Fouhy teaming up with three-time world mountain running champion Jonathan Wyatt.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY