40th Kathmandu Coast to Coast
The 40th Anniversary Race is in the Balance due to new Covid Restrictions
Press Release / 24.01.2022
The 40th Anniversary Kathmandu Coast to Coast race has been affected by introduction of Covid restrictions yesterday, 3 weeks ahead of the race start date. Race organisers have moved to cancel the two day event, and the remaining races are in the balance.
New Zealand has moved to 'a red traffic light setting', which limits numbers at indoor and outdoor events to 100 vaccinated people, following the finding of 9 Omicron cases in the country.
Yet again, this has pushed outdoor events into a difficult (perhaps impossible) situation, trying to plan ahead with no clear idea how long restrictions will last and under frequently changing, and sometimes unclear regulations.
As things stand the C2C organising team has made the tough decision to cancel the two-day event, and are seeking more information to determine if they can run the 'Longest Day' and mountain run races. (Which would require changing the race operation to a POD and wave system.)
Their statement issued yesterday announced the two-day cancellation and regarding the running of the other events said; "We need further time to explore the feasibility from both an operational and safety perspective." (The next government announcement is on Wednesday.)
This will be a huge disappointment for all involved. 1400 racers had entered and almost 1000 of these were in the 2-day race. The organisers now face a huge amount of stress and additional work, added to the financial uncertainty, given the government insurance scheme only applies to events with over 5000 participants.
Other races planned for the NZ summer could still be in the same position.
The full statement from the Coast to Coast race is as follows';
We appreciate your patience. Whilst we want to communicate as early as possible, we also feel it’s imperative that we explore all possibilities of running the 2022 Kathmandu Coast to Coast. We believe we owe this to you the athletes. We have worked through the latest information in regard to the Traffic Light Red settings under the Government COVID-19 protection framework and with the information we currently have we have made the following decisions:
2 Day Kathmandu Coast to Coast Event
(2 Day Individual, 2 & 3 Person Relay Teams, Tandem Teams)
Unfortunately, it is with real disappointment that we have to announce that it is not possible to host these events under the Traffic Light Red guidelines. Therefore, we have been forced to cancel the 2 Day event. We will supply further information about this process to impacted athletes on Friday 28 January.
1 Day Kathmandu Coast to Coast Event & Mountain Run*
(Longest Day Elite, Longest Day Age Group, 1 Day 3 Person Teams, Mountain Run)
From the information we have currently there is some potential for us to operate these events on Saturday 12th February utilising a ‘POD’ and wave situation. Please note there are absolutely no changes permitted from other event categories into these events.
However, we need further time to explore the feasibility from both an operational and safety perspective.
This requires more information from the Government, to which we are awaiting their next announcement on Wednesday. We appreciate your patience and understanding in terms of a delayed decision in regard to these events.
Mountain Runners
As above. We need more time to explore the possibilities of running this event. Our major consideration would be, could this be run on the Saturday, rather than on the Friday. We understand this might cause some disruption to travel and accommodation arrangements, so will continue to factor that into our considerations.
We appreciate all the positive messages we have had from the multisport community, and our thoughts are with all of you who made the sacrifices and commitment to take on this special event.
We do hope everyone is making the most of this perfect Summer and are squeezing some adventures in with like-minded mates as that really is what makes this event so special.
Nga mihi,
Glen & The Kathmandu Coast to Coast Team
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