Miazga Motivated for More
Emily Miazga won’t be getting must rest over Christmas. After a frustrating year the former multisport world champion is
back in training, determined to retain her world title at the Speight’s Coast to Coast.
Every time she heads out to train Emily Miazga has the memory of her disastrous year for motivation. In the build up to
the 2010 Speight’s Coast to Coast the three-time champion had been odds-on favourite. But two weeks out from the 243k
race across the South Island Miazga badly sprained an ankle while training on the mountain run course. Short on training
and in pain, she limped through the race to fourth place, almost an hour behind winner Elina Ussher.
It’s been a long road back. The ankle problem eventually required surgery to reconstruct a lateral ligament and tidy up
some cartilage. But by early December Miazga was fit enough for her first recce of the famous Speight’s Coast to Course
route when she went over the 36k mountain run and 67k kayak on consecutive days.
Miazga’s comeback couldn’t be better timed. The 29th Speight’s Coast to Coast is being billed as the “Year of the
Veteran”. At 36 she will contest the race for the eighth time. The Canadian broke through internationally with third
place in the 2004 and 2005, and then never went home, winning the race three times as well as settling on the South
Island’s West Coast where she runs her successful business, Em’s Power Cookies. But her competition is similarly
experienced.
Miazga’s arch rival, Elina Ussher, may have won her first Speight’s Coast to Coast only last year but the Finnish-born
Nelson resident is now a four-time veteran of the event. Taumarunui’s Rachel Cashin has twice finished third (2007,2008)
and will be 39 on race day. Christchurch athletes Fleur Pawsey and Sia Svenden will also be tough. Swedish-born Svendsen
has a best of only 11th from 2008, but she has won the Two Day Teams race in 2007 and 2010. Her 2010 teammate was
Pawsey, and both could have a strong impact on the One Day race.
The advantage of age and experience has been a strong trend among winners in the Speight’s Coast to Coast. Historical
standouts such as six-time winner Kathy Lynch and four-time winner Jill Westenra won on their first attempt, but were
already well into their 30s and had represented New Zealand in other endurance sports. Other champions, such as Fleur
Pawsey (2007) and Kristina Anglem (2004, 2005) were also-rans in their early years before coming back to dominate.
Indeed, in the history of the event the only exception has been 1994’s freak performance by Christchurch rookie Andrea
Murray. Murray, the wife of men’s record holder Keith Murray utilised her husband’s experience, perfect weather and
stiff competition from Kathy Lynch to put up a course record of 9hrs 09min 26secs that still stands today.
The 29th Speight’s Coast to Coast is scheduled for February 11-12, 2011. More than 800 entries from all over the world
are expected on the start line.
ENDS