Russell Prince: Athlete on the upcoming Coast to Coast multi-sport event

The 2025 Coast to Coast event kicks off next week, thousands of athletes traversing the width of the South Island in one of the longest multi-sport events in the world.  

Three generations of the Prince family will be lining up at the start line as part of the teams section, and veteran Russell Prince joined Lesley to chat about the upcoming event.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, Russell Prince, you are into your seventieth year and
we all know your very storied background with the Coast
to Coast but this year, of course, you're going to
be part of a team, a family team, a far
No team, and you've got your grandson Lewis Blay, You've
got your son Aaron Prince, and between the three of
you you are making up the team event in the

(00:21):
twenty twenty five cat Mandu Coast to Coast. So how
are preparations going? Can? I ask?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Pretty good from my side as I just I'm just
sitting in my car with my CA I've just come
out of a three pedal. That's my last long pedal
before the event, and I'll take it off now between
the events. So my pedally's gone well, my balance is good.
Being down the gorge and a lot of kayaker swimming,
and Aaron and my granddaughter Gregor rescued one of them

(00:48):
or two of them, so you know, it's just we've
had a lot of fun leading up to it, so
training's got confident.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
What happened in the rescue.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
I'm one of the peddlers. There were lots of pedals
on a Sunday going down and the ones that are
not so good, you know, they end up swimming in
the gorge. Aaron and my granddaughter gret a room a
double sea kike, and they pulled one of them out
and then they called another one out a bit further up.
Just give them bit the help because you're not racing.
Your there to look after yourself and look after others.

(01:17):
So yeah, and that's what they do.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
He never said that to me when I was chatting
to them. But anyway, modest interesting, isn't it with the
coast to coast and the three components to it, like
the running, the biking, the peddling. The peddling seems to
cause the most angst amongst competitors, and that's the part
that you chose to compete in.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, it's one of the things I really enjoy doing.
I certainly enjoy being in in white Water and the
gorge here because it's so beautiful and it's challenging. But
saying that, well, all I was thinking about it in
I was paddling this morning. All the stages are challenging.
It's the mountain run. It's technical. You've got to watch
where you put your feet. You' don't to slip, slip
over and under anything your hands or your your shins

(01:55):
or whatever. You've got to really look after yourself in
there because you can you can tip over it in
an instant. Same with the bike ride, it's a lot
There are a lot of people on the bunches and
the bike ride they've got to be really careful that
they don't move out of their line and take anybody down.
And I've seen it happened lots of times before, so
it's a bit nerve wracking. The bike ride it's probably
more nerve wracking because if you come with your bike

(02:17):
you get hurt, whereas the other disciplines you're not going
to get hurt as bad. But yeah, they're all challenging.
They are there, definitely are.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
When you think that nineteen eighty seven you were the
longest day winner Coast to Coast amazing. You still hold
the new Zealand record for the one hundred k road
run and you've done twenty Coast to coast anyway, where
does this being part of a team.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
It's sort of unbelievable really, but it's such a nice
thing to well, not to finish off my fitness career
or training or whatever, but it's a very nice way
to do it, and especially going it with your family.
I don't think I've raced in anybody from my family before.
It's this will be the first time. And knowing knowing
Aaron and Lewis so well and I dedicated sports people.

(03:00):
It'll be a lot of fun, and it'll be especially
a lot of fun for Lewis. I'm really looking forward
to seeing how he goes in the mountain run. He
just has to get through it pretty much, and that'll
be a big achievement. He's only fifteen, he's got he's
a lot of developing togards of honor.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
In the end, it's the conditions on the day, right,
because they can change so dramatically.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yes, yes, for him. There's a bit of rain around
which there's a bit of forecast for the later next week.
It'll be the river will be it'll be getting out
waste steep on some of the crossings. But there's always
plenty of other competitors around here, and they seen the
game together naturally and help each other across the river
crossings early on, so that's not really a problem. If
they gets any higher than that day, they wouldn't have

(03:40):
the mountain run. So yeah, it's challenging, but there's a
lot of other people in there that will help you
out too.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Can I ask you, are you in it to win it?

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Well? It'd be nice to win the family team section.
I think we also fit into the veteran team category
two with all combined ages, but the family things will
be quite good. It would just be good to do
well in it. I think for all of us to
come through each stetch and do it really well. I
think about Aaron, and I think Aaron my son. He's
forty five now. The last competitive time I did the

(04:10):
Coast to Coast I was forty two or forty three
as a veteran, so he whatever, And I found it
hard going through that mountain run as a or any
part of it. In the cycle stages, everything was hard.
You know. I did well in it, but it was
still a lot harder. You know. Well, he's now till
three years older than I was, so you know, good

(04:31):
on them.

Speaker 1 (04:32):
Yeah, I mean combined angels of what one hundred.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
And thirty I think, so it's something like that one.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
Hundred and twenty nine hundred resorts of people your age
on blood pressure medicine and cholesterol. Are you on anything.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
I've got a few tablets that I'm on for just
a few things, but they're not not for cholesterol or
anything like that. So I'm doing okay. I've got a
lot of friends. As you say that they health wise
at our age, my age, they're not, say God, I
think it's just there of going to something for your fatness.
Whether it's about walking the dogs or kaya king for

(05:06):
me or mountain biking. There's a lot of different things
you can do there day.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
I can't wait to see you guys come in the
finish line up New Brighton Beach.

Speaker 2 (05:13):
Yeah, and my daughter Jackie's doing the one of the
Veterans two day. So Jackie's doing her abouts off coast
to coast, I think, so we're excited for her too.
She's here with the other the three of us, so
before it was altogether from the family, so plus all
the support crews, so it'll be absolutely wonderful.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
We can only just wish you the best and in
the meantime, have a good week just tapering off and
we'll look forward to seeing you at New Brighton Beach
on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
I look forward to that. We'll catch up either over
at the event or on the beach.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
See Definitely For more from News Talk Said Be listen.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
Live on air or online, and keep

Speaker 1 (05:49):
Our shows with you wherever you go with our podcast
on IR Radio.