The main difference is the total hours per week. 2-Day Program: Beginner- Around 6-10hours per week with the odd 11-12 hour week. Intermediate:-8-12 hours per week on average with the odd 14 hour week peak week. 1 -Day Program: Beginner: Around 7-11hours per week with the odd 12-13 hour week. One or two big 15 hour weeks in the summer. Intermediate: 8-13 hours per week on average with the odd 15 hour peak week. All designed for the schedule of someone working Mon-Fri. (Long sessions on weekends)

Yes. Contact Sam. You can change between beginner and intermediate or change between 1-day and 2-day events. There is no extra charge for this.

It is important to note that other than the resources provided and the Facebook Live Q&A, Sam cannot provide any individualised coaching. This is due to his commitment to his athletes that he coaches full time on his comprehensive training plan. These plans has been created to ensure that all athletes of all abilities have access to the information they need to make the most of their Coast to Coast campaign at an incredibly low cost. You be able to talk with Sam and ask as many questions as you like during the free monthly Facebook live in a private Facebook group.

It depends on which program you purchase:

40 week program – Light fitness is recommended 1-2 runs, 1 bike and 1 kayak per week in the month prior to starting. The beginner version can be started with very low fitness level.

30 week program- Some fitness is recommended. 2 runs, 2 bikes and 2 kayaks per week 1-2 months prior to starting.

15 week program – Prior fitness and skills are important. 2-3 runs, 2-3 bikes and 2-3 kayaks per week in the 2 months prior to starting.

These plans are designed to get you very well prepared and for you to have a strong race day. They are not designed for you to only just make the finish-line. If used properly you should have a great day out. I believe the intermediate program, in the right hands, can get you a good placing in the field. If you continually misused the program and ignore advice you will have a very hard and uncomfortable time on event day and more likely to miss cut-offs, especially in the 1-day event.

Please limit this. Feel free to show others what you have been doing occasionally over your shoulder while viewing on your phone app or laptop. Certainly no screenshots on social media. As simple or complex as you may find some of the workouts, SMC needs your help to protect his work. You cannot load the program to another account and therefore only one person can sync their training to the program. If your team mate wants an individual account with the same training program so they can sync and record their training they should contact Sam to purchase one. The programs are a very affordable price. More on copyright in your resources files.

Ensure you have a high quality heart rate strap. I recommend the Garmin HRM Pro. Ensure you follow the instructions that come with the strap. Typical mistakes are:

1)The strap isn’t making good contact due to too loose or no moisture (wet your strap and chest lightly before each session).

2) You are not cleaning the strap. Rinse after each session and scrub with soap every 10 sessions, especially if in salt water.

3) The battery is low. If replacing the battery be very careful and ensure you leave the battery out for 15mins prior to new one to allow the unit to reset. I do not recommend wrist based heart rate (optical sensors on GPS watches). Wrist based Heart Rate is only accurate around the house, NOT during training.

Your program be yours until 5 weeks after event day. After this date the program will be removed. Your TrainingPeaks account is forever yours and all your uploaded workouts will remain in your calendar. The resources files are yours to keep. Every year Sam revises the training plans and resources and amends to them to ensure they are up-to-date and at a high standard. If you wish to use a SMC training plan again the following year, you can purchase one again using the new form. All past users receive a discount 🙂

This event or alternative training is obviously important to you. Enjoy your event e.g. wedding, try and fit in a short session still e.g. 30min run and get back on track as soon as you can. Alternative training, sometimes you have to make the most of opportunities e.g. a quality weekend on the course. If you are doing more training than planned you should allow for recovery, this may mean reducing the sessions you have in the day following (half the intervals reps and half the sessions time – OR in some cases eliminate the session/s). If you have removed sessions for a special event, you may increase session time in the 2-3 days following but NOT interval reps. In most cases, just get back on track ASAP and this is enough. In peak season you need to limit disruptions to the plan. More on this in your resources.

Rest! You must let your body recover. See if there are any key sessions that you may have missed, especially ones that you know you need the most e.g you have insufficient river kayaking skills or rock running skills and missed a river or rock session, or you have missed a long endurance session. Look ahead in your calendar and see if there are lower priority sessions you can replace with the ones you missed. In some cases you just have to move on, forget about the sessions you missed and just focus on getting back on track!

The Kathmandu Coast to Coast includes a kayak stage that is 70km with 100’s of rapids, it takes between 4-7 hours to complete. You must learn how to kayak and get out frequently. Search for a local kayaking club either flatwater, whitewater or sea kayaking to find people who you can paddle with and locations to go. If there is truly nowhere for you to paddle in your area then you need to reconsider doing the event as the kayak stage is long and technical, it must be respected or it can be dangerous. If you are paddling but there are no rapids near you then you must make the most of any opportunity e.g. any club trips or booking trips with a kayak guide or school such as Topsport to get on river rapids. Topsport provides guided trips through the Waimakariri gorge as well as skills days. Plan your summer, book trips and flights ahead. These kind of sessions certainly are higher priority over your training program sessions if your river skills are low.

You need to become competent in the kayak you have bought on grade II rapids. Show good, safe lines and maintain control. Show that you are capable of self-rescuing yourself in a rapid, that your wear correct gear and use appropriate equipment. Show that you are sensible, take the right amount of safety gear and emergency gear with you and make safe decisions. This is all covered on a Grade II Certificate course. However, some people will not become competent at paddling grade II rapids by the end of the course. This is common when learning something new and 3-4 days is generally not enough. Practice is what you need, more time in your boat on rapids. Then, prove your skills and you will be signed off! You should do a grade II course ASAP once you have decided you are doing the event, the sooner the better. Anyone who has done the race before will tell you they wish they had learned to kayak earlier and spent more time on the river.