Mr Elliott said he first began competing in the Coast to Coast competition because of his older sister Claire who was competing.
‘‘I was still playing rugby at the time and was happy to try something else so I followed her into the race.
‘‘I’m in self pursuit of performance over the race and just love being involved with the event and seeing everyone else have a go and compete against the other athletes. Mr Elliott said his second Coast to Coast win felt ‘‘really rewarding’’.
‘‘I had done a lot of preparation and it takes a bit of a different mental approach when you’ve already won it once.
‘‘I guess if you hadn’t won before you might be more hungry, so to want to win it again took a little bit different mentality, but I knew I had the right mentality.
Mr Elliott said his mindset was one of his biggest focuses during the race.
‘‘You do want to be prepared for the highs and lows of the race.
‘‘You obviously go through some pretty dark zones. ‘‘I had promised myself I would enjoy the day for as long as possible, and that always gives me a good headspace when racing.
‘‘If you can hang on to that for as long as possible, then you generally perform better when you’re enjoying what you’re doing.
‘‘The perspective of how lucky you are to actually be there and doing it when you’re feeling sorry for yourself you can flip it pretty quick and think this is actually pretty cool,’’ he said.
Mr Elliott, a building apprentice and adventure tour guide said if he had to describe the race it would be the ‘‘ultimate New Zealand adventure’’.
‘‘It is such a raw but rewarding experience.
‘‘It’s sort of like a lifechanging event and a pursuit for anyone to have a go at, you don’t have to be an athlete to do it,’’ he said.
Mr Elliott said there had not yet been a celebration. ‘‘I was in the medical tent for about an hour after the race and watched my friend Rebecca who won the women’s come in.’’
Coast to Coast winners receive a trophy and $10,000.
‘‘It [the money] was a nice bonus but most of that money was spent on training and travelling.
‘‘I’m not here for the fame or the money, I guess for the curiosity.’’
Mr Elliott also competed in the team category in the Wānaka Challenge one week after winning Coast to Coast.
