Although hailing from Whakatane these days, Kumara-born Sam Clark will return to tilt for multisport's prestigious crown and make it a hat-trick.
In a race not involving Wanaka's Braden Currie in 2016, many thought Clark's victory was a little hollow, blindly overlooking the calibre of others in the field. But with Currie's return to the race last year, the silence from Clark's detractors was deafening as he shaved the best part of 35min from his winning time in 2016 to cross the line almost 8min ahead of second-placed Currie in 11hr 2min 43sec.
Clark's game face throughout the first half of the course, the only indication that the race was about to give witness to something special, and his victory were testament to the statement that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
But while Clark fronts up at short odds to make it a three-peat, there are a number of battle-hardened athletes lurking ready to spoil his party, among them 1998 champion Tim Pearson, Bobby Dean, who chased hard to finish fourth last year, and the promising Hamish Elliott, who finished third in last year's two-day challenge in his first time on the course.
Also not to be overlooked are leading Australian multisport athlete Alex Hunt, and South African Lance Kime.
Hunt, who finished third on the course two years ago, heads a strong Australian contingent ready to take transtasman rivalry to a new level. By his own admission finishing third behind Clark and Wanaka's Bob McLachlan in 2016 was satisfying in itself, as it was always going to be something of a reconnaissance race in preparation for a serious tilt at the title last year. But it was not to be as, despite finishing 20min quicker than in 2016, he allowed himself to drift into sixth place.
The heat has been turned up in the women's event, as two-time champion Sophie Hart (34) makes a bid for a third Longest Day title.
The Lyttelton GP first had success on the course in 2006 when she won the two-day challenge in 13hr 10min 47sec.
But her Longest Day victory in 2011 was nothing short of impressive when she crossed the line on Sumner Beach in 12hr 10min 31sec, just one minute outside the women's individual record set by Canterbury's Andrea Murray in 1997.
Finishing second to Hart in 2011 was then defending champion Elina Ussher, who crossed in 12hr 19min 27sec. Hart returned to the course again two years later to win the 2013 title in 12hr 36min 20sec. Ussher won a second title in 2012, and has gone back to back in 2016 and 2017.
While a three-in-a-row is a distinct possibility tomorrow for Ussher, overcoming the threat posed by Hart will not be an easy task.
But Hart is not Ussher's only threat. The race for the women's title is sure to be keenly contested with last year's runner up Robin Owen, a South African endurance specialist, who may well be wiser a second time on the course. Others in the mix are Corrine O'Donnell (Whakatane), Simone Maier (Christchurch), 2016 two-day champion Anna Barret (Bay of Plenty), Teneal Hatton (Auckland), one of a few to claim victory in the K1 500 over Lisa Carrington.
The field for the event is full for the first time in a decade and about 800 athletes will line up. It will be the last race for race director Richard Ussher before he stands down.
Coast to Coast
At a glance
•First held as a two-day race in 1983 (79 competitors; over 800 now).
•Longest Day (one day race) introduced in 1987.
•Race start: Kumara Beach 7am Friday (two day race); 6am Saturday (Longest Day).
•Total distance: 243km (3km run, 55km bike, 33km alpine run, 15km bike, 67km kayak, 70km bike).
•Race record (men): Keith Murray 10hr 34min 37sec (1994).
•Race record (women): Andrea Murray 12hr 9min 26sec (1997).