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Queenstown's Dylan Vickerman is either a very brave man or a very fortunate man.
Vickerman had plenty of family support, including new wife Anna Green, when he contested the two-day section of the Coast to Coast.
He and preschool teacher Green were married on Coronet Peak, just days before Vickerman lined up on Kumara beach with 600 others.
The honeymoon has included having a tent on Kumara raceway and Klondyke Corner as a honeymoon suite, with sister-in-law (Susan Green) and mother-in-law (Chris Green) in tow, as members of the support crew.
Vickerman (31), a pilot, had time on his hands while contemplating his wedding day and subsequent honeymoon.
He decided to run his idea of competing in the Coast to Coast past his fiancee and phoned her in Queenstown from his base in Papua New Guinea.
"I didn't know what to expect, but she warmed to the idea," Vickerman said.
"Anna's been pretty good about this. I don't think there'd be too many women out there who'd want to spend their honeymoon in a tent.
"She's very tolerant of all my ideas."
With his mother-in-law, sister-in-law and friends acting as his support crew, Vickerman did not want for company, nor medicinal advice afterwards, as his mother-in-law is a nurse at Timaru Hospital.
Although Vickerman had little idea of what to expect from the multisport race, having only a background in kayaking and mountain biking, along with squash, touch, skiing and tramping, he was always confident of making it through.
His aim was to finish and to get a taste for the event, as he considered putting the Longest Day on his bucket list.
"Just don't expect me in with the leaders. I'm not going to reinvent the wheel."
Vickerman said he would also be keen to return as part of a two-person team with his wife.
Green, asked for her thoughts, said it might be something to consider.