Since Sam finished second overall to win the junior section of the two-day event as an 18-year-old in 2009, his proud father has made the journey south to support his son's endeavours, making Saturday's victory special indeed.
Clark held a substantial lead when he came off the 33km kayak stage at Gorge Bridge and the first person to assist him from his craft was Bill, who ran with him up the rise to the cycling transition point.
Although holding back on emotion, Clark was quick to spread the credit for his success in lifting the world championship multisport crown that goes with the Longest Day title.
‘‘Only those who know me well can actually appreciate just how long and how much I wanted this,'' he said at the finish.
‘‘It's quite overwhelming to finally tick that box and to be able to call myself a Coast to Coast champion. This is the performance that I wish I'd had last year,'' he added of finishing runner-up to Wanaka's Braden Currie.
‘‘Fortune said that I'd come back and here I am. I've finally done it.''
Clark 's first experience with the Longest Day was literally blown out of the water in the weather-bombed 2010 event.
But on Saturday he was rewarded for his perseverance after disappointing results in 2011 and 2013 and wearing last year's runner-up tag.
The race was set up for Clark early on, with none of the 15-strong leading group of riders on the 55km bike section prepared to make a move before the transition to the 33km alpine run stage at Aichens.
‘‘I just went out like a cut cat and managed to stay away all day,'' he said of making his move early on the run, where initially he had only Bobby Deans (Christchurch) and Alex Hunt (Tasmania) on his heels.
Once in the Deception Valley, Clark went up another gear and by the midway point at Doreen Stream he held an 8min lead, which by the time he entered the water for the kayak stage had grown to 23min.
Clark then negotiated the low water flow in the Waimakiriri River and headwind on the 70km cycle to the finish to record one of the most dominant victories in the event, completing the 243km west to east coast journey in 11hr 37min 7sec, a massive 52min 33sec clear of second-placed Bob McLachlan (Wanaka), who clocked 12hr 29min 40sec.
Tasmanian Alex Hunt, despite his lack of preparation, finished third in 12hr 33min 44sec.
With athletes from Wanaka and Nelson dominating the event in recent years, the northern raiders from Whakatane continued to celebrate when teenage sensation Hayden Wilde won the two-day title in 12hr 18min 47sec.
Wilde held a 22min lead at the end of day one and, despite waking feeling ill, overcame his health issue and a shoulder strain to stay well clear of any threats. Gerard Morrison finished second in 13hr 52min 2sec, a stunning 1hr 33min 15sec behind the winner.
Gear failure on the kayak by world Xterra champion Mimi Myriam Guillot-Boisset (France) opened the way for Elina Ussher to record her third open women's title in the Longest Day section.
The self-confessed 40-year-old housewife from Nelson completed the 243km journey in 13hr 32min 41sec, with Guillot-Boisset recovering somewhat to hold on for second in 13hr 38min 35sec. Fiona Dowling was third in 14hr 14min 55sec.
In the associated two-day section, Anna Barrett (Mt Maunganui) extended her lead from the first day to win the open women's title, from Isla Smith and Natalie Jacobs.
