Black will line up on Kumara Beach at dawn next Friday, to contest the two-day race of the Coast to Coast.
Black may be in the twilight years of playing sport — having played rugby for Eastern and still playing football socially — but he is determined to get to the finish line next Saturday.
But despite remaining relatively active he had packed on the pounds, and three years ago decided to battle the bulge.
About 18 months ago he thought about doing the Coast to Coast, a long-held ambition.
"I looked at it again and thought it was now or never," he said.
As a young man he enjoyed a high level of fitness and gave everything a go.
"One year I did Kelly’s Canter and played rugby afterwards. I use to do basketball, football, in fact anything that was going."
Taking a passing interest in last year’s race with the thought of entering, he got in smartly and lodged an entry to the two-day event for this year’s race as soon as it opened.
"I was lucky, because they closed off soon after."
He honed his kayaking skills through the University Kayak Club.
"The first time I fell out . . . it must have been about 20 times."
He never made it out of the marina that first day but he gradually got better and has just bought a new Surfski that he hopes will make him more stable on the Waimakariri River.
Black has had plenty on his plate in the past year.
His wife Christina had to undergo reconstruction surgery during lockdown last year following on from a mastectomy.
The lockdown, Christina's health and winter forced Black to train indoors on a wind-trainer and treadmill.
With Christina in remission, Black's past three months have been full-on. A tracking device he uses has recorded 421 hours of training and distance travelled 5861km, not to mention the trips away to familiarise himself with the alpine and river stages.
Black will not be wanting for support on the course with son Oscar (20) and his CrossFit trainer Maria Smith as his support crew.
"Oscar is the muscle and Maria is the brains behind the operation."
A large contingent of family and friends will also be close by and tracking his on-course progress via GPS in preparation to be ready cheer him on up the steps to the finish at New Brighton Beach.
