But juggling one thing and seemingly a hundred others has been the agenda for first-time entrant Merrilee Williams, of Dunedin.
In a year of broken bones and university study, Williams still managed to complete a master’s degree in Health Science at the University of Otago, work full time in her nursing profession, maintain a training regime, and care for her 9-year-old daughter Charlotte, all while revolving around husband Kerrin's shift work as a youth aid officer.
‘‘I'm a mum, wife, nurse ...” she said referring to fitting in a training regime and achieving a grade two kayaking certification in order to compete.
Committing to the multisport race early in 2019, Williams submitted an entry well before the house full sign went up in mid-May, the earliest on record.
She took encouragement from training partner Sarah Saunderson-Warner, who, along with Williams, will be lining up on Kumara beach at dawn on February 7, for the first time, to contest the two-day section of the race.
“We don't know what to expect. We'll be there to make up the numbers and hopefully finish in one piece,” she said.
“I'm turning 40 in February and 2020, the year of the 40, makes sense to do something slightly more adventurous than what I'm used to, so Coast to Coast was perfect.”
The path to Coast to Coast has not been without the odd mishap for the Dunedin clinical nurse specialist.
Contesting the 200km Naseby water race event in August, Williams had what she termed a bit of a “mechanical issue”, when 13km into the event, she stumbled and broke her foot.
“I kept going for another 37km before I decided it wasn't going to go away before I pulled the pin. I struggled to walk for weeks after.”
Then, as if 2019 had not been incident-packed enough, a pre-Christmas training session on Lake Dunstan almost had her taking a high dive over the side of the Clyde dam following a series of tipping incidents.
“It was pretty rapid,” she said of only losing a waterproof boot in the incident-packed outing.
“I'm very lucky to have Kerrin as my crew. He will have me well sorted come race day. There's so much kit compared to just running.”
Williams said she always liked to do something to challenge herself, and highlight the fact that it is ordinary people such as her that turn events such as the Coast to Coast into the occasions they become.
Her journey began when she turned to running 20 years ago as a way to lose weight after giving birth to her oldest daughter, Hannah.
“I had ballooned out and would wait until after 10 o'clock at night before going out so no-one would see me.”
She said that all too often people picture various events as being very elite, when in fact the bulk of the field is made up of people challenging themselves and the distance.
As for the Coast to Coast experience that awaits her, Williams said that she just wants to complete the course and encourage others.
“I'm doing it with a borrowed boat and second-hand bike. It will be just a matter of getting to the finish line and being proud of my achievement.”