Coast to Kosci: Through the Crew's Eyes- 240km of support

Tailwind Nutrition Australia
Sep 5
7 min read

By Gretchen Smith

For those unfamiliar, the Coast to Kosciuszko (C2K) is an iconic 240km ultramarathon that stretches from Boydtown Beach in Eden, NSW, to Charlotte Pass, with runners often braving a summit of Mount Kosciuszko - weather permitting. This isn’t just a challenge for the runners; the race has no aid stations, meaning the crew becomes a lifeline, acting as mobile aid stations leapfrogging every 5km (or less) over almost 200km of rugged terrain.

Race Day Eve: Crew Prep Begins

The journey begins long before the start line. At race check-in on Thursday, two crew members debated whether they could wear race merchandise despite not running. If you’ve ever crewed for C2K, you’d know that crewing earns every bit of that merch. Crewing isn’t just about logistics; it’s about enduring the same exhaustion, weather extremes, and problem-solving challenges as the runners.

The Crew need to think of anything and everything that their runner may want. Additional to looking after themselves throughout the potential 46hr run.

Heatwaves, thunderstorms, sleep deprivation, flat car batteries, and even blown tyres are just some of the hurdles a crew may face. And yet, for all the hardship, the experience is one of camaraderie, adventure, and unmatched satisfaction.

This year, runners and crews were treated to an incredible sunrise at the start line at Boydtown Beach. From there, the runners embarked on a solo 24-kilometer stretch to Towamba. After seeing off our runner, Cassie Cohen, we ducked back to the accommodation to pack everything into the car, then made a quick stop to a petrol station to fill up on fuel; there are no petrol stations along the course until you get to Jindabyne, so you need to make sure you leave Eden with a full tank.

As we drove through to Towamba, we caught up with the runners making their way along the road. With every passing runner, it became increasingly clear just how fast Cassie was moving and how close she was to the front of the pack. It was clear we were going to have our work cut out for us!

Towamba is the first checkpoint of the race and the first point where crews get to meet their runners. It’s also the perfect breakfast spot for crews with the Towamba Public School putting on a delicious spread to raise money. We were spoiled with fresh coffee, egg and bacon rolls, yoghurt and muesli, and stacks of freshly baked goodies. After breakfast and while waiting for Cassie to arrive, we pulled together the food and drinks that Cassie wanted for the next few kilometres, pre-mixing a jug of Tailwind to save time. Not long after prepping the nutrition, Cassie arrived, and after a slightly messy handover of soft flasks and gels, she was off again – Team Cassie was officially underway.

The most important rule when crewing is simple: keep your runner eating, drinking and moving forward… sometimes this is easier said than done. Cassie came prepared with a detailed nutrition plan broken into 5km segments, covering her needs from the start to 124km. But with the heat heading up to over 30 degrees, that plan quickly went out the window and we relied heavily on liquid calories to keep Cassie going.

By late morning, we had dropped our leap-frogging down from every 5km to every 2.5km to try to keep her cool, giving her ziplock bags full of ice, ice bandanas and vests, along with extra soft flasks of Tailwind and ginger beer. Not only were we handing Cassie her nutrition during these “running pit stops” (Cassie didn’t actually stop, we just kept up with her while handing her things). We also made sure to keep applying sunscreen. Somehow, I managed to get sunscreen on her legs while she kept walking without tripping over my own feet (a miracle!) and a few hours later got it on her arms while she was running. By the third running pit stop, we were like a well-oiled machine – not bad for four people who’d only met the weekend before!

With the heat increasing, we started adding ice cubes to the jug of Tailwind and soft flasks. Unfortunately, this meant that the Tailwind was being diluted too much. This is part of the job, you have to think of everything. We added more Tailwind to the diluted mix to keep the consistency exactly how Cassie wanted it, then spent the rest of the race hoping we didn’t run out.

After some crew naps in random fields, a selfie at The Dead Tree (the 100km point of the race) and a lot of games of “Hey Cows”, night came. Cassie had 2-minute noodles while we treated some nasty blisters, had a change of clothes and picked up her first pacer. Cassie had been planning on the cooler temps of the night to make some moves … and boy did she ever!

Having crewed Cassie during her first C2K in 2021, I knew where we were at certain points of the day and night. For example, we came into Dalgety at about 9.30pm this year; during the 2021 race, we were stranded somewhere along The Snowy River Way, well before Dalgety, at 11pm with a flat battery in the crew car and no reception. Sunrise in 2021 Cassie was climbing Beloka Hill around 165kms; Sunrise this year was just before the Perisher checkpoint around 207kms. It was lucky we didn’t need any groceries or petrol at Jindabyne, because when we came through at night this year nothing was open!

During the night, as we were coming up Kosciuszko Road, we realised that Cassie was leading the race! We had parked up on the side of the road, waiting to pass her some nutrition. She came through, we got back in the car and looked at each other … We hadn’t seen the men’s leader - Benn Coubrough - come through … it was just Cassie … Cassie was in first place OVERALL!

If we weren’t feeling the pressure of not messing up before this, we certainly were now.

Crewing between Perisher and Charlotte Pass was a combination of getting Cassie the nutrition she needed, and triple checking that the crew who were summiting Kosci had all their mandatory gear. We quickly checked two of the three of our mandatory gear packs at Perisher and the third half-way between there and Charlotte. Once at Charlotte, we lathered up in sunscreen (it was looking to be another hot, sunny day), prepped our own food and water (one soft flask of Tailwind and one of water to get me up Kosci and back), then had the final gear checked off by Greg, one of the race directors.

For anyone questioning whether you can fit all the mandatory race gear for things like UTA100 into a 12L Salomon pack, you absolutely can … times two. I managed to get all my mandatory gear (waterproof jacket, waterproof pants, thermal top, thermal bottoms, Buff, gloves, headtorch and battery, space blanket, sunscreen, food, water, phone) in my pack, as well as all the above for Cassie.

Not far out of Charlotte Pass, Allie Corripio and her crew passed us. Cassie and Allie had been fighting it out all through the night and even though I could tell that Cassie absolutely wanted that win! She still made a comment that Allie deserved it and that she hoped Allie could catch Benn.

The camaraderie in this race, both between the runners and between the crews, is like nothing else. Crews will step in to help out other runners and crews in a heartbeat. Runners will support one another regardless of whether they’re fighting for the win, or just making cut offs.

In 2021, we had an inclement weather finish, stopping at Charlotte Pass and not summiting. This year, we had the most beautiful blue skies and got to complete the full 240kms with a trip to the top of Kosciuszko.

The further you get in a race and the longer your runner has been on their feet for, the more you have to make decisions for them.

In the beginning, Cassie was telling us if there was something specific she wanted. Towards the end, it was a case of just giving Cassie things to eat and drink, regardless of what she wanted. If your runner is sleep deprived enough, you can even just tell them it’s one thing, while it's actually something else and they don’t realise. Sounds a little cruel, but it goes back to the most important thing when crewing – keeping them eating, drinking, and moving forward. And this needs to be done right up until the finish line. We were still handing Cassie nutrition up to a kilometre out from the finish line to ensure she got there.

Sub-6-minute kilometres on the way down from the summit had us flying to a just over 28-hour finish, ultimately meaning that both first and second women, Allie and Cassie, came in under the previous women’s course record … not to mention second and third overall!

What a race to experience and be a part of! I could not have been prouder of Cassie throughout this race. The difference of her as a runner during 2021 and this year was huge. And she hasn’t even hit her peak yet.

Crewing for C2K is an amazing experience. It’s not a walk in the park, it’s not a holiday and you likely won’t get much sleep. You will spend a lot of time feeling like a headless chook, wondering what you’re supposed to be preparing for your runner and don’t get me started on trying to calculate distances when you’ve had 16 minutes of sleep! But if you get the chance to crew someone, take it because you won’t regret it … just don’t eat leftover prawn pizza if it’s been sitting in a hot car for 12+ hours, because you will regret that.