Quietly confident in her abilities, defending women’s Longest Day champion Deborah Lynch heads into this weekend’s Kathmandu Coast to Coast as the favourite, aiming to repeat her victory from last year. 

In 2025, the Porirua athlete broke through on her third attempt at the grueling 243-kilometre race, finishing in just over 13hrs and fending off five-time defending champion Simone Maier.

“I was not letting up the whole way,” Lynch reflected on her maiden win, recalling the relentless effort required to maintain her lead.

After two consecutive sixth-place finishes in previous years, she called last year’s triumph “amazing” and admitted the reality of her victory didn’t sink in until she crossed the finish line.

The build-up to this year hasn’t been without challenges.

“I had a few moments over summer when some sessions weren't going as well I would have liked and I just spent a lot of time comparing myself to where I was last year. I really had to work hard at not thinking about that and just go through the process and not thinking about the outcome the entire time,” she said.

Despite having a target on her back as the defending champion, Lynch embraces the role.

“It’s a bit terrifying but it also it’s a real privilege as well. I might not have that opportunity again to be the defending champion so I’m learning to live with it and lean into it.”

Her quiet confidence stems from her preparation and versatility across all disciplines.

“I know I’ve got the strengths across all of the disciplines so I just have to trust that they will all come to play on Saturday,” she said.

Her plan is to take a measured approach throughout the day, pacing herself carefully and seeing what energy remains for the final bike leg.

Learning from last year, she will stick to a liquid diet to avoid the problems she faced following the mountain run when vomited most of her solid fuel.

“Racing for 13 hours is pretty hard to replicate in training. I just thought maybe some solids would be a nice change to the liquid diet. Losing everything halfway through the day was kind of confronting,” Lynch said.

Since last year’s Longest Day, Lynch has kept a busy racing calendar, placing second at the Challenge Wanaka half ironman just a week after her breakthrough, winning the Wellington Crazyman multisport event, and competing in Wulong in China with her teammates, finishing second.



As she lines up for this year’s Longest Day, Lynch remains composed and focused, ready to defend her title with the same quiet determination that has defined her rise in New Zealand multisport.