Photo courtesy of The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ

Jason Leong - Coast to Coast

On 12th February, 2010 Jason Leong took part in New Zealand's iconic multisport endurance event - the Speight's Coast to Coast. His aim was to beat his previous best time and to raise fund to restore sight to 40 people - and, despite atrocious weather, he did both!

Jason and partner Pip on Sumner beach after the race

This was his second year competing and this year he wanted to do more than just take part.

"I have a great amount of respect for the work The Fred Hollows Foundation does. They provide real 'bang for buck' with the cataract operations they fund and add significant value to people's lives.

My aim was to raise $1,000, which is sufficient to restore sight to forty people. If I could do that, I knew that the sense of achievement at finishing the race would be even greater and the satisfaction would last a lot longer than the pain of a few sore muscles!"

This year, for the first time in 28 years weather forced a change in the course due to safety concerns - so the kayak section through the Waimakariri Gorge was replaced with a cycle leg and a short paddle added in Christchurch.

Jason in the transition between the cycle and mountain run stages on the first day

Instead of the normal 140 kms of cycling, 36 kms of running and 67 kms of kayaking, Jason cycled 205 kms, ran 36 kms (including a 33 km mountain stage and cross the Southern Alps) and kayaked 19 km.

Jason finished the race at Sumner Beach, where he followed the Coast to Coast end-of-race tradition of walking to the water's edge and touching the water of the Pacific Ocean.

And at the end of the two day event, Jason had raised over $2,000 - double his target - and had beaten his previous time by over an hour!

So a big thank you to Jason and all his friends for helping 87 people who were blind to see again!

Donate now and help a blind person see!