The 2019 Kaikoura Longboard Festival kicks off tomorrow. The international event will see competitors racing down one kilometre of smooth asphalt, navigating six sweeping corners at jaw-clenching speeds. Christchurch-based Elissa Mah is one of those boarders - she's entered in the women's and open events. She took up downhill longboarding in 2010 and is now a four time Asia Pacific champion. That means the 28-year-old rips downhill at speeds of up to 80 kilometres an hour, but she told me she does wear a lot of protective gear.