In almost perfect conditions, forty three competitors began the first of our two Long Course events. In a keenly contested race, Shayne Dimmer had to work hard to thwart a very game effort by Troy Main in order to regain and maintain the lead to the finish line. Both triathletes were within a second of eachother after exiting the water at the end of the 750 metre swim, and only three seconds separated them at the end of the 20 kilometre bike leg. It was only in the run leg that Shayne was able to gradually pull away from Troy, crossing the line in 61:26. Troy finished in the time of 62:29, 63 seconds later, securing second position, and slicing a considerable 6 minutes off his previous best time over the longer distance. Ryan Wilmott put in a solid effort to finish third in the time of 64:27 and consistent Darryl Harris came in fourth with a time of 68:31.

A regular competitor in the Mandurah triathlons, Troy has attained the distinction of gaining selection to represent his state in the National competition which is being staged in Devonport, Tasmania. He will be competing in the draft legal Senior competition for the first time and he will also represent his state in the teams competition.

Nicky Gunthorpe worked hard all the way around to course to become the first woman across the line in the time of 71:43, with Carina Costello putting in a good effort to gain second place in 76:01 and Sandy Harvey toiling earnestly, finishing in third place in the women’s section of the race with a time of 85:00.

Our last Long Course event was held almost a year ago. Apart from Troy, whose improvement was mentioned above, those who have improved on their times over this distance were Ryan Wilmott, Darryl Harris and Brent Burton with 30 second, 45 second and 1 min. 38 second improvements respectively, due to faster swim and bike legs. Similarly, Chris Millard sliced a remarkable 5 min 16 sec off his previous best time and Josie Canna took 3:25 from hers. Andrew Luraschi and Bill Dunn sliced 2:35 and 2:55 respectively off their previous times, improving in all three disciplines and it was good to see Darren Matthews out there turning the limbs over, along with Pauline Wingate and Linda Ray showing us that maturity is no reason to stop; it only slows you down a little bit.

Welcome to Stephen Bradshaw, acquitting himself well with a time of 1:14:25, Scott Bailey, who returned a time of 1:18:17, and Shane McCosker, who completed the course in 1:20:00; all three were racing for the first time, and they chose the Long Course to open their account!
The Mandurah Triathlon Club Championship event, which will be run over the standard course, will get under way at 7:30 am on Sunday March 30th at Doddie’s Beach. The final Trystar’s Race of the season will also be run on that morning.