A field of forty one triathletes contested the Mandurah Triathlon Club Championships. Despite a stiff easterly breeze making it difficult for the triathletes to develop maximum speed on the downhill section, the race was keenly contested. Dave Boyes, Darryl Harris and Nathan Long were first out of the water, followed by Andrew Luraschi. Mike Strickland emerged 37 seconds behind the leaders, but he worked hard on the bike, moving up the field. Strong running by Dave Boyes enabled him to open up a lead of 2:20 by the end of the 3k run, crossing the line in the very good time of 39:44, winning the event and his age group championship in the process. Mike Strickland was second across the line, winning his age group in the time of 42:04 and Darryl Harris worked hard all the way around the course to attain third place in 42:18, with a much improved Andrew Luraschi shaving 30 seconds off his previous best time, finishing in fourth position with a time of 42:42, winning his age group.

In the women's section of the competition, Michelle Clinton clipped 1 min 45 from her previous best time as she worked her way around the course. She completed the race in 42:45, winning her age group and consistent Carina Costello won her age group by becoming the second woman to finish in the time of 47:26. Sandy Harvey put in her usual strong effort to finish in third place in 51:26 bettering her previous best time by 22 seconds, with an improving Kathryn Hookham working hard to slice 1 min 30 off her previous best time finishing a second later in 51:27, winning her age group.

Despite the stiff easterly breeze, many of the triathletes pushed hard and were able to improve on their previous best times. Jamie Muir took a considerable 3 minutes from his previous best, Trevor Atkinson and Ted MacNeal sliced a rather lage 2 minutes from their previous best times, Daniel Long, Grant Tomlinson and Linda Ray undercut their previous best times by 1 min 30, Neil Hall, David Vittiglia, Brent Burton and Elliot Combes took about a minute off their times and Tony Stretch, Daniel Grey and Josie Canna sliced 30 seconds from their previous best.

Michelle Clinton, Dave Boyes, Andrew Luraschi and Trevor Atkinson have all travelled east to compete in the prestigious Port Macquarie Ironman, and, along with numerous other triathletes from Mandurah, they will be competing in the Busselton Half Ironman on May 3rd.

If you weren't aware of it, thanks to the work done by Alisha Williams, our Triathlon Club was successful in receiving sponsorship from Healthways and Sports Medicine Australia earlier in the year. The funding has enabled us to purchase first aid equipment and safety signage, as well as advertise to attract new Members. This helps us associate the Mandurah Triathlon Club with the ‘Healthy Club' message and facilitates our provision of opportunities to improving the health and safety of our participants.

The final event for the season will be staged at Doddie's Beach, Doddie's Beach, on Sunday April 13th, beginning at 7:30 a.m. This is the second of the Long Course events for the season, comprising a 750 metre swim, a 20 k cycle leg and finishing with a 5 k run.