A FIELD of more than 100 is expected to take part in the Acclaimed Financial Services Crowdy Head Triathlon promoted by Forster Tri Club on Sunday January 25.
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This will be the second year the club has raced at Crowdy.
"We had 110 last January and we'll be happy with that number again,'' race director Rhett Pattison of Taree said.
"It would be good to get up around the 120 mark. But if we got any more than that it could be a struggle to fit them all in.''
January's race was conducted on Australia Day and Pattison says that may have kept some potential entrants away.
"We'll be racing the day before next year so that might help us attract a few more,'' he said.
The club originally made the decision to move the venue from Cundletown to Crowdy in 2013. However, the inaugural race was cancelled because of heavy rain and rough seas.
Last January's tri was conducted in almost perfect conditions although light rain fell while the competitors were negotiating the 20km bike ride from Crowdy to Harrington and return.
The course will again be a 500m swim in Crowdy Bay followed by the 20km bike, finishing with a 5km run to Crowdy gap and return to the surf club.
The 2014 winner, Jake Schumacher from Forster, described the course as 'fantastic.'
However, there was some controversy involved with the race. Schumacher produced a strong finishing run to claim first place in a tight finish from Harry Jones.
It was later discovered that Jones had failed to complete the bike course and he was disqualified.
Schumacher's time was 55.59. Laura Cook from Wauchope scored a decisive win in the women's race. She also took out the last race conducted at the Cundletown course in 2012.
Cook was no great fan of the beach run.
"It's a hard run on the beach - I don't really like running on sand,'' she confessed.
"I enjoyed the swim and the bike and the first part of the run, but not the beach.''
Pattison said the overall response to the course from competitors last year was positive.
"We won't be making any changes - I just hope we get some dry roads this time,'' he said.
The club will plan a full weekend of events, with 1000m and 500m ocean swims on the Saturday along with aquathons for children aged from 5 to 15.
Pattison admitted the fields for the ocean swims were a little disappointing last January and were made up largely of triathletes preparing for the Sunday race.
"We're hoping to get a few more of the general public involved this time,'' he said.
Sunday's race will start at 7am.
Pattison is an experienced triathlete who this year contested the world ironman race in Hawaii. But he won't be competing at Crowdy next month as commitments with the race director's position make this impossible.