And among the hundreds of determined triathletes tackling the event is a family keen to take bragging rights in one of the biggest sporting events on the calendar.
EMTC member Claire Goodman will be one of four members of her family to compete in the triathlon alongside husband Matt Dobeli and children Ed and Audrey Dobeli.
Goodman and her team Splashy, Flashy, and Dashy which includes herself, Hendrika Kirchhofer and Brady Threlfall, stand as the reigning champions of the mixed teams category and Goodman will line up once again in the cycling leg opposite Matt.
“Matt’s the president of the cycling club and he’s putting in a mixed team from his work (Echuca-Moama Physiotherapy), he’ll be doing the cycling leg,” Goodman said.
“We’ve previously done the individual event but recently I’ve had a really bad knee and I had some surgery early in 2022.
“Last year I was really annoyed I couldn’t do the individual triathlon, so I decided to do the mixed teams and competed in the bike leg against Matt.
“We’ve got this head-to-head happening again and he’s out training and doing his time trials to try make up some time.”
Seven-year-old Ed makes his debut in the duathlon, while eight-year-old Audrey suits up for her third.
“Ed’s turned seven so he’s just old enough to do the duathlon now,” Goodman said.
“It’s Audrey’s third one so she’s a seasoned campaigner.”
A regular at the Echuca Moama triathlon, Goodman said she was looking forward to tackling her home event, explaining what makes the weekend such a popular showpiece.
“Triathlon’s just a really satisfying thing to complete because of the physical challenge,” she said.
“I didn’t think I would enjoy participating in a team quite as much as I did.
“The set-up is great especially around the port and the centre of town. The crowd get really good vantage points and the atmosphere’s magnificent.
“Sarah (Mulkearns) is the race co-ordinator and puts in a mountain of work.
“There’s so much effort put in by volunteers from within Echuca-Moama Triathlon Club and through other community organisations.
“It’s nice to see everyone pull together yet again to do something that’s really good for the town.
“I’m happy to be competing and to have all the family involved. Hopefully one or two of us come home with the chocolates.”
The triathlon is poised to go ahead as normal despite the uncertainty of the recent floods with the only change to the program coming in the junior event, which has been reverted to a duathlon due to a lack of suitable swimming locations.
The sprint triathlon will retain its twilight timeslot.
Entries for the 2023 Morley Auto Group Echuca Moama Triathlon close on Thursday, January 19, with no registrations to be taken on the day. For more information and to enter, head to www.echucamoamatriclub.com
Multisport weekend schedule
Saturday, January 21
Junior Duathlon, 9am
Morley Auto Group Sprint Triathlon, 6pm
Sunday, January 22
Wharf to Winery, 9.30am
