It was the first time on a new and much hillier course which proved to be testing for even the experienced triathletes.
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Sunday morning saw the first race of the Isarats 2015-16 season completed at Lake Moondarra with 35 senior competitors lining up for either the enticer or sprint triathlon and seven juniors for the childrens triathlon.
It was a mass start but by 200 metres the pack had really spread out with Darreal Swift, Amanda Gowing and Julie Zeller exiting the swim leg first, all within metres of each other.
Brayden Nicholson exited the water before his father Craig, setting up another battle on the bike.
At the transition of the bike leg Gowing headed out strongly with the rest chasing her lead.
There were strong cross winds for the ride out and back which punished the riders all the way.
At the 12km mark Mick Palmer passed Gowing with Clayton Green putting in a strong performance and only metres behind Gowing heading back into the transition area for the run leg.
The run leg now consisted of 3 full loops up to the lake lookout which means 1.5km of up hill for the 5km run.
It took its toll on many with some of the runners having to slow down to walk.
At the front of the pack Palmer managed to hold on to the lead to finish the race in a time of 1h;11 min;36 sec.
Green proved to be too strong in the run leg finishing in a time of 1h13min40secs with Gowing rounding out third place overall and the first female over the line in a time of 1h15min31secs.
Newcomer Felix Koeppen put in a strong performance to finish 4th with Brayden Nicholson managing to cross the line in 5th place 1 minute ahead of father Craig who struggled with the hills which hurt his legs and his heart.
The day was an outstanding success for all with club president Tonya Epstein overwhelmed by how many people came to say how much they loved the new course layout. For more information or photos of the day's events and upcoming triathlons you can go to Isarats Facebook page or to isarats.com.au
Mick Palmer on the run leg of the Isarats triathlon taking out first place in the first race of the season.