Blatchford will swap the sandy beaches of her native Gold Coast for the cracked earth of the outback this weekend when she takes on what is widely considered Australia’s toughest sprint triathlon.

The 800m swim, 25km ride and 5km run may sound like a walk in the park compared with an Ironman event, but it’s the harsh outback conditions that have landed this otherwise pleasant race on the bucket lists of triathletes across the country.

Blatchford says she’s been given only one warning about what to expect from the Julia Creek Dirt n DustTriathlon:

“It’s super hot and a whole lot of fun”

Blatchford said she was actually a little ashamed to say that she had never ventured more than about 50km inland in Queensland.

“So I’m really looking forward to visiting a whole new region, watching the bull ride [after the triathlon] and taking some awesome photos,” she said.

Blatchford will document her trip to the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival on behalf of Ironman Australia in preparation for the Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast next year.

“The #RoadToSunnyCoast campaign has been great,” she said.

“We did a week in Cairns last June visiting the Barrier Reef, Daintree and the Atherton Tablelands, as well as the most spectacular week on Fraser Island at the end of last year.”

Blatchford said that following the Dirt n Dust Triathlon, she plans to play the tourist.

“We’ll do a bit of a road trip from Julia Creek to Townsville as part of the campaign and I’m sure we’ll see some great things along the way,” she said.

This year’s Dirt n Dust Triathlon is sure to deliver a fiercely contested race for the win, with Blatchford going head to head with seasoned Dirt n Dust competitor and two-time winner Amanda Gowing.

The Cannington Mine Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Triathlon will be held on Saturday as part of the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival.

For more information and to register, go to www.dirtndust.com