By Margaret Maccoll
“It’s Peter’s third and my first. Once you’ve been here once you bring friends and family and it becomes a yearly holiday,” Catrina Pritchard said.
Catrina raised $1500 to enter alongside 15-20 other RSPCA fund-raisers.
“I had a rescue dog and thought it was a good charity to support,” she said.
After breakfast and a check they had everything they needed for the race the couple arrived early to pump up bike tyres and attach their helmets, shoes and kit to their bikes before the bike transition area shut at 6am. It was then a wait for Peter’s age race at 7.15am and Catrina’s turn in the charity section at 8.53am.
Peter and Catrina Pritchard of Brisbane.
It’s my seventh Noosa Tri but I’ve been doing triathlons for 10 years. Once I did the first one I thought it’s great. The atmosphere at Noosa is great. It’s very congested here to take photos but I prefer the course at Noosa. It’s the best tri in Queensland. The volunteers are amazing. Everyone is so upbeat. Where we waited for the shuttle bus there was tea and biscuits and a sausage sizzle. We used to stay in Noosa but now we stay in Sunshine Beach then after the tri we can get away to somewhere quiet.
Andrew Angus of Brisbane.
Twenty years ago we came up here for our wedding anniversary. We didn’t know it was on but we wound up doing some races. I’ve just run the Berlin Marathon. I’m just doing the run in a team event. Peter is doing the whole thing. This is my first time in a team. A friend from high school who lives in Brisbane is here and my nephew is doing it too.
Jan Swinhoe with Peter Doherty of Sydney.
The Australian Defence Force was well represented at the Noosa Tri with 70-80 personnel competing. Among them was former Navy paramedic Mikaela Millin taking part in her first triathlon in her first visit to Noosa. Having left the Navy three months ago to begin work as a civilian paramedic based at Jimboomba, Mikaela brought together the chance to compete in a triathlon with some sight seeing of Noosa and plans to visit again soon. Also combining the triathlon with a first visit to Noosa and included in the defence force race was British Air Force wing commander Jonathan Hough. The assistant defence adviser to the British High Commission in Canberra fitted the Noosa Tri into a driving holiday with his family.
