"UNDERDONE" MARRIOTT STILL THE ONE TO BEAT IN KELLOGG'S OPENER

Gold Coast, January 23: Australian Ironwoman champion Alicia Marriott is hoping a recent "lack of hard racing" won't affect her chances in this weekend's opening rounds of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Iron Man Series at Kurrawa Beach on the Gold Coast. IAN HANSON reports....

The Perth-based Marriott, who will captain the Jeep Western Waves in the six-strong teams and individual based Series, arrived on to the Gold Coast yesterday admitting she was training fit but maybe not race fit.

"I have had just one carnival recently at Trigg Island where I won the Ironwoman, board and board rescue events but certainly nothing like the week-in-week-out racing schedule in Queensland," said Marriott, who finished second to Elizabeth Pluimers (Telstra Southern Queensland Sunfish) in last year's $200,000 Series.

"Hopefully I will be OK, my training has been going well but we'll have to wait and see - I'm certainly not what you would say race fit."

Marriott, who last year pushed Pluimers to the limit, showed all her potential when she became the first Western Australian to win the Aussie Ironwoman crown.

And she knows if she wants to add the Nutri-Grain title to her list of titles then consistency will be the key against Pluimers, world champion Naomi Flood, her Inner Health Plus team mate Courtney Hancock, former Australian champion Kristyl Smith (Express Glass Southern NSW Blue Fins), three-time nib Coolangatta Gold winner Hayley Bateup (DHL Southern Ice) and a host of other outstanding competitors.

Marriott had a taste of the Kurrawa conditions today when she joined the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain captain's run with defending men's champion Holmes (Telstra Southern Queensland Sunfish) and Nathan Smith (Express Glass Southern NSW Blue Fins) the only Ironmen alongside Flood, Bateup and Chloe Jones (Citizen Northern Queensland Lightning), who filled in for Allira Richardson.

And in complete contrast to Marriott, Smith, who has left Cronulla to join Northcliffe this season, said he had never been this race fit so early in the year.

"I have been racing in the Ocean Assault Series which has been awesome and even if I hadn't joined a Queensland club I still would have come up to Queensland to race," said Smith.

"The racing has been awesome but I must admit I am looking forward to a weekend off."

But there will be little rest for the cream of Australia's Ironmen and Ironwomen who will race as part of the Surf Lifesaving Australia High Performance Squad at the Westpac Manly (January 24) and Macquarie Sports Freshwater (January 25) Australia Day weekend carnivals next weekend.

There will be a weekend off before Coolum hosts rounds two and three of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series on February 7 and 8 with the final at Coogee on February 22.