"It went really well but was still the hardest event I've ever had to organise," event director Paul Humphreys said.

"I went down to the river at eight last night and floodwater was covering the run course. This morning it had gone down enough to allow the event to go ahead but the athletes were running through mud."

The event, which is held in Morpeth, became a duathlon this year. With the swim leg of the race being swapped out for a second run leg due to a swollen Hunter River.

There were three races held on the day consisting of sprint, standard (Olympic) and long distance triathlons. The standard distance, which was also the state championship, was taken out by professional athletes Tim Van Berkel in the male category and Courtney Gillfilan in the female. Belmont's Hamish Longmuir came in a close second, missing out on the men's title and $1000 prize by less than five minutes.

Other overall winners on the day included Tim Reed/ Claire Dedden (Sprint) and Liam Duval/ Hollee Simons (Long).

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