Kevin Batt has defended his PAYCE Sutherland 2 Surf title, winning the 2019 edition of the race on Sunday morning.
The iconic shire race, now in its 48th year, took its usual route from Sutherland to Don Lucas Reserve at Wanda Beach on a chilly winter morning in the shire.
The temperature hovered just below six degrees at 8am as a horde of runners gathered at the start line just outside Sutherland Police Station, with conditions otherwise perfect as athletes began their journey east.
The 11-kilometre fun run and walk, the shire's longest running community event, attracted another strong field of about 6,000 participants.
Canberra athlete Leanne Pompeani was the first female across the line to go one better than her runner-up finish last year.
Batt, who was born and raised in Australia and grew up on the Central Coast before switching his allegiance to Ireland, the country of his parents' birth in 2014, won in a time of 32 minutes and 44 seconds.
The 28-year-old was a whole one minute and 41 seconds faster than 20-year-old Joseph Arthur in second place, defending his 2018 title which he won in 32.39 last year.
Eighteen-year-old Heathcote runner Oli Raimond finished third, six seconds behind Arthur. Another local, Caringbah's legendary triathlete Craig Alexander, finished fourth in 34:54.
Batt, a Sydney-based athlete from Ryde, is a two-time Irish national 5000 metres champion (2014, '15) and competed at the 2015 World University Games in South Korea and 2016 European Championships in the Netherlands.
Pompeani finished in 36:12, with the 23-year-old coming home 38 seconds in front of veteran Sylvania athlete Belinda Martin.
Roseville's Beth Croft was third, with the 22-year-old finishing in 39:06.
Pompeani, an elite distance runner from the nation's capital, has already enjoyed an impressive year having represented Australia at the World Cross Country Championships in Denmark.
She also finished second in the Sydney 10k and runner-up in the Sydney Half Marathon. Pompeani also took out the 10km event at the Australian Running Festival in April.
Pompeani planned to use this year's Sutherland 2 Surf to tune up for the Australian Cross Country Championships in Wollongong and the Australian Half Marathon Championships on the Sunshine Coast, both in August.
"An event like this cannot happen without the continued help and support of entrants, our volunteer club members, supporters and especially from our coordinating partners and sponsors," said Wanda SLSC president Todd Lester.
"Thank you everyone for making a difference to this event and supporting the fundraising effort at Wanda Surf Lifesaving Club. Funds raised allow Wanda SLSC to protect and save lives on Wanda Beach."
