Scott Mclennan and Chris Howarth fell into that latter category, and they were determined to make the most out of their first attempts across the half Ironman.

The pair had been working closely with club member Luke Gillmer to get themselves in ideal shape for the 1.9 kilometre swim, 90km bike and 21km run in Penrith.

It's fair to say they were well prepared.

Mclennan gradually climbed his way through the men's 18-24 years standings with every leg to finish 17^th in a field of 51. His time was four hours, 53 minutes and five seconds.

Howarth's strong bike leg and quick transitions paved the way for him to finish 27^th in a large field of 109 competitors for the men's 25-29 years division, in a time of 4:50:20.

The journey towards the Penrith event was a big milestone for the pair, who already have more Ironman events booked in for 2020.

Mclennan has made huge improvements to his fitness over recent years and has remained focused on ticking off goals throughout that journey.

"I originally signed up for a full Ironman, Port Macquarie in May next year, but a bunch of Bathurst people were doing this one. Luke encouraged me to do it so I hopped on board," he said.

"I moved back from America and I wanted to turn my life around. I lost 30 kilos and I wanted to do something which challenged me. I'd always been a runner, never a swimmer, but Luke's given me a lot of good direction.

"The swim went to plan and the bike went great but I was about halfway through the race when I realised the race was definitely more a mental than a physical battle."

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Howarth said he's already keen to try and improve on his efforts at Penrith.

"It was tough out there but the conditions weren't as bad as what they have been in previous. That run was definitely challenging though," he said.

"The swim was probably a little slower than I expected but the bike and run were about where I knew I could be. For a first hit out it's not a bad result.

"I've got another one coming in February at Geelong over the same distance and then Cairns in June.

"There's a great mix of older and younger guys at training. Everyone's been great there and that makes it a lot easier to turn up and put in the hours."

Wallabies celebrated third place overall in the club participation standings.

Gillmer was the fastest overall from the Bathurst group, finishing 50^th in 4:20:22.

Peta Cutler and Terry Roberts were the standout performers from the Wallabies club, coming close to gold medal achievements across the line second and third in their divisions respectively.

Richard Hobson (sixth), Josh Stapley (ninth) and Lucy Hobson (10th) were all top 10 in their divisions while Nick North, Jeremy Ryan and Marc Rawlings were the first men's relay team to cross the line.

Top 30 finishes in divisions also went the way of Kristy Powyer, Stephen Jackson, Tim Miller and Tom Hanrahan while Darren Fenton, Jenn Arnold and Chris Walsh rounded out a huge presence for the Wallabies at the Western Sydney event.