CAPE ANN - What impressed Bill Burnett the most about the inaugural Gloucester Triathlon?

Was it the great competition, featuring several Olympian athletes, among throngs of hundreds of other hopefuls? Was it the fact that such a large-scale event with many moving pieces went so smoothly? Or was it the beautiful weather that participants and organizers no doubt were more than pleased with?

It wasn't surprising to hear that local competitors and spectators at Sunday's first Gloucester Triathlon reveled in the excitement and atmosphere of this very special athletic event.

After all, the event, which largely went off without a hitch under nearly ideal conditions, had to be the culmination of a dream for people such as co-founder Janda Ricci-Munn, race director Bill Burnett and Gloucester Fishermen Athletic Association leaders Dick Wilson and Jonathan Pope, who worked for a least a year to bring this race from the planning stages to the city's streets.

The water off Pavilion Beach yesterday morning took on a neon confetti look, as hundreds of racers wearing colorful swim caps dipped into the harbor shortly before 9 a.m.

"It's like Fiesta all over again," said Ann Sanfilippo, who watched from the family homestead on Beach Court, overlooking all the excitement.

Despite the hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators, the occasion wasn't a second version of St. Peter's Fiesta. It was the first Gloucester Triathlon, which carved out its own niche in the city's heart yesterday morning.

GLOUCESTER — Prior to yesterday's first-ever Gloucester Triathlon, race co-founder Janda Ricci-Munn laid the favorites to win the inaugural event.

As it turned out, Ricci-Munn was quite the prognosticator, as both of his favorites, Lowell's Ethan Brown and Maynard's Alicia Kaye came away victorious in the event.

GLOUCESTER — This thing could've easily have gone all wrong.

Think about it. A first-year event with over 800 participants, many of which are first-time triathletes unfamiliar with the rigors that make this competition so difficult. If the 1/3-mile ocean swim didn't do-in a competitor, then it was quite possible that the sharp right bike turn at Magnolia Avenue would. There was also the very possible chance during the week leading up that the unpredictable New England weather would make this thing a nightmare. Imagine all the hard work that would've gone to waste if we had a June-caliber string of rain.

With nearly 900 participants, scores of volunteers, a number of street closures and even a temporary morning shutdown of boat egress through the Cut and the Blynman Bridge, Sunday's inaugural Gloucester Triathlon not only looms as the biggest sports event in the city's history, it also stands as perhaps the largest single community event the city has hosted in decades.

With the chance to raise $50,000 or more for the Gloucester Fishermen's Athletic Association, Wellspring and the Boston-based Pine Street Inn, it looms as a significant fundraiser. Plus, it will pump money into Cape Ann restaurants, hotels and other aspects of the economy this weekend — and should generate new and positive media coverage for the city.

When it comes to competing in a sprint triathlon, Janda Ricci-Munn and Dean Phillips know each other's game inside and out.

Ricci-Munn and Phillips, who reside in Gloucester and Wenham respectively, train and compete against one another on the professional triathlon circuit. They are also two of the favorites in Sunday's first-ever Gloucester Triathlon.

That is, of course, if Ricci-Munn decides to compete. As the race's co-founder, Ricci-Munn is still undecided if he will compete in Sunday's race.

After an undetected heart condition claimed the life of 38-year-old Joe Lyons during the 2007 Cohasset Triathlon, no one would have blamed Joe's widow, Karen, if she distanced herself from the sport.

In fact, though she enjoyed an active lifestyle, Karen had never participated in a triathlon.

However, that tragedy two years ago actually drove Karen toward the sport, not only as a participant and active member of the multisport community, but also as an advocate for race safety. Ironically, in 2008 Karen, who resides in Newton, Mass., entered her first triathlon at Cohasset, where her husband had died just a year earlier. She has now completed five races, including the Cohasset Triathlon for a second time.

You've seen them sweating by the side of the road, running, huffing and puffing with that determined look in their eye Ñ young men and women, their bodies glistening with the toil of their practice, their goal, their dream.

You see them on bikes too, grinding past you as you sit in construction traffic. Heck, I even saw a gaggle of them swimming off Niles Beach as I was sailing by the other afternoon. Who are these athletes on a mission?

Well, you must know by now, I am talking about the Gloucester Triathletes, prepping for their huge event, rushing upon us next Sunday right here in Gloucester.

CAPE ANN - If the Gloucester Triathlon keeps gaining popularity and support with the same head of steam it has over the past few months, then one could expect it to be as popular as some of Cape Ann's other more established summer events, such as the International Dory Races, the Blackburn Challenge and the Seacoast Seven Road Race.

As it is right now, it's already approaching the same level of popularity of one of its sister races, the Cohasset Triathlon, which draws around 1,000 participants annually and is the largest triathlon in New England.

Even the most hostile economic environment in the past half-century isn't keeping Gloucester's newest sporting event and fund-raiser from inspiring widespread community support.

The Gloucester Triathlon — the brainchild of Gloucester native and professional triathlete Janda Ricci-Munn and Bill Burnett of Cohasset — has engaged the community in a special way, said Gloucester Fishermen Athletic Association (GFAA) co-President Jonathan Pope.

"Our goal is that this event will build as time goes on and the economy recovers," Pope said Friday. "We're starting at absolutely the worst time in the last 50 years to start something like this, and we're still going to raise a substantial sum of money from the community, so we're encouraged it will grow."

The French have their spectacular Tour de France, but in three short weeks the people of Gloucester and Cape Ann are going to have quite an impressive sporting event of their own.

That's because coming to town on Aug. 9 is the Gloucester Triathlon, the first such event in the history of this, the oldest and most storied fishing community in America.

The brainchild of Gloucester professional triathlete Janda Ricci-Munn, whose dream for years has been to bring a major triathlon to his beloved hometown, the competition will draw 800 athletes into the city for a one-third mile harbor swim, 15.5-mile, two-loop bike segment, and 3-mile run - the latter to proceed out along the waterfront, then swing back through the downtown business district, finishing at St. Peter's Square.

As the field for the first-ever Gloucester Triathlon rounds into form, race director Bill Burnett could not be happier with the way the event is progressing.

Exactly one month away from the big race, which takes place on August 9, 85-percent of the race field is full and only 75 spots are still available according Burnett.

"The number of participants is very strong and the field is looking great," Burnett said. "Things are going really well and I am very excited about the buzz this race is getting."

Gloucester's Janda Ricci-Munn started off his 2009 triathlon season with a banging taking first place in the Cohasset Sprint Triathlon this past Sunday.

Ricci-Munn, 34, came away with a winning time of 59:01, 90 seconds faster than second place finisher Jacob Shoemaker of Sudbury.

The Gloucester native and professional triathlete had the 12th best time in the first leg, a quarter-mile swim, he made up ground in with the second best time in the 12-mile biking leg and eventually took the lead during the 3.2 mile run.

It always starts this way.

Usually after a New Year's resolution to "get back in shape," I head to the gym and start huffing and puffing on the treadmill and the elliptical machine. As the weather gets nicer, I then venture outside to jog but mostly walk. At first, I walk and jog on the back roads of Eastern Point where no one can see me struggling along.

Eventually, I venture out to the Back Shore or maybe down the Boulevard. The other day, I jogged 27 minutes without stopping! That is a far cry from the zero minutes of jogging on the treadmill in January or the 5 minutes I did in April as the weather turned nicer.

Jarrod Shoemaker might not be able to accompany you on a 12-mile bike ride or that training run around Little Harbor - and it's likely you wouldn't be able to keep up with him either - but the Olympic triathlete can give you a few pointers to get you in tip-top shape for the upcoming Cohasset Triathlon.

In its inaugural year, the Gloucester Triathlon is drawing a record number of competitors and some of the world's best athletes including Olympic swimmer Jenny Thompson, one of the most decorated Olympians in U.S. history.

The Gloucester Triathlon announces Manchester Athletic Club (MAC) as the official training center of the 2009 Gloucester Triathlon. The Manchester, Massachusetts based athletic club offers a multi-sport facility including Tennis, Aquatics, Fitness, Group Fitness & Summer Camps, med Spa, Personal Training.

Over the long winter months, the behind-the-scenes work for the upcoming inaugural Gloucester Triathlon has been non-stop, but the results thus far have been very promising for race director Bill Burnett and Gloucester native and co-founder Janda Ricci-Munn.

AVIA, the leader in endurance sports racing footwear, is proud to announce today a formal partnership with the Commonwealth Triathlon Series.

Concerned about the sagging U.S. economy, the NBA cut its staff 9 percent. Despite gas prices tumbling back to Earth, NASCAR teams are being pared.

Even the venerable NFL, which will charge a record $3 million for a 30-second Super Bowl commercial in 2009, announced this week it's reducing staff by more than 10 percent.

There is one sport, however, that's giving the recession a stiff-arm. From the beginner's sprint distance to the veteran's Ironman, triathlon is thriving.

Gloucester has a long and proud sports tradition, from the successes of Gloucester High School teams, to cycling events, the 25k New England road race held each Labor Day weekend, and the schooner races that are part of that festival. But last week's announcement of the inaugural Gloucester Triathlon has the potential for giving Gloucester a positive spotlight it's rarely enjoyed before.

With Thanksgiving arriving tomorrow and winter officially just around the corner, it may seem hard to think about next summer.

But some local athletic organizers and city officials are. That's because Gloucester will host a major triathlon that's being viewed as a showcase for the city that has not held that type of outdoor race in the past.