KAILUA, Kona, Hawai'i — The top professionals say a tough course and a strong field of competitors make it difficult to predict the outcome of tomorrow's Ironman Triathlon World Championship, and no one is willing to stake a claim to first place.

The closest anyone came to that was defending champion Normann Stadler of Germany.

"It's my race," he said in assessing the competition, and saying he loves the heat and wind. But he quickly added that the Hawai'i Ironman is "so different from every other race."

Stadler said that when he races in Frankfurt there are two or three good athletes, but in the Hawai'i race there are 20 or 30.

Natascha Badmann of Switzerland will be seeking her sixth Hawai'i victory. She said she has had a "great year" and is well-prepared.

"But it's a long course and you never know what can happen," she said. "You never know if you can win until you cross the (finish) line."

Faris Al-Sultan of Germany finished third last year, and said he is in good shape this year, but has set a goal only of finishing in the top 10, despite winning the inaugural Ironman race in Arizona earlier this year.

"I would love to win or do better than last year, but it's so hard to predict anything," he said. "It's a hard race and there are so many good guys here."

Strong winds during the 112-mile bicycle ride and high humidity during the bike and the 26.2-mile run often take a toll, and Rutger Beke of Belgium said the weather in Kona has been "windier and warmer than in years past."

He also noted the strong field for the Hawai'i race. "It is the biggest race in triathlon, so everyone is here to win." Winning will earn the top male and female $110,000 each, with a total purse of $580,000.

Beke, who was fifth last year, said he just wants to repeat in the top five.

Lisa Bentley of Canada is among the top women's contenders after winning the Ironman races in Australia and Germany this year.

"I'm going for the trifecta," she said.

Bentley said she has been bothered my a colon problem the past 10 days but she doesn't think if will affect her race. "Physically, my body feels fantastic," she said.

She has been in Hawai'i for four weeks, and even the training has been hard, saying "it hasn't been a holiday." Her holiday begins in Hawai'i next week when she marries amateur triathlete David Cracknell on Wednesday.

Three-time winner Peter Reid of Canada is running his first Ironman race of the year after recovering from a staph infection. He said he had been relaxed until Wednesday night when he woke up and couldn't go back to sleep.

"So my game face is on," he said. "I'm getting nervous and serious and snappy and that's good."

Heather Fuhr of Canada, who placed second last year, has been bothered by a hip injury. But she said that has been good because it made her "step back a bit" and let her recharge.

"The past couple days have been hard but I'm ready to go," she said.

Among the more than 1,800 triathletes registered is Sarah Reinertsen of Orange County, Calif., who hopes to become the first female with an artificial leg to finish the race. She competed last year but missed the bicycle cutoff time by 14 minutes.

"I've had a year to get stronger and better," she said.

She lost her leg at age 7 as a result of a birth defect, and said, at age 30, that nearly her entire life has been a challenge.

The race starts at 7 a.m., with a 2.4-mile ocean swim at Kailua on Hawai'i Island's Kona Coast.