This year, at least 40 of the 470 athletes in the marathon multisport event were Wanaka cyclists, competing either as individuals or in teams.
Those cyclists each clocked up between 200km and 650km cycling a week in preparation for their 180km Challenge ride and many were helped in their training by other cyclists not competing in the race.
While the women behind the event - Victoria Murray-Orr and Kerry Quin - have yet to be seen lapping it out in lurid lycra around Wanaka's roads, that could still change.
Inspired by Challenge Wanaka athletes, Mrs Murray-Orr recently donned bright pink running shoes and began training for her first marathon in July.
Ms Quin has neatly sidestepped the obligation.
She left Wanaka in February to live in Dubai with her development project manager husband, Steve Collie, and their 16-month daughter Mila, leaving Mrs Murray-Orr to continue their event management business with the help of employee Nicole Fairweather.
A report on the economic benefits from Challenge Wanaka has not been completed yet, but anecdotal, feel-good spin-offs were evident in the holidays and weddings that followed.
Professional athlete Luke Dragstra, of Canada, only went back to Germany two weeks ago after four months in town.
Expatriate New Zealand engineer David Somerville, formerly of Timaru, now living in Bahrain, got married in Wanaka the day after completing the January 18 event.
Tourists from Germany and the United States changed their travel plans on learning the event was on, and extended their stays to volunteer or take part.
Wanaka's small pool of professional coaches such as Val Burke and Fi Fairbairn already have athletes signing up for training programmes for next year.
Some murmurs of discontent from retailers who opposed street closures will be discussed at a debriefing between the organisers, the Wanaka Community Board and the Wanaka Chamber of Commerce, but the general response so far has been positive.
Mrs Murray-Orr has added a half-ironman distance triathlon to the 2010 Challenge Wanaka event, which can be completed individually or as a team on the same day as the full Challenge Wanaka.
Her goal is to continue to build entries from 474 this year to 700-800.
Adding a half-iron race made the goal of completing a long-distance race more attainable and few infrastructure changes would be necessary, she said.
"The bones are not going to change . . . whether we have 200 people or 1000 people, the road closures will be the same, the traffic management will be the same. It just means more people in town."
