One hopes to be the first overall male to cross the finish line. One hopes to be the first amateur female to arrive at the State House. And one would be happy just to make it from Narragansett to Providence in one piece.

They are three of the more than 1,700 athletes representing 20 countries and 50 states who will be competing Sunday at the second annual Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island, a multi-sport event from Narragansett to Providence.

Here are their stories:

Calling Block Island home, John Hirsch is the only Rhode Islander among the list of professionals competing in Sunday’s race, and he says, “I want to defend the Ocean State as best as I can.”

The 34-year-old – who incidentally is a public defender, formerly in Providence and now in New York City – says his ultimate goal this year is to improve upon his top-10 finish at last month’s full Ford Ironman Lousiville. Still, Hirsch hopes to be a contender on Sunday at an event that he predicts will be “wicked fast and wicked hard and pretty awesome.”

 “I came into last year’s race burnt out,” said Hirsch, who in addition to competing himself coaches Team Continuum, whose marathoners and triathletes race to raise funds for cancer patients. “This year I timed my efforts better and really am looking forward to a strong showing.”

In May, Hirsch won the recent Shad Bloom 10K Trail Run on Block Island and set a course record en route to winning the Ridgefield Sprint Triathlon in Connecticut. He then ran a personal best (4:16:40) and was leading for three hours before taking second at last month’s Patriot Triathlon in East Freetown, Mass.

He was 27th at the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island with a time of 4:27:12.

After competing in triathlons since 1992, Lisbeth Kenyon made an interesting discovery last year when she did two full Ironman events in a span of six weeks. She saved valuable training time – no small consideraton for a wife and mother of three, who also works part-time.

 “By training very hard for the first event, you can ride out your form for the next ones and thereby save time by not having to train so much in between,” said Kenyon, adding “I am much more effective with time when I have less of it.”

Applying that same philosophy this summer, the 44-year-old from Barrington is doing three half-ironman events in five weeks. She’s already taken top honors in her division at the first two – the Revolution3 Triathlon (first amateur female in 4:53:09) in Middlebury, Conn. and the Patriot Triathlon (first overall female in 4:30:57) and hopes to make it 3-for-3 with a win on Sunday.

“This race is just loads of fun because you basically bike through the whole state of Rhode Island,” said Kenyon, whose husband Todd will also be racing along with several other members of the FuelBelt Race Team. “Plus the run is local. Hearing your name cheered throughout that half-marathon in such a big race is special. I feel great going into Amica . . . . the endurance from all the years of consistent training is paying off.”

There are still no developments in the search for a cure for erythromelalgia, reports Kate Conklin, and she has yet to find any type of treatment that even comes close to relieving the excruciating pain she often experiences as a result of having the rare disorder.

Which is exactly why she plans to be back on the starting line this year, putting her body through the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run.

Wearing sports sandals when she races because it is too painful to wear socks and shoes, Conklin has been competing in marathons and multi-sport events – including last year’s Cox Sports Marathon in Providence and the Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island –– to try to raise awareness about the disorder also known as “Man on Fire.”

“Sometimes if I am down or wonder why I am doing all of this, I get an e-mail of encouragement and how my story has motivated/inspired them to keep living and try to do something they miss. Then it makes it all worthwhile,” said the 34-year-old personal trainer from Manhattan, whose story was profiled in an ESPN documentary last summer. “I have days when I have doubts, and when the pain seems impossible to bear, but then I have days when I feel I can accomplish my dream of an Ironman. Just a small amount of hope in someone can make a huge difference in their life. I don’t know how many marathons/Ironmans I have left in me. I never know if the permanent EM nerve damage is coming or is already here, but I do know I am going to keep trying and trying to make a small difference.”