Ali then Day-light, says inaugural Cooly champ Leech

Inaugural Coolangatta Gold champion Guy Leech thinks something would need to go horribly wrong for Ali Day not to win a staggering 10th title.

It's been 40 years since Leech won the 1984 title, the race held so footage of the action could be used in the movie of the same name.

The multi-discipline, marathon-distance surf race will take the winner about four hours to complete on Sunday.

"You're conquering something that seemed impossible," Leech reflected.

"You had to be more than fast; you had to be very good mentally and with your ability to handle adversity and pain."

Leech did it best in the maiden staging of the event that didn't feature Grant Kenny, because he was playing himself in the movie and couldn't legitimately enter the race.

"The whole of Queensland came out to the beach to watch it," Leech recalled.

"I remember counting 13 helicopters filming; the world media, movie cameras and everyone else in between.

"It was like a circus and I was fortunate to be there at the right time, right place.

"No one knew how to run a race like that ... I walked away going, 'I can't believe I won and if it's on again next year, I have to come back and win, or everyone will think it's a fluke'.''

Kenny was on the starting line a year later and Leech had a point to prove.

"I just knew if I didn't beat him .. everyone would think I'm a flash in the pan," he said.

"I loved it and ... felt like I needed to keep doing it to prove myself."

Leech won the first two and then added another when it was known as the Gold Coast Gold.

There was no race run between 1992 and 2005, when Caine Eckstein mirrored events of the movie to run past his brother Shannon to beat a stacked field.

He won four more consecutively between 2008 and 2011 before Day made the event his own.

The 33-year-old has won in all nine of his appearances and told AAP he will happily hang up his Coolangatta Gold cap if he adds a 10th this weekend.

"He'll have to ... make a decision that's really poor to lose it, or go into the race injured or sick," said Leech, who insists he would have given the unbeaten Day a run for his money.

"There's no one there as fast as him over the course. He deserves to win his 10th and good luck to him."

Lana Rogers will be the woman to beat, the defending champion also boasting Ironwoman, national and world championship crowns in the past 12 months.