Ahead of them awaits a 3.8 kilometre swim, 180 kilometres on the bike and a marathon run of 42 kilometres to finish it off.

The best of the athletes will be done in around eight hours. For many it will be a race to ensure that they finish inside the cut-off time of 17 hours.

This is Iron Man Port Macquarie on Sunday, May 6 and amongst the starters will be seven members of the Kiama Triathlon Club.

The surprising thing is that these athletes don’t come from elite sporting backgrounds. They are mums and dads who could well live next door to you. Personal journeys of discovery have led them to the start line.

Grant, Steve and Simon are in their mid to late 40s – all married with 11 kids between them. They work similar jobs (Bluescope and Sydney Trains). They are mates and training partners.

To get to the start line has taken them a year’s focused training of around 15 to 18 hours a week. They are motivated by the desire not to let each other down. A little friendly competition helps as well.

For each it will be their first ironman triathlon.

When asked what motivated them, Steve summed it up best, “to achieve something I thought was impossible”.

Steve is hoping to finish in under 12 hours, Grant around 12½ hours and Simon has a very clear goal of beating former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott’s 2012 time of 13:57:02.  

Sandra is personal trainer 56 years young and a veteran of five previous ironman triathlons. Injury kept her out of the sport for 10 years but she kept herself active with a little motor cross, hiking and mountaineering.

Husband Lloyd is her training partner and mentor and the two of them are often seen on their bikes on the roads around Jamberoo. She has been a member of the Kiama Triathlon Club since 1995 and thrives on the friendships, encouragement and inspiration that club members provide.

She has a finishing goal of around 15 hours, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if she got to the showers a little earlier.

Ben,37, is a 12 hour shift worker and married with five kids. This event will be Ben’s fifth successive Port Macquarie Ironman.

Training for between 12 and 15 hours a week, Ben will be aiming to better his previous best finishing time of 10 hours 47 minutes.

Ben is the club’s secretary and responsible for organising the monthly training meet.

For Ben “the challenge to improve on last time and finish with no regrets”, is motivation enough. 

Club vice-president Jason is 39 and married with three kids. This will be his first ironman triathlon and the 12 to 15 hours training he is doing a week has left him confident that he will finish around the 12 hour mark.

Jason mentioned his desire to be a good role model for his kids as being a primary motivation.

He described his first attempt at a sprint triathlon five years ago.

“I found it to be the first sport I had tried that was really challenging and so varied in terms of effort and fitness required and given that I have no athletic background I had a lot to learn,” he said. 

“During the swim I was literally floating on my back hoping the tide would drag me around the course, I couldn’t work out how to properly change the gears on the bike and nearly fell off several times and during the run I thought I was going to collapse…not to mention the epic blisters from running in trail shoes”.

Jason added Kiama Triathlon Club was incredibly supportive and encouraging. 

“It’s a sport where you can be you, no one cares what you look like, how fast you swim, bike, run or even if you finish. The support Kiama Tri club has given me and those who take part is amazing and a huge motivating factor,” he said.

Gary is on the wrong side of 60 and married to fellow club member, Sue. A very strong bike rider Gary is a little less keen on having to run to finish the event.

He suggested that the strongest motivation for getting him home inside the 17 hours is that he is afraid of the dark. Gary will get to sleep that night with the words of the announcer echoing in his ears “congratulations Gary, you are an ironman”.

Kiama Triathlon Club exists to support multi-sport athletes and to encourage active lifestyles in the community. Ironman is at the extreme end of our sport.

There is a triathlon distance suitable for nearly everyone. If you would like to know more, find them at kiamatriathlonclub.com/ and get in touch.