Fitzroy Falls resident Shane Duffy said his success in the Ultraman Australia race in Noosa would not have been possible without his support crew.
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Mr Duffy banded together with his family and friends, who travelled beside him and provided support, as he completed the 515km race from May 8 to 10.
"Every athlete needs their support crew to get across the line," he said.
Each participant in the event was expected to swim 10km and ride 140km on the first day, cycle 281.1km on the second day and then run 84.3km on the final day.
Mr Duffy's support crew united with him in his last moments to cross the finish line as a collective front.
"You get to share that experience with them because without them, you wouldn't have been able to do that," he said.
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Twelve hour limits were set for participants to complete the courses each day.
Mr Duffy finished 17th on the first day in 9 hours and 25 minutes, 15th in 9 hours and 1 minute on the second day, and delivered a time of 8 hours and 45 minutes in 14th place on the final day.
Mr Duffy first heard about the competition when he travelled to Noosa for another marathon in 2019 and chose to volunteer.
He was assigned to support a Spanish athlete as he progressed through the race at the 2019 event.
"I got a chance to see from sun up to sun down what he had to do to complete it," he said.
"It gave me a good idea of what I needed to do."
Mr Duffy was initially accepted for last year's race before it was cancelled as a consequence of the Covid pandemic.
The delay to the event allowed Mr Duffy to invest further time in training and improving his stamina for the marathon.
"I have built towards it for so long," he said.
"It hasn't sunken in that I've done it.
"It's about not putting any limitations on yourself and what you think you can achieve, and what you're capable of."
Mr Duffy has already thrown his hat in the ring for next year.
"Now that I've done it, I would like to try and see what I can improve."
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Briannah Devlin
I like to write about arts, entertainment, any local reality tv leads, and property for the Southern Highland News and Goulburn Post, but also report on everything in between. If you have any tips, please send them to Briannah.Devlin@austcommunitymedia.com.au, or call 0439142204.
I like to write about arts, entertainment, any local reality tv leads, and property for the Southern Highland News and Goulburn Post, but also report on everything in between. If you have any tips, please send them to Briannah.Devlin@austcommunitymedia.com.au, or call 0439142204.
