Former National Rugby League player Jamie Fitzgerald attempt his first Ironman 70.3 on Sunday at Port Macquarie.
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The 35 year-old has competed in triathlon since he retired in 2003.
Fitzgerald played a total of 72 games for the North Sydney Bears, St George Illawarra Dragons and South Sydney Rabbitohs during a career which started in 1999 and finished in 2003.
"This is my first long distance triathlon," he said. "Basically I set goals at the start of the year on what I want to achieve in every aspect of my life such as finance, family and this was in the category of health."
He chose Port Macquarie's 70.3 for a number of reasons, the most pertinent being the physically challenging nature of the sport.
"I know a few people who have completed races, and always thought it looked like a satisfying sport," Fitzgerald said.
Professional sportspeople crossing over to triathlon upon retirement is a common occurrence. Often it tends to be from sports with a complementary skills set, and body make up, like cycling, running or swimming.
Rugby league requires a completely different body make up, and the only time Fitzgerald's skills may transfer is during the hustle and bustle of the swim start.
"Being heavy up top means you're carrying a bit more weight than the stereotypical triathlete," he said. "It's been tough, mainly in the longer running intervals, but like anything, your body adapts if you put in the required training," he said.
His enjoyment of the sport partly comes from having been a professional in one sport, to now going back and retracing those beginning steps, improving and growing as an athlete.
"I really love the variation in legs mainly and the ability to see yourself improve by working on different variations of training," Fitzgerald said. "There is no boredom with triathlons."
More than 1000 age group athletes will chase their personal bests on Sunday.