He battled hamstring cramps throughout the run leg. Sanderson put that down to the heat on the day.

He took in Ibuprofen to help him through.

"On the second lap they started loosening up, and I started feeling good again."

It was lucky Sanderson had thought of encountering problems like that before the race.

"I always think to be prepared for things like that and it pays off,"?he said. "Because you never know."

Earlier, the tide didn't give him much trouble in the swim, but a windy second lap on the bike hampered Sanderson and the other riders.

"The wind just started picking up on the way home, so I was really happy to have really pushed hard on that first lap to get down there," he said.

His home race was Sanderson's second good finish this season.

He ran a sub-five hour race at Cairns, too.

"I didn't think I was going to, here," he said. "I absolutely smashed it, and I am really happy. I pushed really hard."

Sanderson is coached by Mel Cockshutt, and said her training was the key to getting him through.

"All Mel's guidance and coaching has really paid off," he said. "And all that training's paid off."