WHEN haemophilia advocate and Port Macquarie man Brett Myers set himself a goal of competing at the Coolangatta Gold on October 6, he did it with a purpose.
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He not only wanted to prove something to himself, he wanted to lead by example for other sufferers of the bleeding disorder.
An improvised training session that reduced his risk of injury and bleeding saw him compete at the weekend, coming through unscathed from the tough race.
"I had no incidents or accidents myself. I had a really good day. The course was enjoyable," he said.
"It's all about showing that you can set goals and make them achievable no matter what you suffer from
"I got to experience the race rather than watching from the sidelines, I just soaked it all up. Nothing worried me all day."
He said he was happy with how he performed, loving the scenery and feeling of competing in a big event.
"There were tricky conditions on the day. The big swell caused carnage with a lot of people," he said.
"The swim went from two kilometres to 2.8km, but regardless I'm really happy. I had a really good board leg and I ran well at the end, so it all came together."
Mr Myers would, one day, like to compete in something even bigger and better - and harder.
"I will set myself the goal to get back next year and I'll see how I go with other events," he said.
"I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. I'd still love to do an Ironman, but I'd have to work out how to adapt my training method to that."