The big wave surfer and Bondi Beach lifeguard shared his tips and tricks for Ironman Australia ahead of race day on Sunday, May 5.

Kimmins has previously completed Ironman competitions internationally and achieved top placings in Melbourne, Cairns and Western Australia.

He has also raced three times in Port Macquarie in shorter distances and said it's an honest course with tough hill climbs and encouraging crowds.

"The town really embraces the sport which doesn't always happen, but Port has always been really supportive with encouragement from the sidelines," he said.

"It's a really tough course with the hills and the tough aspect of the bike section.

"When thinking about the hills, don't over do them, get out of the saddle to stretch and if you get a southerly wind back to town really try to use that tail wind.

"In the run, nutrition is obviously key but just remember to race within your capability, you only do your first Ironman once so high five people and have fun."

Kimmins started the year with a seventh-placed finish at New Zealand's Challenge Wanaka Half on February 15.

He also took out a fifth place in New Zealand's Red Bull Defiance 2019 event in January, hopefully to be followup with a strong finish for his first full Ironman of the year in Port Macquarie.

"I'd be really happy with a podium from the way I've been training and the numbers so if I could stand on the podium that would be a dream for me in the pro field," he said.

"There is always a strong field that turn up to Port; Australians are typically some of the strongest guys and girls on the field, especially somewhere prestigious like Port Macquarie."

Kimmins said an athlete's routine, cycling equipment and nutrition for Ironman events was becoming increasingly scientific and reducing guesswork in the sport.

"There's more focus about equipment; triathlons used to be a lot of guesswork back in the day and now it's all about science and aerodynamics," he said.

"I'd like to see the courses get harder or be kept more honest, I think people are looking for faster times but I'd actually like to see times go slower and make the courses harder."

Local triathlon coach, Ben Johnson with SMART coaching is training six athletes for this year's full-distance event and six for the half.

Johnson said athletes could now calculate the exact amount of energy required to finish the race, taking away some of the guesswork.

"The technology in bikes is getting a lot better but athletes still need to put the effort in," he said.

"You can calculate the speed you need and for how many hours you need it, you can can judge how much energy you'll need and see it on screen with a bike computer.

"Instead of trying to guess from your heart rate or the amount of effort working hard, you can follow the number which helps your efficiency.

"You can sit on that number."

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