Johnston was the first resident to the finish line on Sunday, May 5 for the 70.3 Ironman in a time of four hours, 47 minutes and 21 seconds.

He was pursued by fellow residents, Craig Whiting (04:54:29), Jimbo Sanderson (4.57.33) and David McDonald (4.58.28).

Mitchell Cunningham of Berry was first across the line in the half Ironman race.

In the full Ironman event, Port Macquarie's Rhys Lawler was the first local across the line (09:04:24), followed by Joel Armitage (09:58:16) and Steve Sanders (10:09:04).

"It was nice except for the wind. The course for the half Ironman was really quite nice," said Johnston, who has done the full distance six times since starting in 2009.

"There were a lot of locals racing and supporting from the sidelines.

"The spectators cheering always helps and seeing local volunteers is great.

"Racing at home you know where the rough bits are on the course and where to push them.

"Living here means there is time to practice on Matthew Flinders hill, it definitely does help."

Mr Johnston said he had previously taken a break for two years to keep the family, work life balance.

"Two years ago I took a break from the full event due to trying to balance family and work," he said.

"The 70.3 is a good distance because it doesn't affect family much.

"When you're training for the whole thing even if you train early, you end up being too exhausted later for family activities."

Port Macquarie registered 90 competitors in the Ironman, Ironman 70.3 and teams categories over the weekend, 24 of which were solo athletes registered for the full distance event.

One of Port Macquarie's most determined finishers was Julie 'Singe' Parish with a time of 16 hours, 35 minutes and 47 seconds.

It was Ironman number seven for Parish, who hinted at a possible return in 2020.

"It was a very good day in Port Macquarie. The Tri Club won division four for the weekend," she said.

"Number seven was harder on the bike because of the wind but full credit to the organisers, aid stations and volunteers.

"Another year is probably on the cards, although there's a lot of days before next year's event."

The official fastest times for 2019 were recorded by professional Ironman competitors Cameron Wurf (8:06:17) and Laura Siddall (9:11:58) in the main event on May 5.

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