When I was nine years old, I loved sport and was captivated by watching the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. I swore to myself that, one day, I would do that race and win it. That was in 1984. For the next twenty-eight years I continued to love participating in and watching sport, although I do not recall thinking about the phrase 'Ironman' ever again, apart from about the superhero played by Robert Downey Jnr in the film.

In July 2012, I was to rekindle my passion for Ironman racing. This book describes my journey from complete novice to Ironman finisher in 11 months.

My promise to you, the inspiring reader, is to give you my all, be honest and not take myself too seriously.

Training for and completing my first Ironman made me a better person, a better partner, a better father, a better business owner and improved my health. This is because it made me think bigger and raised my self-esteem. You may be a multiple Ironman, a professional Ironman athlete (in my dreams, hey?), a coach or a triathlete; you may have a swimming, cycling or running background and be considering taking up the sport, or just have an insane desire to complete the ultimate one-day endurance sporting event that was designed to test the human potential to its limit.

Believe me, it's not easy, but when you cross that finish line there is no feeling quite like it.