Former AFL Melbourne Demons Captain Nathan Jones Completes Ironman 70.3 Melbourne

Nathan Jones finished his first ever IRONMAN 70.3 in an impressive 4:15:33, crossing the finish line in Catani Gardens in front of friends and family.

“That was right up there with one of the hardest things I’ve done but it was good fun and very rewarding, that’s for sure,” said Jones. “I reckon I got PBs in the swim and ride, I just ran out of legs on the run but still really happy with my time, I set a goal of four hours 30 minutes and I had a race plan around that four hours 20, four hours 30 mark so I’ve gone under that which I’m pretty happy with.”

Jones was amongst more than 2,000 others for the first ever GWM IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne, with the event consisting of a 1.9km swim, 90km ride and 21.1km run.

Spectators have lined the course throughout the south-easter suburbs of Melbourne, providing incredible support for those racing, an element of the event that the 302-game veteran enjoyed.

“It was unreal out there, both from the crowd and the other athletes, I love the feeling, it’s a really supportive community and everyone is just pushing to get a result,” he said. “For an individual sport it actually feels like there’s a team morale amongst everyone competing which is really cool to be a part of and I had great fun.”

Sunday’s event was Jones’ first triathlon since he was at school, with the 34-year-old now looking ahead to his next challenge in the sport.

“It’s an awesome event and I’m pretty busy at home with the four kids but I’ll see if I can fit another one in later in the year,” he said. “I’ve had a fair bit of fun, as I’ve said along the journey it’s been a good way for me to find some routine post footy, I love the mental challenge and the physical challenge, nothing better than this and we’ll see where we go next.”