Normally you’d find local businessmen Paul Burgess and Grant Butterfield chained to their desks in Campbelltown.
But not last weekend.
No, last weekend they were both up north in Queensland for the Cairns Ironman event.
No, not watching.
Actually taking part.
This is an annual ultra endurance event not to be sneezed at as it entails a 3.8km ocean swim, an 180km bike ride and a full 42.2km marathon.
It attracts more than 3,000 competitors from around the world including elite and age groups, young and old.
Well, the boys from Campbelltown swapped business suits for wetsuits and both competed and successfully completed the 2016 Cairns Ironman.
For Grant Butterfield, a partner of Marsdens Law Group, this made it two years in a row he had performed the feat.
For his buddy Paul Burgess, of Paul Wakeling Motor Group, it was also his second Cairns Ironman, but his were separated by 20 years because his first one was 20 years ago in 1996.
The biggest challenge for both last Sunday, June 12, was the swim leg, with the sea off Palm Cove choppy and with overcast and wet conditions.
But our boys Burgess and Butterfield survived the angry sea, got out of the water and onto their bikes for a beautiful ride up and back and up and back (again) from Palm Cove to Port Douglas and a final return trip to Cairns with the head wind smashing them in the face for the last and rather unpleasant 50kms.
Into Cairns they rolled thinking that anything would be better than riding the bike for more than six hours – anything except a marathon that is.
But again they pressed on, ditching the pedals and pounding the pavement until crossing the finish line.
It was after all what they had travelled 2,000 kilometres for: to endure 12 hours of hurt.
And to be able to say they are now ironmen in business suits.
