Three members of the Regiment battled nine-foot ocean swells, a powerful headwind and plenty of mental demons to complete the epic challenge of the Florida Ironman over the weekend.

For Major Andy Price, WO2 Paul Kerton and Lieutenant Corporal Nathan Trott, crossing the finish line in Panama Beach City after a punishing day of physical exertion represented the culmination of 12 harsh months of preparation — with all three of them producing impressive times in conditions which were far from ideal.

Competing in his first ever Ironman, Kerton completed the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and full marathon in 11 hours, eight minutes and one second — a time which left him in 401st place out of the 2,192 athletes who started the race.

The 41-year-old Price — who is a veteran of two Ironmans — turned in his best-ever time of 12:14.46 to finish 879th while Trott, who had never run a marathon before, let alone finished an Ironman, came home in 13:51.36 to finish 1,566th.

“The conditions were harsh and to put in my best ever time in the circumstances is something I’m very, very pleased with,” said an elated Price from Florida last night.

“All three of us found the swim reasonably comfortable because we had done all our training in Bermuda and the waves didn’t bother us as much as it did other people. About 20-odd people didn’t even finish that part of the race, which gives you an idea of what the conditions were like.

“The key to finishing is to pace yourself during the day. There are people who go out way to fast and end up not being able to get through it. It’s a very isolating and lonely existence out there as well and you’ve got to try and keep focused throughout what is a very long day.

“Everybody has a different way of dealing with that, but what I do is to write the names of my children on my handlebars and my legs so when I look down I have something to think about and to take my mind off whatever discomfort I’m feeling.

“But it was a very tough day, particularly during the first 50 miles on the bike when we were cycling into a very strong headwind. Not many Ironman records are ever broken in Florida because though it’s pretty flat, the wind is always a major factor.

“By the time I started the run I was still feeling OK, though I started walking through some of the recovery areas and having a coke and some chicken broth because I needed something savoury to keep me going.

“Crossing the finishing line is a pretty special feeling — the magnitude of what you’ve done doesn’t really hit you until much later. But for now we’re all feeling pretty euphoric — though it may well take a few weeks to recover from this!”