A SUPER-fit Suffolk man is today nursing sore muscles and aching joints after completing the gruelling Iron Man triathlon.Tom Powell completed the punishing challenge - a 2.

A SUPER-fit Suffolk man is today nursing sore muscles and aching joints after completing the gruelling Iron Man triathlon.

Tom Powell completed the punishing challenge - a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a full marathon - in less than ten-and-a-half hours.

The 26-year-old former Holbrook High School pupil trained for the race, staged at Sherborne Castle in Dorset, for four months, swimming, cycling and running for up to 20 hours a week.

And his hard work paid dividends, with the sporty personal trainer finishing 97th out of a field of more than 1,000 competitors.

Mr Powell said: “It was hard work but the training schedule I put myself through really paid off.

“The training has been hard, and it's turned me into a bit of a social recluse. It makes you really tired and you lack motivation to do other things.

“To finish in the top 100 was a big achievement, something I wasn't expecting, so I'm delighted.”

Mr Powell completed the swim in just over an hour and finished the lengthy bike ride in just over five-and-a-half hours.

Incredibly, he finished the marathon, the final discipline, in a quicker time than he has ever run it before - just three hours and 27 minutes.

As part of the challenge, Mr Powell managed to raise £1,899 for Cancer Research UK.

He said: “I haven't decided if I will compete in Iron Man again. Now I'm just looking forward to taking a break from the constant training and relaxing for a bit.”

Have you completed a gruelling challenge? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk