IRONMAN competitors might be the toughest of the tough, but one athlete proved he had a soft centre when he got down on one knee to propose to his girlfriend after crossing the finish line.

Jay Murray had no sooner completed the gruelling the triathlon than he popped the question to partner Joy Webster as she waited for him at the end of the race.

The 27-year-old had the white gold engagement ring tied securely into his running shoe, as he made the nearly 13-hour journey around the course.

The couple, who live in Horwich, and both work for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in Manchester, have been together for nearly three years.

And Mr Murray said he could not have tackled the event without his fiancée’s unstinting support over 15 long months of hard training.

He said: “It’s taken lots and lots of my time away and I’ve been working a nine-to-five job, as well, so obviously you can’t do anything like that unless you have a supportive girlfriend.

“For the whole 15 months she has been great, she’s been really supportive, there’s not a chance I could have done it without her.”

And the trainee dog trainer added that he had the idea of proposing at the finish line about three or four months before the event.

He added: “I wanted it to be more about her than about me, she deserves the credit more than me for everything she does. She cooked all my meals, so I could have healthy food because I can’t cook at all. She’s been really good to me, I’ll never be able to tell her how much she has done for me.”

Mr Murray had injured his knee in the days leading up to the race, and was worried he might not be able to stand back up after he had knelt to propose.

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But he was more nervous about fluffing his romantic lines than Miss Webster’s response to his offer of marriage.

He said: “It was massively what she wanted and massively what I wanted. I was more nervous about getting my words in the right order and not just blurting out a load of rubbish.”

But it was a special moment when Miss Webster accepted his proposal.

“There’s an immense sense of pride ,” he said: “I couldn’t be happier.”

Miss Webster said the proposal came as a complete surprise: “I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was already quite emotional, but it was lovely to have all our friends and family there at the same time so they all saw it as well.”

Mr Murray was competing to raise funds for children’s charity When You Wish Upon a Star and and Pancreatic Cancer UK.

To donate visit justgiving.com/companyteams/Jaymurray