FIREFIGHTER Marc Murphy knows you can never say never when it comes to the Ironman, but after smashing his personal best time in his third and what could his final crack at the Bolton event he is going to enjoy it.

The 42-year-old led home a crew of eight Bolton firefighters taking part in yesterday's event, finishing in a whirlwind time of 10hrs 46mins 54secs, beating his previous best by almost half an hour.

"I am not the kind of person to boast or brag about it (finishing first of the eight Bolton firefighters) but having said that why not? I probably will this time," he said, after posting the second fastest time of any Bolton competitor in the race and 17th best in his 40-44 age group.

"There is always a bit of one-upmanship between us all, there is definitely a bravado within the fire service.

"But I am so pleased with the time because it was really unexpected.

"My main aim was to finish inside 12 hours because I have not done a massive amount of preparation compared with previous years,but everything just felt ok.

"I felt good on the bike and started feeling good on the run so I thought I would push it and see what I could do, so I’m made up."

Out of the eight-strong firefighting group, Mark Berry was Murphy's closest competitor, finishing the event in a creditable 11:39:20.

But despite the tongue-in-cheek "bravado", Murphy said they would all be celebrating once the last man made it home.

Each member of the team wore special Ironman uniforms, sponsored by local cab firm Metro Taxis, and were cheered all the way around the punishing 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run.

Murphy added, on the finish line: "If I am being honest, at this moment in time I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I am going to say now never again, but I will probably wake up tomorrow and say yes, I’ll do it again.

"And when it is in your home town why not? It’s brilliant. It’s good for the athletes and it’s good for Bolton.

"There has been plenty of friends and family out there cheering me on, particularly on the run.

"It’s certainly one of the dates in the calendar that, even people who have no interest in it come out and spend a day here.

"So it’s good for Bolton and hopefully it will stay here for many years to come."