BBC sports personality’s unsung hero award humbling, says Nantwich man

Qualified in July last year for the Iron Man 70.3 Triathlon World Championships, Mr McIntyre is currently in New Zealand and will miss the awards ceremony, but said he would catch up on iPlayer through sequel, because it was “always exciting” to watch.

“There have been some absolutely fantastic people who have been nominated for this award in the past, people who have won it,” he said.

“I’ve seen the competition: the things they’ve accomplished, themselves and others, are absolutely wonderful. To be among these people is truly a tremendous honor.”

When he started the club, he said he found that people were often intimidated by the prospect of combining running, cycling and swimming and felt like they had to be “super fit” to take part – a perception he hoped he had helped to overturn.

He says it will be “a moment like Charlie Bucket and the Chocolate Factory” that will be “out of this world”, if he also wins the national award.