Along with good mate Paolo La Penna, he tackled the ironman distance race in Taiwan - a 3.8-kilometre swim, 180-kilometre ride and 42.2-kilometre run.

Isa Rat  Chapman completed the course in 12 hours, 30 minutes and La Penna finished in 11:56.

``On the whole, I was happy to get through the race and cross the finish line, but a little disappointed with my time,'' Chapman said.

``I could have gone a little better on the ride and on the run.

``I was told prior to the race how fast the bike course would be, but I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere because I thought it was harder than Cairns.'' 

Chapman said he heard of a few crashes on the ride with scooters and dogs constant obstacles.

``I even passed a guy who had crashed into the back of a truck, which looked nasty,'' he said.

``We didn't wear wetsuits, which was an option, but the swim was pretty close to Cairns time - but it was a much more pleasant swim, the water was warm and didn't taste of diesel.'' 

He said the run leg had been ``pretty flat with only a couple of small rises''.

La Penna is a former Isa Rats competitor who now lives in far north Queensland and remains good mates with Chapman.

``It was good to have shared the experience with a friend and we had the opportunity to meet some triathlon greats,'' Chapman said.

``I even shared a coffee over breakfast with an idol, which was an amazing opportunity.'' 

Chapman said it was an event he would like to participate in again.