Tenacious Torr impresses in Ironman | Bay of Plenty Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Bay of Plenty

Given the option of a bit of rough and tumble with mates or 9  hours on his feet tackling the beast that is Ironman New Zealand, Tauranga's Craig Torr will take the gruelling multisport race every time.

Torr, a 30-year-old osteopath, led the Western Bay of Plenty charge at Saturday's ironman race in Taupo, coming down the finish chute in 9h 32m 28s, looking as fresh as he had when he set out at daybreak.

Torr's time, good enough for 33rd overall and 12th in his 30-34 years age division, was a brilliant effort for a first timer.

There's a bit of history to Saturday's race, with Torr, a well-performed half ironman triathlete, forced onto the sidelines for a couple of years after getting injured skylarking with mates.

"I've done about four half ironmans [with a best time of 4  hours] and have been down here to Taupo to watch ironman a few times, although I've been out for the last couple of years with an arm injury."

Read more in today's Bay of Plenty Times