Things turned around when he was stunned to witness wife Catherine start to jog more habitually than one of his take-away orders that clicked something inside.

“I never saw her run until she was 40,” Peter says, “I didn’t know she could.”

More than a decade has passed and the triathlete born out of her inspiration has been the conduit to another two generations of the Tasmanian family. 

At last count, he has finished in 27 ironmen events, including qualifying for a world championship in Hawaii. “But I have only been a champion of buying two pizzas and eating them all at once,” Peter laughs.

The Hobart man, at 59, is now turning his hand to teaming with his Launceston son Matthew, 38, for the Ultraman Australia triathlon at Noosa next weekend.

They are believed to be only the the second-ever father-son combination in the world to have competed at the three-day ultraman distance.

That distance includes a 10km ocean swim and 140km on the bike for day one, a further 281km ride the next day before ending with an 85km double-marathon run.

He has somehow passed on the bug to eldest grand-daughter Ava, 15, a member of Triathlon Tasmania’s junior squad. “None of us have any real pedigree in any of this racing at all,” Peter says.

The son also went from sitting on the couch to his first ultraman triathlon within six months.

But arguably taking on the most gruelling of sports was not about clocking a strong time and bettering it.

“The thing that appeals to most people is the focus on family because an athlete cannot get through this event without a support crew and the crews are often family,” Matthew says.

The Noosa event has 45 athletes and more than 100 crew members for the 12-hour days.

And knowing that support is close by is enough for the Wheatleys to keep going.