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Australian age group triathletes Elle Goodall and Leigh Chivers are determined to finish the Hawaiian Ironman world championships.

For all that Elle Goodall and Leigh Chivers have been through, only one thing matters on Saturday - finish.

The two Australian triathletes will be in the field of 2500 at the Hawaiian Ironman world championships.

One of the great attractions of the sport is that age groupers such as Goodall and Chivers compete alongside compatriot and three-time champion Mirinda Carfrae.

They will all face the same challenge at Kona - a 3.8km ocean swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km marathon run.

Hawaii is particularly tough because of strong winds on the bike, lava deserts radiating heat alongside the bike and run courses, and brutal tropical humidity.

Some of the best stories in the race are found among the age groupers and no-one is more inspirational than Chivers and Goodall.

While Carfrae will take about nine hours, they will not finish until well into the night and there is a midnight deadline.

In January, Chivers' wife Sara died of brain cancer and in June, his two-year-old son Alfie also succumbed to a different form of the same disease.

The odds of that happening to the same family are cruelly astronomical.

Sara wrote a last letter to Leigh and one of her wishes was that he finish Hawaii.

The accomplished age grouper qualified for Kona in 2014, but their newborn first son Hugh was sick and they could not go.

"She said she wanted me to keep living, for Hugh (now four), and create memories for both of us," Chivers, 34, said.

"It's a gift my wife has given me, through our circle of friends, who passed on the story to Ironman."

Three years ago, Goodall weighed 184kg and was well on the way to killing herself.

As part of a total transformation, the Queenslander decided she needed a sporting challenge.

"It seems really weird, but people say 'triathletes are crazy' - so I wanted to be one of those crazy people," the 30-year-old said.

Goodall used to wear size 36 clothes - unavailable in most shops - and now she is a size 12 or 14.

In June, Goodall finished the Cairns Ironman triathlon in 14 and a half hours - about two hours quicker than she thought.

"Words can't explain how proud of myself I am - how far I've come," she said.

After finding out about their stories, Ironman gave Goodall and Chivers coveted starts at Hawaii through the organisation's ambassador program.

They only found out two months ago and have had limited preparations, but are adamant they will achieve their goal.

"I know, 100 per cent, that I will finish," Goodall said.

Chivers said Sara knew exactly what she was doing by asking him to finish Hawaii.

"She knew if she set me a challenge of trying to get to Hawaii again ... that would hopefully bring the best out of me," he said.