Last minute preparations for Ironman Wales are taking place in Tenby this week.

The RNLI is set to raise thousands of pounds towards saving lives at sea after being chosen as the event's charity.

Visitors are expected to turn out in their droves to cheer on athletes from across the world who will descend on the resort on September 11.

Amongst the participants will be a former Welsh rubgy player who has got his wife onside to join him in the gruelling challenge.

Ex-Swansea Rugby Union player Paul Arnold and wife Jayne are gearing up to tackle the 2.4 mile swim, 112-mile cycle and 26.2 mile run to raise funds for the RNLI.

The Sketty couple will join 1,650 athletes from across the world, including The Mumbles RNLI volunteers Alistair Carley Smith and Adam Griffiths who are also taking part. Participants will take in the intense swim, run and cycle with in the 17 hour time limit, passing one of the Tenby's iconic RNLI lifeboat station.

The race starts at South beach and after exiting the waters, the athletes will take on the bike course through the fascinating countryside of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, passing numerous castles and iconic landmarks. The medieval town walls and picturesque beach front provide an impressive backdrop for the concluding marathon through Tenby.

Paul, 43, has only recently retired from playing rugby for Swansea during which time he was capped for Wales 16 times.

Jayne, a manager at IT company Capgemini, has been training hard, as she has a very personal target to beat.

She said: "We've taken part in the Ironman in Austria, Lanzarote, Nice and Germany and Challenge Barcelona, which is Iron Man distance, so this will be our sixth. The tally at the moment is 3-2 to Paul so I'm hoping to make it a draw in Tenby.

"For me, the most difficult will be the swim as I don't like mass starts and try to stay out of any trouble, it's slightly easier for Paul at six foot five inches, he doesn't get pushed around so much!

"For Paul, the run will be the toughest. He's a big guy to run that far and as he keeps telling me he has an extra eight stone to carry around than I do. We are just hoping the weather is good to us as we raise funds for a well-deserved cause."

Many RNLI participants have pledged to raise a minimum of £1,214 each - the equivalent of training just one of their volunteer crew members for a year.

The RNLI will be providing safety cover at the event, with RNLI lifeguards and RNLI lifeboats on hand to offer assistance if needed. Volunteers will collecting towards the lifesaving charity throughout the event.

Charlotte Bird, RNLI events manager for Wales, said: "The RNLI is thrilled to be the official charity partner of Ironman Wales.

"We are really grateful to everyone who has signed up to take part in aid of the RNLI, if anyone else is considering taking part we have a handful of places remaining, or if you have already secured your place and would be able to raise even a small amount of sponsorship be it £50 or £500, it really all does help towards saving a life at sea. We are also keen to recruit volunteers to offer approximately six hours to help marshal the courses during the day."

A variety of activities will be taking place in the resort, including a giant raffle throughout the weekend, with Ironman UK places and the chance to win a spot in the race lead car on race day up for grabs.

The event will begin at 7 am on Sunday following a mandatory briefing at 5 am and has a mandatory 17-hour time limit. Participants will be treated to a special after event party on the Monday and also to a special performance by guest artist Beverly Knight.

For more information or to register, please see http://www.rnli.org.uk/ironmanwales">www.rnli.org.uk/ironmanwales.

Anyone able to offer help marshalling the Ironman Wales course should contact the RNLI on 0121 780 6960 or [email protected]">[email protected]