Elgin athlete competes for Team GB in 50th triathlon in Andalucia, Spain
A retiree has celebrated a landmark triathlon by competing for Team GB for the first time.
Simon MacDonald, who lives in Elgin and retired from Baxter’s in Fochabers in December 2023, marked his 50th triathlon by travelling to Spain for the World Triathlon Championship Finals.
The 65-year-old had never previously competed abroad - but placed 38th out of 86 runners in the 65-69 men’s category in the event, which sees competitors swim, cycle and run in Torremolinos, Andalucia.
The Moray Firth Triathlon member finished the event in a personal best time of 2 hours 47 minutes 38 seconds, which took place in 27-degree heat in southern Spain.
Prior to his race, Simon watched the ‘sprint’ event - in which, tragically, there were two fatalities.
He said: “I was very anxious going into the race, really nervous. I always am - but this was my first time abroad and the first time with my bike abroad.
“Just the scale of it and competing at that level… I fully expected to be struggling, so it was a pleasant surprise not to.
“In the sprint race there were a couple of fatalities - I saw one of them happening in the run, and one happened during the swim.
“It all left me very shaken-up and didn’t help with the nerves. But once I got into the race, I was able to relax into it.”
Simon, who was a logistics manager at Baxter’s for 30 years, has been running for nearly three decades, but took part in his first triathlon in 2012 in Forres, at the age of 53.
His rise since then has been meteoric. Last year, he took part in three qualifying events to pave the way to the Spain on October 19 - but had to wait nearly a year to find out he had qualified.
“There were 10 months between the qualifying event and being told I had qualified,” he said. “I’d almost forgotten about it - but I’m very proud I made the team.
“There was a team of 15 for each age category - I scraped into the team, I was one of the last to qualify.
“But I managed to finish in the top half overall. I was expecting to be near the bottom, but I managed to do myself proud.
“I trained very hard and wanted to get a personal best and I did that. I was two minutes better than my previous best.”
Simon will compete in a duathlon in Poland in 2025 for Team GB, and is aiming to qualify for the 2026 Triathlon World Championships, which will take place in Europe.
“I’m keen to try again,” he added. “The qualifying event is this year to try and qualify for the next competition.
“Before that, I’m off to Poland in April 2025 for a European duathlon (run, bike, run) as part of Team GB.
“However, now that I have hit the 50 triathlons and completed an ironman (in 2021), I plan on winding back on the number of events and being more selective.”
Retirement has allowed Simon a little bit of extra time for training - he generally spends 10 hours a week practising, whether that’s out on the bike, running or using the treadmill at Moray Leisure Centre.
As well as Moray Triathlon Club, Simon trains with Elgin Cycling Club and Moray Road Runners.
He was supported by his wife Alison - and was especially delighted to have the support of triathlon club members Andy and Eileen Riddoch, who travelled to Spain to cheer him on.
“I had a lot of support and it was nice to hear my name shouted out from well-kent faces,” he added.
“If anyone is thinking about triathlon - give it a go. The variety keeps you motivated, it gives all the body a work out.
“For more mature athletes, it takes stress from pounding the legs. It’s worth looking into!”
