Still Racing Forward: Don McDonald ’80 on Training to Win and Loving Every Mile

From his home base in California, Don McDonald ’80 is still doing what Ridley taught him to do decades ago: train properly, show up ready and compete hard. At age 64, he is still competing at the highest levels he can — balancing marathon preparation with elite-level triathlon training and showing no signs of slowing down.

Later this month, Don is running in the Boston Marathon for the first time since the 1980s. Believe it or not, the race for him is essentially just another opportunity to train. These days, he primarily competes in Ironman triathlon racing. These gruelling one-day events are over 140 miles long and consist of a swim, a bicycle race and a long-distance run.

Inspired by watching Ironman on television in 1982, he went on to race professionally in the early years of the sport. Since then, racing has remained a constant in Don’s life.

His current approach is deliberate. Don adjusted his triathlon training to support marathon fitness with more frequent runs, long Sunday sessions and careful speed work balanced against injury prevention. The result, he says, is feeling “really fit” heading into Boston.

For Don, he credits Ridley’s rowing programme with instilling a mindset and work ethic that helps him succeed in competitive racing, even decades later.

Don started training in Grade 10 and remembers fall callisthenics, winter weight training and an unmistakable culture of winning shared across lightweight and heavyweight crews, thanks to the leadership of Neil Campbell and Nick Holmes.

“You trained to win,” he said. “You might not always win, but you showed up ready.”

One race from Canadian Schoolboys still stands out. After an oar broke mid‑race, the crew carried on with seven rowers, caught the field and won by several lengths. It was the kind of moment that reinforced belief and trust in preparation.

Those lessons still guide Don today. He will not enter a race unless he feels prepared and defines success as competing seriously within his age group. This fall, his season will culminate at a full Ironman in Portugal, where he plans to apply the same discipline learned years ago on Henley Island and Hamilton Harbour.

For Don, racing remains fun because it is competitive. More importantly, he hopes his story reminds fellow alumni that age is not a limitation.

“It’s just a number,” he said. “Find something active that works for you and go after it. Your health is worth it.”

From campus to the world’s biggest endurance races, Don McDonald continues to live the Ridley standard he learned as a student: commit fully and enjoy the chase.