Chris Mac

Sadly, Chris has passed away.  Unbeknownst to me, Chris was an eleven time Ironman finisher.  This August at Mont-Tremblant his finish would have been number twelve thus allowing him to apply for the Kona Legacy Program.  Anyone who has completed twelve Ironmans and never qualified to get into Kona or win the lottery could apply.

I've only rode outside once since the accident.  It was either too cold or I was sick so Wednesday morning I wanted to get "back in the saddle" so to speak.  I headed out at 5:30 am to go straight up McCowan Road to do some hill repeats.  It was a balmy 8 degrees but felt good to get out.  It was only a 95 minute ride but I think it put my mind at ease

Today we say good bye to Chris.  Here is a story written up in the local newspaper.  Rest easy Chris.  You've earned it.

Humble triathlete mourned in Markham

Chris MacMillan relished the challenge of competing in athletic endurance competitions.

In the 20-plus years the Markham resident took part in such endeavours, he was an 11-time Ironman finisher and reached the finish line in numerous marathons before his untimely passing after being involved in a cycling crash May 30.  MacMillan was 56 years old.

Fellow local athletes who competed and trained with MacMillan were sad to hear of his passing. Many of whom had fond memories of the times they interacted with him.

“Chris will always be someone that I remember with nothing but fondness,” said Justin Jakab. “He spent countless hours selflessly helping me to achieve my own goals, and I could always count on him to wait for me at the finish line with a big smile.”

Rommel Domingo was quick to point out MacMillan preferred to keep a relatively low profile and did not boast about his accomplishments.

At the same time, Domingo noted MacMillan made safety a priority whenever he competed.

“He was a humble guy. He never talked about having completed 11 Ironmans. Most Ironman competitors always want to talk about how man races they did, how much mileage they trained, and what race they have coming up. Not Chris though. Ironman was a big part of his life but, he didn`t let these accomplishments define the person he was. He was one of the safest riders I know, which is what makes his accident so tragic,” he said.

Often training with MacMillan at the Stouffville pool, Murray Cass felt his success stemmed from a strong work ethic he possessed.

During competitions, Cass recalled they would often motivate each other.

“Unlike me, Chris always arrived early.  When I met him on the pool deck, invariably he greeted me with a warm smile and often a nice compliment,” he noted. “He was a faster swimmer, so once in the water I rarely saw more than a flash of his feet.

“My fondest memory of Chris was in 2012 at Ironman Mont Tremblant.  As I recall he got on the run course before me.  I caught up with him and we shuffled along together for a bit.  Then I faded and told him to go ahead.  Sometime later I again caught up with him.  We repeated this for probably a couple of hours, one going ahead and then the other.  I think our game of leapfrog managed to keep both of us motivated even though we didn’t really run that much together.  It was almost as though letting the other guy go ahead motivated the laggard to dig deep and catch up.  We even caught that speedy Carol McQuillan and the three of us ran together near the end.  

“The next race I’m going to be playing leapfrog with Chris in my mind.  On the lonely marathon, his company will be a beautiful inspiration.”

MacMillan is survived by his mother Carole, brother Stephen, sisters Susan, Amy, Barb and Sarah, Clark Watters and Tim Hardie , life partner Stephanie and was a father to two daughters Katie and Elizabeth.