Congratulations to Craig Simpson for being selected as Red Dog’s Athlete of the Month for June 2021.

Craig wins this month’s award for his performance for his debut at Ironman Cairns. Well done!

A big thank you to our sponsors for donating this month’s prizes.

1.Red Dog AOTM, how do you feel about that?

I feel really honored and a little bit guilty. There were so many great performances in Cairns that I believe everyone should get an AOTM award for their effort.

2. What attracted you to the club?

I had just moved back from Sydney and was racing at Raby Bay when I saw the Raby Bay Rumble in action. I thought a club as loose as that is worth being a part of.  

3. How much training do you do at the moment?

Next to zero. Still enjoying the post Cairns no motivation sleep-ins. I'm waiting for Tommy Heff and Buzz to tell me they're back, enter a race and then I might find some motivation.

4. What’s your favourite RDTT session and why?

I both hated and loved the Sunday Brick sessions. They were always hard work, but I loved being around everyone pushing pretty hard. The other one that was pretty special was the 4hr water run Trent made me do while injured. I'm still mentally scarred from that.

5. If you had one wish, what would it be?

To be able to get up at 2am like Shane Kent to get in a sneaky 3hrs before the session starts. He would mysteriously appear out the back of Ipswich as a glow in the distance. Crazy stuff.

6. Favourite motivational quote? 

Chrissie Wellington has one that she quotes from Martin Luther King - If you can't fly, run... if you can't run, walk... if you can't walk, crawl. I shared this with my family before IM Cairns and the response was "you're not really going to crawl are you?" Glad I didn't have to answer that question on race day.

7. The one bit of advice I’d give to a newbie is…

Just keep turning up. You might think that everyone is faster and fitter, but at the end of the day we're all just racing against ourselves. And don't worry too much, you'll always get past Joey and Bretto. And spend a shite load on a bike, it's worth every cent. 

8.What’s your next event?

Probably IM70.3 Sunny Coast if I can convince myself to get out of bed in the morning. If not, Noosa. This will be my 15th Noosa, so I'm looking forward to that.

9. What do you do outside of triathlons?

I'm a parent to three great kids and a useless Husband during IM Training. I work in the Construction Industry which typically has me travelling most weeks for work.

10. What’s your one guilty pleasure?

Way more than one. Chips, lollies, chocolate and KFC. I eat pretty crappy food and don't care. I actually think I lied to Kate Feely during our Nutrition sessions out of embarrassment. 

A list of all AOTM recipients can be found here