At the age of 70, one might be forgiven for celebrating he milestone birthday with feet up and a slice of cake.
But Dunfermline triathlete Mike Joiner has no such sedate plan.
Instead of a leisurely meal, Mike, who represented Britain in the 1992 world championships, will be facing three courses of blood, sweat and tears.
The soon-to-be septuagenarian will mark Saturday’s birthday by taking on the gruelling Total Warrior assault course.
When the former PE teacher gets to the Lake District leg of the event he will be one of the oldest competitors to face the challenge.
He will be will be joined by his equally sporty family – son Craig earned 25 Scottish rugby caps and daughters Charline and Kerry have represented Scotland at cycling and hockey respectively.
Meanwhile son Jason, described by Commonwealth Games silver medallist Charline as the most gifted, is about to return from Australia to complete a personal training qualification.
It’s the second time the family members have come together to accept the challenge and they’ll complete the hat trick when the event returns to Scotland in September.
Not for the faint hearted, Total Warrior’s 30 obstacles involve water, fire, ice, electricity, barbed wire and mountains of mud.
“I’ve always loved sport but I suppose that unlike many people, I’ve always really enjoyed the training element of it too – pushing your body and your mind to their limits in order to be the very best you can be,” said Mike, who in 1981 captained a Dunfermline team to glory in It’s A Knockout.
“Not everyone likes that side of it and I’ve met a lot of highly talented sportspeople who just didn’t understand that without dedicating themselves to their training and constantly striving to be in peak physical condition, they wouldn’t achieve success or longevity in their sport. “
He believes his children developed that mindset by watching him train and compete.
“It’s so important for youngsters to make that connection between hard work and success, to realise that you can have all the talent in the world but that without applying yourself day in and day out, it won’t be enough to get you to the very top.”
