When the teams line up for the start of season 3 on "The Amazing Race Canada," keep your eye on the old guy.

That would be Neil Lumsden. The 62-year-old CFL Hall of Famer is racing with his daughter, Kristin, 31.

In the early '80s, the elder Lumsden won three Grey Cups with the Edmonton Eskimos. The former fullback/running back also played for the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. At university, he led the Ottawa Gee-Gees to a Vanier Cup title in 1975.

Lumsden's now a running back coach with the University of Guelph and a partner in a sports marketing business in Burlington, Ont. Kristin is a makeup artist.

The two will be up against teams from across Canada.

Toronto-based Elias Theodorou is an MMA fighter who won the middleweight division of "The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia" in 2014. His girlfriend/teammate Max Altamuro is a retail manager who packed two straightening irons in her "Race" knapsack.

Nick Foti and Matt Giunta are pro wrestler pals from around Toronto. Dana Hayward and Amanda Johnston are officers in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. Gino and Jesse Montani are brothers from Hamilton whose motto is "Losing is NOT an option."

Other teams include: Susan Hayre and Sharnjit Gill, corrections officers from Vancouver; Simi Fagbongbe and Ope Fagbongbe, a father-daughter team from Burnaby, B.C.; and married Winnipeg police officers Brian and Cynthia Boyd.

Exes Dujean Williams and Leilani Ross hail from Toronto. Brent Sweeney and Sean Sweeney are brothers from Nova Scotia who now call Toronto home. Daters Nicholas La Monaca and Sabrina Mercuri are from Montreal.

The youngest couple is Hamilton Elliott and Michaelia Drever. Both 20, the engaged Centreville, N.S., pair met as military cadets. Born Hanna, Hamilton is the first transgender participant in "The Amazing Race," U.S. or Canada.

Lumsden is by far the oldest participant but after all those CFL training camps he knows what he's getting into. He's prepared to raid every hotel ice machine in order to keep his body in the race.

Kristin says she applied with a friend the first two seasons but never made the cut.

"Third time's a charm and what better person to do it with than your dad?"

Both are fans of the American and Canadian versions of the series. The key to winning, says Neil, is "luck."

"Mental toughness, a cornucopia of skills is thrown in there. If you put a triathlete, a football or hockey player in there and think it will be perfect for them, it's not. It's not perfect for any one sport."

Look at Meaghan Mikkelson and Natalie Spooner, the two Olympic gold medallist hockey players who led most of last season before finishing in second place, says Lumsden.

The race took place throughout May. Sworn to secrecy, contestants had to make excuses to friends and family as to what they were up to for a month.

Lumsden had to pass up a reunion with his former Gee-Gees teammates who were being inducted into the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame.

"Guys came up from Los Angeles, Bermuda, everywhere," he said. "I had to send them all an email saying I'd be out of the country and can't be there."

Son Jesse, a retired CFLer and a Canadian Olympic bobsledder, was in the know, as was Neil's wife Donna, who set up a mock practice race for the duo.

"It wasn't that tough, thank God," said Neil.

The top team wins a prize package that includes $250,000.

What will the Lumsdens do if they win?

"Well," said Neil, "I hope I won't be spending it all in rehab."

"The Amazing Race Canada" returns Wednesday on CTV.

Bill Brioux is a freelance TV columnist based in Brampton, Ont.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2015