Miller Time: A Way To C Different

On a Thursday night in May 2007, I watched Fit TV's Insider Training hosted by Gabrielle Reece. This was the fifth time I had seen the episode on triathlons and each time I was in awe of the training, dedication, and accomplishments of Lokelani McMichael who at eighteen years old was the youngest person to ever complete the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. 2.4 miles swim, 112 miles bike, and 26.2 miles run in under seventeen hours. This time, I was not only in awe of her achievement, I was inspired!! One way to get closer to my desired Bruce Lee lean physique would be to race in triathlons. At the conclusion of the show, I immediately went online to research the possibilities, logistics, and accommodations for me to race in 5K, marathons, and triathlons. As I write this entry, there are so many stories and resources to which one could turn, but back then, the results were not as vast. The name I kept noticing was Matt Miller. With each article, I read about his founding the C Different Foundation so I visited the CDF site and studied up on the organization and especially on Matt. By the time I was prepared to reach out to Matt and CDF, it was Memorial Day. I sent an email introducing myself and my goals. Because of the day, I figured I would not hear from him or anyone for several days. It turns out, Matt replied within the hour thanking me for my interest and welcoming me to the C Different family. In short order, a member of the board of directors and the executive director reached out too. A few months passed when Matt called to offer me a chance to run in a half marathon on behalf of CDF. Prior to meeting Matt I had read such glowing remarks from CDF athletes, guides, and volunteers. I had also found other information about a film Matt had put together. Victory Over Darkness where he and his film crew documented the journey of five blind/visually impaired athletes who had conquered the Ironman Triathlon. When I finally came face-to-face with Matt, I was in awe of the man. Within five minutes, he talked to me as though we had known each other for years. He was genuinely interested in my work as a playwright, screenwriter, and actor as much as he was interested in how he could help me reach my athletic goals. Besides founding the C Different Foundation and being a triathlete, Matt Miller was an actor, model, and film producer so he could also offer wonderful advice for all those artistic projects I had been pursuing. As anyone else, I have my reasons for racing. Over the last few years, one of those reasons has become Matt Miller. From that initial email I sent to him, he has always supported and believed in me both in athletics and the arts. In such a short time, he has given me so much and I feel I owe it to him to always give my best effort. When I do not achieve or perform as I would have liked to, I feel sad for letting him down. Matt Miller has built a wonderful organization of athletes, guides, and volunteers all with different stories and paths, but with the same goals to educate, inspire, and change.

For more information on the C Different Foundation, please log on to:

www.cdifferent.org

Also check out this article:

http://ironman.com/training/sponsors/c-different-foundation-makes-racing-a-reality-for-visually-impaired-athletes-2