Miller showed a superhuman toler-
ance for pain and proving medical experts wrong. He was studying his physics texts in bed within days of emerging from major brain trauma, found a way to consume nearly 4,000 calories a day with his jaw wired shut, and underwent eight root canals in one day with minimal painkillers. Perhaps the most poignant moment in the book is when someone finally handed Miller a mirror in the hospital. He just shrugged at the sight of his disfigured face that would require many more surgeries, and maintained a perpetually upbeat attitude. “I was not trying to be a stoic figure,”
Miller said recently. “It helped that I was in a medically-induced coma and have no recollection of those first days. I felt like myself from the beginning and my family was always there. My face was disfigured, yes, but the girl I loved was still there. I was — and am — a lucky guy so why not keep on smiling?” Three months after the accident,
Miller jumped into a pool for the first time, swam a 100 free in 59 seconds, and vowed to do an Ironman triathlon. He started with the Charlottesville Half Marathon, posting a time 1:27:28 — 10th among the 436 men entered. In the fall of 2009, he finished 28th among the 2,500 competitors in the Nation’s Triathlon in Washington. His Ironman Cozumel finish came two years after the accident. Most cyclists and triathletes can
recall every detail of bicycle wrecks and struggle not to think of them while rid- ing. Miller, who remembers nothing of his crash, scared his family and girlfriend (now fiancée and fellow Penn medical student) by getting back in the saddle — of his repaired bike no less — agreeing to wear a motorcycle-like helmet with a face shield and ride on roads without automobile traffic. Miller has maintained those promises,
becoming recognizable in triathlons for his helmet. Because of his demanding schedule, he cycles mostly on a trainer, but also rides on a 4-mile stretch of Phila- delphia road with a lane closed to traffic. He also has taken up mountain biking. In 2011, the end of his first year of
medical school and the fall semester of his second, he was thriving as a triathlete even with just minimal training. In Oc- tober, he finished seventh overall at the Halfmax Championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with a time of 4:19:38. With his training scaled back even more
in 2012, he stuck to shorter events, but still fared well. In August, he finished fourth out of 538 at the Steelman Triathlon, a sprint in Quakertown, Pa., before winning
36 USA TRIATHLON WINTER 2013
Photos provided by Matt Miller
the Dottie’s House event with a time 4 minutes faster than the year before. “The nice thing about my long swim-
ming background is that I can get away with minimal time in the pool,” says Miller, who swims briefly at the Penn facility. “As long as I can maintain my aerobic fitness, that lets me train more for the bike and the run.” Miller has no lingering physical is-
sues from the accident other than a left carotid artery stent that requires him to take a daily baby aspirin. With the most grueling part of medical school ending in December, he plans to ramp up his triath- lon training in 2013. He will race Ironman 70.3 Eagleman in Maryland in June and Ironman Mont-Tremblant in August. Miller, who will get married in the
spring of 2014 shortly before medical school graduation, says he never considers how taking up triathlon nearly cost him his life. Since the publication of Vitez’s book, schools have asked Miller to speak, an ex- perience he says he finds as inspiring as the audience does when it hears his story. “Triathlon has brought me a great
deal of happiness,” he says. “I love training and pushing myself as much as racing. It’s a nice outlet. I can go ride a bike or run and clear my mind of everything. It led to the accident, and I’ll always regret what I put my family and loved ones through, but it’s been an overwhelmingly positive experience.”
PETE WILLIAMS is a triathlete in
Clearwater, Florida, and the editor of
www.endurancesportsflorida.com.
“My face was disfigured, yes, but the girl I loved was still there. I was — and am — a lucky guy so why not keep on smiling?”
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