Swimming against the tide of events
Lifeguard completes 1 million yards to help fight cancer in spite of shutdown, wildfires
MORAGA >> One million of just about anything adds up to a lot of something.
David Miller of Oakland saw it that way when deciding to swim 1 million yards this year to raise money for cancer research.
He reached the finish line Sunday afternoon by swimming 2,000 yards at the Soda Aquatic Center in Moraga, where Miller works as a lifeguard.
“Today was easy,” he said. “I’m used to 4,000 yards a day. I’m flying high just because of the generosity.”
Miller, 59, also reached his goal of $50,000 in donations because of an anonymous $10,000 pledge Sunday morning, he said. About 40 swimmers joined Miller, including 2008 Olympic medalist Kim Vandenberg. They shepherded him to the end of a journey that left him fatigued, and with aching shoulder and bicep muscles.
“I’m 59; I’m not some kid,” Miller said.
One million yards represents
“Today was easy. I’m used to 4,000 yards a day. I’m flying high just because of the generosity.”
— David Miller
swimming 1.6 miles every day of the year. Or put it this way: It totals 568 miles, the distance to drive from San Francisco to San Diego on Highway 1.
While 1 million has a nice sound to it, Miller acknowledges serious swimmers do much more. During heavy training, Olympic-level distance swimmers complete 16,000 yards a day and as much as 20,000 yards, or 11 miles, said Michael Phelps’ coach, Bob Bowman.
“A swimmer is someone who competes,” Miller said. “I just get into a pool and trudge along.”
He does more than that, as his well- defined upper body muscles attest. Plus, Miller has pursued his goal of raising money for the Cancer Research Institute despite a year of pool closures and severe pollution from wildfire smoke that wreaked havoc with his swimming schedule.
Miller, who once owned a health and fitness center in Mexico City, said he picked the research institute because the disease has afflicted many family members and friends.
He said he knows 28 people, including his mother, father and sister, who have had cancer- related illnesses.
Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, the institute’s chief executive, said Miller’s effort highlights a trend in philanthropy, particularly during the COVID-19 health crisis. She said single campaigns have helped offset lost opportunities as some charity events were canceled because of restrictions on large gatherings.
Most indiv idual donors focused on birthdays
or weddings, O’DonnellTormey said. But one man is backpacking 4,600 miles from Delaware to San Francisco to raise $50,000 for the institute.
Then there is Miller, who has chosen a lifestyle far from the beaten path.
“I don’t really have a career,” he said. “That was a conscientious decision.”
Miller said he earned a degree in economics from the University of Michigan and worked for Club Med in Italy and the Caribbean during the 1980s.
Now, in addition to lifeguarding, Miller works as a part-time receptionist at the Chabot Canyon Racquet Club in Oakland.
The idea to swim 1 million yards began a year ago when a 74-year- old man at the Soda Aquatic pool at Campolindo High School completed 750,000 yards. Miller said he told his friend they could do a million yards together in 2020.
“No way,” he recalled the friend answering.
Miller, who grew up in Buffalo, New York, decided to do it himself.
It was not his first endurance charity event. Miller said upon returning from Mexico City in 2011, he biked 15,000 miles with his dog in tow to every U.S. state. He said he tried to raise money for the Cancer Research Institute, which
focuses on immunotherapy treatment, and three other organizations but did not have time for a concerted effort.
This time Miller wanted to focus on one nonprofit. Choosing swimming made sense because for about the past four years Miller has been a lifeguard at Soda Aquatic Center, home of the U.S. artistic swim team that hopes to qualify for the Tokyo Games next year.
He said he started on Jan. 1 by swimming 3,500 yards. Miller said he had planned to swim for two months to build his confidence before promoting the 1 million yards campaign in March.
“COVID hit and everything changed,” Miller said.
Normally Miller might have been able to schedule plenty of rest days to allow his body to recover from the daily grind of lap swimming.
But health officials began closing pools in mid-March when the first novel coronavirus surge began. Miller said he put aside the fundraising effort and focused on how he could swim.
At first, the Soda Aquatic pool remained heated because administrators did not know how long the initial lockdown would last. Miller said he was able to continue.
As weeks passed, the facility shut down the pool’s heaters, filters and chlorination system. Miller said it was too cold to swim.
Miller was not ready to give up on his project, though. He said he resumed swimming through the rest of March until early May while wearing a triathlon wetsuit.
Miller described himself as a warm-water swimmer who once suffered from hypothermia during a 10-kilometer race on Lake Erie. Miller said U.S. Coast Guard rescuers had to pull him out of the water.
Once the pool reopened in May, Miller said he tried to offset the lost time by swimming as much as seven days a week. He said he caught up in July.
Then came the wildland fires in August, covering Bay Area sky with lungdamaging smoke particulates.
“The smoke levels were so bad swimming was worse than doing nothing,” Miller said. “But I had to keep pace. I just felt terrible.”
He said he eventually had to reduce his yardage and swimming days. It put him behind schedule again.
By Nov. 1, Miller said he had completed enough yardage to feel comfortable about advertising the fundraising campaign.
He finished amid another novel coronavirus surge and lockdown.
His spirits remained high as Miller stroked toward the finish line. After his final “long” workout of 4,000 yards, or 80 laps, Miller did a backward handstand to exit the pool.
Miller is not sure about his next trick. But he said he already has a few ideas percolating.