Giving Back
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Thirteen years ago at the age of 19, Craig Howie decided to compete in his first triathlon. By the time he finished, he was hooked. More than 100 triathlons later, he is still going strong. Some of his greatest accomplishments include competing in eight Iron Man triathlons and making it to the World Championship Iron Man competition in Kona, Hawaii, four times. Craig now trains athletes who want to participate in triathlons, or any endurance event, while still competing in many of his own. His clients are mostly in his hometown of Boulder, Colorado, but he also trains athletes in other states and even overseas.
About a year ago, Craig’s father was diagnosed with dry age-related macular degeneration, and was informed by his eye doctor that he would slowly start losing his vision from that point on. Having worked for 35 years as an auto mechanic teacher and being seen as ‘Mr. Fix-It’ to family and friends, this news was particularly hard to take. Even though this news was heartbreaking, Craig decided it was his chance to give back to the father that had done so much for him throughout his entire life. “During the 13 years I’ve been competing in triathlons, there have definitely been times when I’ve wanted to give up and my dad was always the first person to encourage me to keep going,” remembers Craig. While Craig’s father still has much of his vision now, Craig is motivated to help his dad by supporting the Foundation Fighting Blindness and its mission to raise the critical funds necessary for research to find treatments and cures for all retinal degenerative diseases. Recently, Craig was introduced to Michael Stone, a fellow triathlon competitor and a national trustee of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Michael told Craig about Race to Cure Blindness, a specialized fundraising program that allows athletes to turn any individual racing event into a fundraiser for the Foundation. Amazed and inspired by the progress the Foundation has made, Craig decided to join the fight to find a cure for his father; by planning a swimming event to raise funds for research. Swim for Sight was held on Saturday, August 15, at a local outdoor pool near Boulder. Twenty-seven swimmers competed in a rigorous swimming challenge to raise money for the research that could help save Craig’s father’s sight. Swim for Sight required competitors to swim 100 100-meter laps, totaling a 10,000-meter swim, with the goal of completing the swim within three hours. Only two of the competitors were able to complete the challenge – Craig himself and a former Olympic triathlete. For more information on the Race to Cure Blindness program, visit www.RaceToCureBlindness.org.
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