Bernstein to Compete in Ironman Race

Observer & Eccentric

June 22, 2008

Richard Bernstein acknowledged being more than a little anxious about competing in his first ironman triathlon.

That was only natural and understandable for someone preparing to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run a 26.2-mile marathon in the same afternoon.

Who wouldn't have some trepidations about that, especially when the water temperature is only 55 degrees?

What makes Bernstein's challenge greater and his courage all the more impressive is the fact he is blind.

That hasn't stopped Bernstein, 34, from running eight marathons. He will do the rigorous, three-part ironman event today with the aid of guide Matt Miller in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

"I've spent a year training for this," Bernstein said. "I've put in the work; I've put in the effort. I'm exactly where I need to be for this competition.

"As far as I'm concerned, the ironman is the highest form of athletic competition, as far as what the body can handle. If you can work your way through a marathon, you can work your way through anything."

Bernstein, a Birmingham resident and Farmington Hills attorney, began running four years ago with a program called Achilles, which assists people with disabilities to be physically active.

"It changed my entire life; I'm a totally different person," Bernstein said, adding he was never athletic. "Ultimately, it provides an avenue for greater self-esteem.

"Achilles focuses on running. I was encouraged to go forward to the next challenge. The whole idea is you shouldn't rest where you are. The next challenge was to move into triathlons."

Miller founded the nonprofit C Different Foundation in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the purpose of helping visually-impaired people do triathlons.

A Guide

Bernstein, who is most experienced and comfortable with the running, holds one end of a tether with Miller, giving verbal, directional cues, at the other end.

Bernstein learned to swim at a young age, and he is accustomed to swimming and training in a pool. But the triathlon swim takes place on an open lake.

Miller and Bernstein will be joined by a tether again, but Bernstein can't hear the directional cues as well, bobbing in and out of the water.

"I'm a little nervous about swimming in the lake," Bernstein said. "It's open water. No matter how many times you do it, it's not for the faint of heart, especially if you're blind.

'You're swimming in darkness and don't know where you are. In a pool, you know there's a barrier; there's an end and you can get out. In a triathlon, you're in a large lake.

"It's completely safe. You have guides who are going to make sure it's safe. But you have to get past you're fear when you're doing the swimming. It takes about two hours. I've trained; I'm ready for it, but it's psychological.

"Sighted people can look around and see where they are. Imagine swimming into an abyss. Of course, you're with the guides and, if there's an issue, someone is going to grab you.

"Still, there's just that notion that you keep swimming. You don't know where you started and where you're going to finish. You keep going and going and gong until they tell you to stop."

Bike Adjustments

In the bike portion, the team rides a tandem bicycle with Miller in the front seat.

Bernstein trains on a stationary bike at the gym, and the triathlon biking requires some adjusting, too.

"I'm completely cardio-ready, but it's still 112 miles on a bike," Bernstein said. "The balance will be tough, because I don't have a lot of experience with it.

"When you work with an incredibly experienced guide, he knows how to do this. He knows how to work the bike and maneuver it. I just follow directions. He'll tell me when to pedal and when to coast."

Bernstein, who said he looks at life in a spiritual context, has had to rely on inner strength and resolve to finish every marathon he has run.

"The same thing happens every time," he said. "For me, it's at mile 20. The pain is so excruciating. Every part of your body hurts.

"It sounds crazy but something guides me in a profound way. The soul and body are connected. There are certain things the physical body wants and acquires, which is separate from what the soul wants.

"Running a marathon, when you get to mile 20, you feel a disconnect. You feel the soul and body in two separate entities. You realize the physical limitation of the body. Your soul can separate from that (pain) and guide the body through to the finish.

"That's what is so profound about it. That's why it's such a spiritual awakening.

The body doesn't have the strength to do it, but the soul is able to separate and allow the body reach its goal."

That experience has had a powerful effect on Bernstein, and it will guide him through the challenge of doing the ironman triathlon.

"The essence of what this is about is it makes you a stronger, better person," he said. "It's always the first challenge that changes your life.

"No matter what happens at the ironman, I'll still feel it was my first marathon that changed my entire life forever. It put me on a path to do all these other things.

The Bernstein File

• Who: Richard Bernstein, age 34.
• What: Will compete in his first ironman triathlon with the help of the C Different Foundation, which assists visually-impaired athletes.
• When: Today in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
• Experience: Has run in eight marathons (New York, three; Los Angeles and Miami, two each; Detroit, one) through the Achilles program, which assists runners with disabilities.
• Residence: Birmingham (was raised in West Bloomfield).
• Occupation: Attorney for family-owned Bernstein Law Firm in Farmington Hills. Does all pro bono work representing people with disabilities in access situations.
• Education: Andover High School, the University of Michigan, Northwestern University Law School in Chicago.
• Other work: Part-time professor at U-M, teaching social justice in a senior level political Science class.