RICHMOND, Va. — Over the weekend, Mike Morris completed the annual Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon in Virginia. Completing the race was nothing new for Mike. Saturday's race was his 300th triathlon.
He ran his first nearly four decades ago in Richmond, Virginia. The journey to his 300th became a lot harder in August of 2021, when he was diagnosed with stage 4 renal cancer. He was told by his doctor that it couldn't be cured, and he will eventually die from it.
But the soon-to-be grandfather said he wasn't going to let the diagnosis stop him from living his life.
"There's no rulebook. No one handed me a rulebook and said, 'You can't do this,'" Morris said. "This is what I've been doing for 37 years. I've been swimming, running and biking and I just decided that I'm going to do it."
A fellow triathlete spoke about Morris' impact.
"Mike is a hero to the whole community, and you always know when Mike's around because you hear him before he gets to you. But his heart is the only thing he has that's bigger than his voice," he said.
Morris has two grandchildren that are going to be born this summer. He says he's aiming to see them both born.
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