CANTON — Eight months ago, Rick Morris could hardly jog down the block. These days, the 44-year-old knows he can run for miles — at least four, to be exact, not to mention bike 18 and swim a half mile, all in one go. He just did at the Nautica Malibu Triathlon last month.

That was his first tri. Now he's hungry for more.

"I'm starting at the bottom when it comes to triathlons and I'm working my way up," he said, from his Canton kitchen. "And I'm going to continue doing it for the rest of my life."

While Morris stresses he's still basically the same guy as he's always been, he's clearly a changed man. So, how did he do it?

It took self discipline, drive, training — and the help of CNN, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and a lot of heart-felt support. Morris is one of the "Lucky 7," a group of aspiring ...