Charlie Miller knows how it feels to have his plate full.

The self-proclaimed "glutton for punishment" is always active in the community, whether he is excelling at his job as executive director of the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation or rocking the Coeur d'Alene Marathon as the race director. At the wise old age of 33, the born-and-raised Coeur d'Alene resident has a Bachelor of Science in natural resource recreation management from the University of Idaho and seven years of experience working for the Centennial Trail foundation.

"I am really proud of the work that I've done with the organization," he said.

But Miller is not completely content. He realizes there is room to grow and improve, and this is evidenced by his work helping to create three major community events to raise funds for the trail foundation: The Coeur d'Alene Marathon (happening today), the autumnal bike race Coeur d'Fondo and late summer micobrew festival, Ales for the Trails, which will be held this year in the new McEuen Park. The North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation, established in 1989, works to connect people, preserve and develop the trail system and promote non-motorized trail connectivity in North Idaho. The trail, which is owned by several government entities, stretches 24 miles from the Idaho/Washington border along the Spokane River to Higgens Point.

"By no means am I satisfied with where we're at," he said. "I still think we have a long way to go."

An avid cyclist, runner and humble, compassionate servant of the community, big things lie ahead for Miller.

What is it like working for a nonprofit?

You have to make the most with the least amount, whether that's trying to get people to volunteer, or take software that's maybe not intended for something and utilize it for something else. It's really taught me to be resourceful, I would say, to try to ultimately get the goals we've accomplished done. We have to be creative and resourceful. But it's been very rewarding.

How did you become executive director of the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation?

We were living down in Flagstaff, Ariz., figuring things out. Amanda was in school and that had wrapped up. We were looking at different scenarios. I always thought I'd have a career in forest service. I was looking all over the country for jobs and all of a sudden my mom sent an article down, she tried to keep me apprised of what was going on in Coeur d'Alene while we lived down in Flagstaff. So she sent me this article that said the Foundation was looking for an executive, so I basically just started hounding them. I sent in my resume and a cover letter and it took them almost six months to get the process together to open up for resumes and interviews, but I kept being persistent and letting them know that I was the right person for the job and I had a passion for the Trail. I was hired in November of 2007.

What motivates you to continue in this line of work?

As much as it feels good to give back to the community, I'm certainly biased in my passion for cycling and running, particularly cycling. I would love to see 100 more miles of trail in this community, because I love to ride on it. I feel really blessed to have grown up in this community and given so many opportunities to run at Lake City (High School) under such great coaches, and North Idaho College. To have those people, there's too many to name, those folks that persevered in the late '80s into the '90s to develop the Centennial Trail ... I really want to stay in this community, have a family here and be able to give back and create those opportunities for kids of the future. The best way I can do it right now is with helping with the Trail Foundation ... the neat thing about the trail is that anyone can use it.

What is the most rewarding part of your job with the Foundation? The most challenging part?

The most rewarding part is whether it's putting on the marathon or just working to enhance the Trail, it's just knowing the positive experience people will have, that I can help kind of create and shape that positive experience that they have on the Trail and in Coeur d'Alene. The most challenging part is trying to do the most with the least amount of resources. I'm proud to be able to be creative and figure out ways to do it, but in the same sense too, it takes a lot of time and energy to figure out how we circumvent or get through some of these things where we don't have the budget. But we're working on it. We're getting better at it.

How did you become race director?

Normally, we have a race director that does the race, and I work with that person. They do nuts and bolts of the race and I handle more the athlete info and marketing components of it. But late in December 2013, our race director had to step down due to some health reasons. I had been involved with it since 2008, and just helped out from all aspects of it, I know the race in and out, so I decided to take on that responsibility because we didn't have a lot of viable options in a short amount of time.

What are you enjoying about being Coeur d'Alene Marathon race director right now?

It's rewarding to look at these challenges and find solutions. The race course that we've had for the last couple years wasn't an option anymore, so in a very short amount of time we had to try to figure out where we could get a new course that we could use long term that was low impact to the city and the neighborhoods that the run would go through, and that the runners, most importantly, would enjoy. As stressful as it is, I think there's going to be a ton of smiling faces, not necessarily right after the race is finished, but I think we'll have a lot of people that are pleased with the new course.

Can you describe the week leading up to the marathon?

Mentally, I start ramping up for this thing because you have to be "on" the whole time, and you're going on a very little amount of sleep, and I kind of have this running mental checklist continually feeding through my mind. Regardless of the title of "race director" or not, we've had some great people in the past as great race directors to cover those nuts and bolts, but I've always been as involved as I could just to make sure that the race goes on and I can be supportive as possible because if the event isn't successful, then we're not successful as an organization. So, honestly, it doesn't feel much different than most years for me. That intensity level has always been this high, but it's just trying to answer any last-minute emails from the athletes, questions they have, making sure that we have dotted all our "I's" and crossed all out "T's" and that we haven't overlooked anything, and that all the obligations we established months in the past are still remembered ... I'm probably on the phone just double-checking to make sure that people remember their obligations race day. The shirts are coming in, the nutrition food is getting shipped in, the packets are stuffed. It's just a lot of checklists, double check, triple check, and it's being able to make quick decisions and solve problems that pop up.

Do you get to run today's race?

I've always taken a position where I wanted to be behind the scenes working, because if something did go wrong with the race and I was out there running it, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself because I'm out here participating in it. I get grief from a lot of people because I grew up running in the community, and I have yet to put a pedometer on myself, but I'd say that I get at least 13 miles in setting up, breaking down and running all over. I definitely feel like I ran a marathon by Memorial Day, I'm pretty darn worn out by then ... my wife is a saint for putting up with me in the buildup, especially the week before the race. She's extremely supportive and patient with me. She does a great job keeping me calm through that time. If she wasn't like that, I don't have a clue how I'd get through this thing.

Do you love what you do for a living?

Yes. I would say if you took a poll of my friends and acquaintances, the biggest thing they'd say is I can't shut it off. I talk shop 24 hours a day. I love the Trail, the work that other folks are doing in the ped/bike industry in Coeur d'Alene and that's my biggest passion. I hope it stays that strong forever.

It's been fun. I eat, breathe, sleep Centennial Trail, and bicycling and running in general.

When you aren't working, what are your hobbies?

I love riding, cycling on the road and mountain biking. I'm a hack of a golfer but I like to get out every now and then and swing the golf clubs. I love going out and kayaking and fishing with my friends. And playing with my Labs is as rewarding as anything around.

Where would you like to be 10 years from now?

I would hope that I'm still in Coeur d'Alene with my family, making a difference in the community. I do enjoy the Trail Foundation. It's been rewarding. I don't have anything in mind as far as how long I stay at this job. I would say as long as it stays rewarding then I will stick with it.

If you could change the world, how would you change it?

I think the older I've gotten, I feel like I've become more open-minded over the years. I've become more passionate, and I realize that there's at least two sides to every situation and scenario. I would say, overall, for me, if the world was a more compassionate place, we'd be better off. I feel like I sound maybe a little older than I am, but I'm concerned that we're getting so caught up in electronic communication that we're really not having face-to-face conversations anymore and I think it's easier to disconnect, lose that compassion for your fellow man and we kind of get stuck behind a screen. I would say if anything, it would be to have the world a more compassionate place.