Spotlight on the Athlete – Mike Moreland

One day in 2001, Melissa Moreland, the younger of Mike Moreland’s two daughters, came home from school and said her class had talked about what their parents do for fun. “I couldn’t think of anything you do for fun dad,” his daughter said. “All you do is work.”

Mike Moreland was 38 and weighed 205 pounds, a far cry from the Division I swimmer he was at St. Bonaventure for four years in college. That winter, he started swimming again.

Eventually, he reconnected with a sport he had helped to break in locally at the first Hamlin Beach Triathlon in 1981. And last year, the local triathlete was ranked 199th in the country in his age group and was All-American Honorable Mention with the United States Triathlon Association (USAT).

Mike dedicates an average of six to ten hours per week to training – primarily biking and swimming. He eschews running training as he already walks an average of 15 miles per day during the height of landscape season. Mike is the founder and owner of Mike Moreland’s Lawn and Landscape, which is a complete landscape maintenance company that maintains both residential and large commercial properties, such as the Allendale Columbia School System.

He involves his business in triathlon as well – the company is the sponsor of the Finger Lakes Triathlon Kids Tri. He works closely with the organizers of other local races, donating the use of his trucks for the set-up and tear down of the race, and volunteers at several other local youth triathlons.

On a personal level, Mike raised $500 for the Mary M. Gooley Hemophilia Center’s Train for Treatment program last year – he was one of the highest fundraisers in the program’s inaugural year.

Now his daughter is hooked on the sport. “She saw how much fun I started having and wanted to do it, too,” Mike said. “She participates in all the kids’ triathlons and knows all of the organizers from going to the races with me.” While Melissa is with dad at his events, his older daughter, Amanda, favors her mother’s passion – horseback riding. Both Amanda and Maria Moreland are involved in the Stuart Horse Trials and this year, Amanda hopes to go to the national competition for Pony Club.

There are mental benefits to his participation in triathlon. Mike gets a boost of being one of the top athletes out of the water during the swim leg. “Then it always goes downhill,” he says. “I fly on the swim, I’m strong on the bike, and I survive the run.”

Mike spends an average of $2,000-$3,000 per year on triathlon – on purchases like race registrations, gear and travel. Typically, athletes spend the most during their first year participating, since they have to invest in a bike and related gear.

Next on the horizon for Mike might be the Ironman distance (2.4-mile swim/112-mile bike/26.2-mile run). “I’ll have to wait until after I’m 50 though,” he says. “With the amount of training you have to do for Ironman, I have to wait until the kids get into college.” And with his daughter’s comment echoing in his head, he would fit his training in around his busy work schedule…