A healthy addiction

Bryce Alderton

July’s Ironman Challenge Race in Lake Placid, N.Y., is supposed to

bestow the title of “fittest chief executive officer” in the United

States, a distinction Mike Dannelley, president and managing member

of a Costa Mesa mortgage company, doesn’t take lightly.

Dannelley, 46, will attempt to complete his 10th Ironman -- an

event that includes a 112-mile bicycle ride, 2.4-mile swim and

26.2-mile run -- since entering his first triathlon in late 1985, two

months after quitting cocaine for good, when the CEO Challenge is

held July 25.

The race is a qualifier for the Ironman Triathlon world

championships, held each October in Kona, Hawaii. Dannelley has

already qualified for that race, which limits the number of athletes

to 1,500.

The Irvine resident, husband and father of three children, has

invested much of his time into creating a healthy lifestyle, which

was missing 19 years ago.

“I was near death, I had a lot of close calls,” said Dannelley,

who suffered a drug-induced heart attack that required

hospitalization. “I had been addicted for so long with sports ... it

was a pace I couldn’t keep up with. It was a serious health issue at

that point.”

Dannelley led an active lifestyle of running, biking and surfing

as a youth, but drugs got in the way of many of those sports for 10

years.

He has been clean since Sept. 19, 1985.

That year, Dannelley spent six weeks in rehabilitation and, three

months later, entered his first triathlon in Los Angeles. He said he

was encouraged to enter the race by a man whose name Dannelley

couldn’t recall.

The swimming portion provided a staunch challenge for Dannelley,

but he soon found he loved triathlons.

“I was the last person out of the lake, but I knew how to swim,”

Dannelley said. “I needed the entire 18-mile bike ride to regain my

composure, but I was hooked.

“I took up triathlons almost in lieu of [drugs]. It was a

coincidence, but [I wanted a healthy lifestyle].”

Dannelley, who lived in Newport Beach for 20 years, entered his

first Ironman race in 1993.

His best time in an Ironman came in 1997 in Zurich, Switzerland,

when he finished in 10 hours, 39 seconds.

Dannelley’s best finish in seven World Championships is seventh.

He hopes to join wife Mary, who is competing in the women’s 35-39

age division at Lake Placid.

Mary Dannelley will attempt to secure one of the top five places,

which traditionally has been the cutoff for entry into the world

championships, out of hundreds of athletes in her age division. This

will be her fifth Ironman race. Both Mary and Mike Dannelley competed

in last year’s world championships.

“You walk away with a respect for that race you didn’t previously

have,” Mary Dannelley said of the world championships.

Despite the difficulty of squeezing time to train for triathlons

within the demands of raising a family and holding jobs, Mary and

Mike Dannelley covet the time they spend together exercising.

Mike Dannelley said he trains an average of 12 hours a week.

Triathlons limit the occurrence of overuse injuries, he said.

“If you manage a family and business, it is difficult to run every

day,” Mike Dannelley said. “The best hope is to find time to run two

or three days a week and find time to bike and swim [with decreased

miles if done on the same day]. With the decreased miles on the road,

you are less likely to get hurt.”

“Kids are the first priority and jobs are a close second,” Mary

Dannelley said. “The sport is a very healthy way to spend your time.

There are weeks you put in more hours than others, but you have to

keep the sport in perspective.”

Mike Dannelley has focused his energy on sponsoring professionals

to increase the visibility of the sport.

Both Mary and Mike Dannelley said the allure of triathlon is the

accomplishment that comes with finishing.

“There is more to [the Ironman] than physical strength,” Mary

Dannelley said. “So much of the race is a test of your mental

toughness inside.”

One look to her husband and she’s reminded of that thought.