Leland Fishman knows a thing or two about persistence.
He’s spent years managing an award-winning family business in Petaluma, and he’s also taken part in a handful of grueling athletic events during the past decade that have required extensive training. Most recently, he’s spent several months gearing up for his second go-around at the “Ironman Vineman 70.3” triathlon, where he’ll swim 1.2 miles in the Russian River before biking 56 miles through the wine country and then hitting the ground running for a half-marathon next month in Windsor.
“I’m in the gym by 5:30 a.m. and then I’ll swim,” the 59-year-old native Petaluman said. “June is going to be my month - I’m going to have such fun.”
Fishman has been training for this year’s Vineman 70.3 since March and looks forward to finishing the event in better shape than last year, when his efforts nearly knocked him out.
“There was very little shade and it was really hot,” he said. “The swimming went fine and I ride a lot so I got through the bike portion well but the run really took it out of me.”
He credits Vineman veteran Holly Vick and his cousin Darryl Fishman with inspiring him to enter the Vineman 70.3 for the first time last year – an event he completed in 7 hours and 24 minutes.
“I’d like to beat last years’ time this year,” he said. “It’s the satisfaction of setting a goal and meeting it. When I got out of the water (last year) I knew that I would finish, even if I had to walk to the finish line.”
Fishman, who heads Fishman Supply, a janitorial, office and first aid/safety equipment supply company, took part in his first race, the Ukiah Sprint Triathlon, in 2010. He said that while swimming and bicycling come easily to him, running can be more of a challenge.
Admitting that he loves food, Fishman also enjoys keeping in shape and lost 20 pounds last year while training for the Vineman 70.3. He hopes to lose another 25 pounds as he trains this year – he even kept up with his regimen even while he traveled to Europe earlier this year.
The athlete also served as team coordinator for the Sonoma County Backroads Challenge on May 22 and leads spin classes at Action Sports once a week. He’s also a member of the Petaluma Valley Rotary Club.
He balances his athletic schedule with running Fishman Supply, which his parents opened in 1967. He took over the venture from them later and during his tenure, Fishman Supply was selected by Assemblyman Jared Huffman as the “Small Business of the Year” in 2009.
His two sons, Andrew and Michael, also contribute to Fishman Supply’s success, Andrew as vice president of sales and Michael as the corporate accounting manager, he said.
Following the model set by Fishman’s parents, the business is committed to community support, donating items and services to charitable and non-profit agencies around Petaluma. Fishman arranged to loan Petaluma High School Band a truck for them to transport their gear to gigs in 2005 and in 2013, paid to have the band’s logo painted onto the truck so that the band could arrive in style to their events.
“I have had a fortunate life, and I am happy to do whatever we can to help others who are not as fortunate,” he said.
(Contact Lynn Schnitzer at argus@arguscourier.com)
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