SUNY Cortland Athletics

This is part of a series of interviews that Cortland track and field/cross country runner Shannon Imbornoni '21 conducted in 2020 with former Cortland track and field and/or cross country individual national champions.

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Michelle LaFleur ’95

Michelle LaFleur is a five-time individual NCAA champion, a five-time team NCAA champion, four in cross country and one in indoor track and field and a 14-time All-American. She was inducted into the NCAA Division III Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame in 2015. LaFleur was named C-Club Female Senior Athlete of the Year in 1995. She holds the school and SUNYAC record in the 4x800m relay and also holds the school record in the outdoor 1,500m, a record held since 1991. Additionally, LaFleur won the Cortland cross country Red Letter Award in 1992 and 1994. She also won the Cortland track and field Red Letter Award for indoor for the 1993 to 1994 season. Since graduating Cortland, she has run professionally and has competed in three U.S. Olympic marathon trials (2000, ’04, ’08) as well as multiple world championships in the half marathon and 10,000m. The Memphis, N.Y. native currently resides in Savannah, Georgia.

Some of the questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.


Why did you choose Cortland?
The reason why I choose Cortland is mostly Jack Daniels. It’s not that Cortland wasn’t a good school, because I still feel so grateful for my education and feel like I’ve used my degree to the best of my ability everyday at work, but Jack Daniels is the reason why I went to Cortland. I was so fortunate to meet him my junior year of high school and he was wonderful. My coach’s husband drove me to Cortland, I had a meeting with him and Vicki Mitchell, who ended up being my future teammate, took me around the campus. Just meeting Jack, knowing his ability and wisdom, was wonderful. I even took one of the pictures of their national champion team and cut out a picture of myself and framed it. I still have it at my parents’ house in New York, but I put my picture in a frame with their national championship picture because I wanted to be a part of that team and wanted to do something with my running. I have so much respect and admiration to this day for Jack Daniels.
 
What do you remember about your national title season(s)?
Every experience is like a little mark on your makeup and defines who you are. Leading into the my freshman year, I think I was fifth at cross country nationals and we won the national title as a team and then I won the individual outdoor championship in the 3,000m that same year. I must say, before I had that 3,000m outdoor, Jack gave me an opportunity to qualify for World Athletics Cross Country Championships, which was in March [of ’91]. Myself, Vicki Mitchell [’91] and Jack’s wife Nancy all went down to Florida and only the top six individuals would qualify. Vicki was a senior, so she ran in the senior World Cross race, I ran in the U20 race and to this day, I still remember crossing the finish line not knowing if I had made it. This man came up to me and gave me a card and I asked him if the card had a six or a nine on it and he said, ‘this is a six kiddo. You’re going to Belgium!’ I just made the top six so I got run in Belgium and competed in the World Athletics Cross Country Championships for the United States and a couple of months later, I would win the national championship for the 3,000m outdoor. That same year, I ended up going to the AAU Junior Olympic Games in Minnesota and qualified for the Junior Pan American Games. I won a gold medal in the Junior Pan American Games for the 3,000m. Then I figured I would run in the Empire State Games that summer, so I just had a wonderful year. I cannot say enough about that year, but then, I got injured. There’s a huge gap [in my running career at Cortland], which was terrible, but ended up being wonderful. Just like anything in life, when you look at the dark times and the challenges, they end up being wonderful. I redshirted that entire year [’91 to ’92] and went to Colorado to train. I came back, got second at nationals in cross country that following year [’92] and was on the team that broke the NCAA record for lowest points scored [with 18-points]. In 1994, I won the indoor 1,500m and took my plaque and gave it to my nephew, who was 2 at the time and I wrote him a letter about adversity. Because that title meant so much to me, it was almost like I had to give it away. Looking back, I have a cross country title, two indoor 1,500m championships, an outdoor 3,000m and an outdoor 5,000m, which was the last race I ever ran [in a Cortland uniform]. I just wanted to make the most of it. I remember my dad coming to my national championships and it meant so much to me. My mom did not like to travel, so she went to a lot of the local and regional meets, but it just meant so much to me. All my titles are all so important and even the races I got second, I am still thankful.
 
What was winning your first title like?
Winning my first title was unbelievable. I cannot put into words the excitement I felt. Like I said before, I superimposed my picture in the cross country teams’ frame the year before because I wanted to be a part of it so bad. In the same breath of saying it was unbelievable, it was also just fun. We had a coach that just made it fun. I remember being nervous on the starting line and I saw a guy from my high school. I remember the two of us looking at each other and saying ‘what are we doing here?’ It was just so exciting. Jack brought you down to a level where you were hyper before the race, but still were able to really get into that parasympathetic nervous system opposed to the sympathetic nervous system where you’re clenched. He calmed us down, made jokes and helped us enjoy it. Just to be a part of that commodore and to win— I’m just so grateful. My first individual championship the following spring, I was coming off of Worlds and I remember one of the women [in the 3,000m] took off. I was way behind her, but I just reeled her in. Even after the race, Jack asked me if I was nervous about her being way far ahead and with all confidence, I can remember saying no. I knew I would reel her in because Jack told me I could.
 
What is your favorite memory of Cortland?
There are just so many! It was wonderful to have my mom and dad come to several of my races. I can remember my senior year, my dad coming to the outdoor championships and all the wonderful memories I made with him. I ran the 10,000m on Wednesday and the 5,000m on Saturday, so my dad was there the whole week and I was able to do wonderful things with him. I remember he pulled up in a purple rental car and I thought ‘what?’ My dad is very serious-minded. He owns a pipeline construction company and for him to be there, take time off from work, especially during a big season for him, I knew— we had a great time together. We went to the Minnesota Vikings stadium and to the Twins stadium and we have pictures of him pretending to hit a ball. I remember just how happy he was that I had won the national championship. I am a very strong person of faith and he prayed with me and I just felt so grateful to have him there that year. I also remember how sweet it was when I won the indoor 1,500m after having a year battling injuries. My hamstring was really hurt that year; it had fallen from the bone. I remember the obsession I had trying to get back. I tried to keep the negativity from keeping me getting back there, but during that year, I changed my major, I learned the benefits of pool training and even to this day, I still use pool therapy. Even though some of my fondest memories are the highs, there are also the negative ones where I am so thankful I got over them, kept moving forward and held onto my dream.
 
What have you taken from being a part of the team?
The commodore. I may have mentioned before, but I don’t have a sister, only a brother, so some of the fun I had with those women was like having sisters. Even now, I keep in touch with some of them. You develop and cultivate relationships, since it’s almost like you go through war with them. You go through and come out together. We can all share in the wonderful memories of winning and would always try to help each other. Another thing that [set us apart] was when we ran against our teammates, we didn’t let each other win. You knew if you were going to run against them, it was going to be painful. We battled with each other and helped one another run the fastest times of our lives. I have a picture of myself winning a race and my brother pointed out the face of pain I had and I said, ‘that’s because Heather [Swarts Webster ’96] and Heidi [Swarts Appleby ’96] were right behind me.’ As much as you wanted to beat your teammates, you also wanted to support them. I am so grateful for my teammates helping me run my best.
 
What are you doing now?
For many years, I ran professionally for Saucony and PowerBar. I ran in three U.S. Olympic Trials [for the marathon] and multiple World teams. About four and a half years ago, I ran my last race in the national circuit, as I was a part of that for many years. I’m still running a lot, but I am enjoying a break from racing right now. Though Saucony and PowerBar do not sponsor me anymore, I loved all the races I did and all the competitions I took part in. I still get up every day and run, but I just celebrated 20 years at St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System, where I have been an exercise specialist. I design exercise prescriptions for people who are running and they want to get to the next level in their health. Whether they have injuries, had a stroke or have a weight issue and want to learn to run, they get on my schedule and we might be in the pool or I might bring them outside to the park. As an employee of St. Joseph’s, I can use all their equipment and I have developed a run smart program where I have runners come in and design their exercise prescription based off their needs. I document their training, design it and do all sorts of screens and testing. The hospital is cutting edge. I also have my own little training company, Michelle LaFleur Incorporated, where I am in the park and I even get referrals from [physical] therapists. We just do exercise prescription where exercise is the medicine instead of a pill. A big part of my job is to help people get off these medications. Even if I won the lottery, I would still be doing my job every single day because I love what I do.
 
Do you have any advice for Cortland XC/TF athletes now?
Make the most of every opportunity. You have a very good coach [Steve Patrick] who is filled with wisdom from Jack and his own hard work and life experiences. Also, if you qualify for something, make the most of that opportunity as a platform for your talent and your hard work. When you toe the line, don’t get too nervous so you ruin it. Relax and make the most of those opportunities. Those opportunities are there as a gift from God and from the people who have helped you along the way. You have the training, the practices and all the hard work, so when it is time to preform, make the most of it. You’re there to have fun, but know that winning is fun. Winning is fun. On the other hand, when there are negatives, know that it can also be a gift. It’s about how you handle these moments and how you learn from them. Try to learn your own strengths and weaknesses and harness them. Don’t look at the negatives as huge disappointments; they are learning experiences. Hang in there, reassess your goals and always be moving forward.