Longmont police officer nabs last spot in IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii

LONGMONT, Colo. -- It is commitment and dedication that led Commander David Moore to his chosen profession 16 years ago.

“I’m a commander in the patrol division for the Longmont Police Department,” said Moore. “The good thing is being able to help the community, and knowing you’re making a difference to someone.”

It’s also that commitment that led him to triathlons seven years ago, among them the Longmont Triathlon in 2009.

He became involved to raise money for a good friend and colleague who was diagnosed with cancer.

“It was for Devi Suess,” Moore said. “She had stage 4 cancer and was recovering from that. My wife and I decided to put together a fundraiser to raise money to help her with her medical bills. Just to help her as much as we could.”

Suess survived and is now in remission. For Moore, those triathlons have now morphed into IRONMAN competitions thanks to a lot of support from family, in particular – his wife, Wende, who also competes.

“She’s dragging around our kids and cheering me on, so -- I couldn’t do it without her,” David said.

Now, Moore will take Ironman’s biggest stage -- the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, in October.

Moore got the last remaining lottery spot, thanks to Boulder IRONMAN and 303 Triathlons.

“There were 10 slots and I ended up being the last of the 10,” Moore said. “I thought that my chance was over because I had been following it on Facebook and the drawing had ended the week before. They got a bunch of my co-workers in on it, and I didn’t have any clue.”

Even more special, the race happens to coincide with the Moore’s 20th wedding anniversary.

“We honeymooned in Hawaii, so we will be returning,” Moore said. “It’s just a dream come true. In all the negative across the nation that law enforcement tends to get, it’s good to have some positive media coverage like this.”

“As a police officer’s wife, you worry about them every day,” Wende said. “After he called and told me he got a spot, on my way home I was crying because I know how much this means to him.”