A Middletown, Delaware resident for over a decade, Michael has been married since 1993 to his wife Crystal, and has three kids: Connor, Carter, and Madelyn. Michael is Vice President of Operations at Zodiac Aerospace, where his division makes concrete placed at the end of runways in order to stop airplanes which have failed to slow. Michael grew up in Salisbury, Maryland about 90 miles away, before attending college at the University of Delaware.
FNF: How did you start running?
MG: I took up running about 4 years ago. My dad was big walker, but stopped walking, and contracted diabetes. I decided I needed to change my lifestyle and am somewhat competitive.
FNF: Who is your running role model?
MG: It is going to sound weird, but Lance Armstrong, when he did his first marathon. He said that he trained to 16 miles, and when you go back and read some of the articles, his longest run was only really 12 and a half miles. There is just something about the sheer athleticism needed to do what he did.
FNF: What has been your most memorable running / racing experience?
MG: I would say actually doing a sub 20 5k. For four years, a sub 20 was always in my sights, to go after that was kind of always an internal goal. I hooked up with you guys [FNF], and got serious about it, after really thinking about what I needed to do to get better. It was a run along the Wilmington waterfront, right in the Wilmington Blue Rock stadium, and it was one of those days when you know you’re going to get it. I got a 19:47 and it was that first sort of thing that made me say alright, I can do this if I do the right training and stay injury free.
FNF: What have you enjoyed about working with Focus-N-Fly?
MG: The chat support has been awesome, and the phone calls (Michael is a Silver Member). I remember I had a really tough week, lots of meetings, the blizzard was going on on the east coast, and talking to (Dena), was huge because I was worried about missing runs. (Dena) told me to not worry, that life happens! She was able to put my mind at ease…that yes, you are in a training mode, but life happens. Just make sure it doesn’t happen seven days a week.
FNF: What is one part of your racing routine you can’t do without (sleep, pre race meal, tie shoes certain way, other ritual)?
MG: I always warm up to the Cure song called Pictures of You. It is a very mellow, just something to keep me very easy going.
FNF: What is your favorite place to go for a run?
MG: The Brandywine and Rockford parks in Wilmington, Delaware. You run along the river, go a up a godawful hill, it levels out for a mile, and then you go up another hill at Rockford park. It is a really pretty, scenic look. It is one of the few hills in Delaware.
FNF: In the next year, what goals do you hope to accomplish?
MG: I want to do a 1:29:59 half. I had a pr this year with a 1:32, so I would like to do two of them- the Virginia beach R’n’R then right after that, the Philly distance run. So, I am going to do those two and try to get at least one of them to be a sub 1:30.
