About

Mike McMillen

 

Founder and Coach

I have been running competitively for just over 10 years. What started as a hobby and way to stay healthy and in shape, has now become a daily habit and a way to both challenge myself and also still find that escape from the stresses that life can throw at you. 
 
I have successfully raced in various 5km, 8km, and 10km events, over 20 half and full marathons across 3 continents, including running the Great Wall Marathon 3 times, and several 25km to 50km trail ultras. I have qualified and ran Boston, taken the win at Peak 2 Creek Marathon in 2018 and was part of the Blue Ridge 203 mile Mixed Relay Team that set a new course record in 2019.
 
My proudest achievement by far is taking my marathon time from a 4 hour first attempt in 2011, and gradually reducing it over the years to a PR of 2:35:28 in 2019 at the Richmond Marathon. During that time I’ve also taken my half marathon time from 1:35:48 to 1:14:22, with the hope of soon breaking 1:12. My wife would also not forgive me if I failed to mention that I also proposed to her during a 10km race which we ran together (she said yes, thankfully)!

Why flow motion running?

I believe the success and quality of my coaching and training plans comes from the fact that I didn’t take the conventional way to get here. I didn’t run in college (although I was the social secretary), or start hitting huge times right from the get go. I started at ground zero and gradually built my way up. At the beginning I’d enter races now and again off several weeks of just steady runs, often running as fast as I could for as long as I could, because I didn’t no better. It’s fair to say the results matched the quality of my planning and understanding. I didn’t even own a watch, let alone know what a tempo, or interval run was. 
 
Curious about how I could develop and push myself to achieve peak running performance while on a tight budget, I turned to books, podcasts, blogs, other runners, and research articles to learn more. I started applying my new knowledge and designing my own training plans, tweaking and experimenting as I went along and soon I started seeing MASSIVE improvements in my running performance and overall feelings toward running. Soon I was coaching myself and others to PRs and fun adventures and my athletes and I haven’t looked back since.
 
I feel it’s important to share this because I want every runner to know, if done the right way, you too can achieve these sort of results. I spent over 10 years learning from my mistakes and experiences, and I want to pass these lessons on to you, so that your hard work and determination has the right results to show for it.

personal records

Marathon:   2:35:28   (Richmond Marathon, 2019)

Half Marathon:   1:12:29   (Greenville, SC, 2021)

10k:    34:41    (The Wedge, Ashville, 2019)

8k: 26:46 (Charlotte Winter Classic, 2019)

5k:   15:55   (Jingle Bell Run, Wilmington, 2018)

Ultra Trail 50k:   5:09:13 (Table Rock Ultra 50k, Ashville, 2018)

Beyond the runner and coach

I’m fortunate to have a wonderful family with my wife, Emily, and my son, Sebby who was born in March 2020. Adding a baby to the dynamics has definitely taught be the value of balance when it comes to family, working, and running. My wife and I met in Shanghai, China while both teaching at an international school, and we spent 8 fantastic years living and teaching in Asia before moving to Charlotte, NC. During this time I was able to combine my passion for teaching and my love for travelling and experiencing new cultures, food, and people.  
 
I am a qualified physical education teacher from Liverpool, England, with a Masters in Education, and I currently teach lower school PE and coach in the high school. Naturally through my job I dedicate a lot of time to advocating for well-being and healthy living to both students and teachers which is also reflected in my coaching. Additionally, working with little ones means there’s no question too weird or out there that you can’t ask me!
 
When I’m not working or running, you’ll usually find me and my family camping and hiking in the nearby mountains, cooking up some global cuisines, or creating new DIY projects around the house (some more successful that others).