Photo by Jim Cox from 2000 Foot Locker Finals in Orlando.
Name: Mike Swope
High School: Winter Park
College: Georgia University
Major: Real Estate and Economics
Occupation: National Marketing Manager
Age: 25
It was over seven years ago that Winter Park standout Mike Swope broke away from the star-studded 4a field of the 2000 State Cross Country Finals in Titusville. But it almost seems like yesterday that the highly favored Jefferson twins of Atlantic were upset by Swope’s courageous performance. Following his state championship, where he blazed through the three mile course in 14:54, Swope qualified for Footlocker Nationals and finished in an impressive 16th place in the nation.
Throughout his high school career, Swope had many epic battles against the states most worthy opponents. From the inaugural Flrunners Invitational, where Swope battled with FPC star Matt Cianciulli, to the numerous track duals with Boone’s Daniel Parker, Swope never had it easy. Following his graduation from the University of Georgia, Swope may have found his most worthy opponent: his job.
Swope currently works 60-70 hours a week for a company that develops multi family condo’s for college students. The hours and travel have limited the time and effort he can put into his training, but it hasn’t put a halt to his goals and aspirations he still wishes to accomplish with running.
“In a perfect world I would love to compete at a high level, run 80-90mpw, and workout 2-3 times a week,” Swope said. “Unfortunately, I have found that is almost impossible to do without interfering with my career. Hopefully, at some point in the next few years I can figure out a way to balance all of it and I can get back into training competitively.”
Swope is currently running whenever he finds time, mostly in Athens, Georgia or on the college campuses he travels to, and under his own guidance. Due to his rigorous work schedule and the winter season, Swope is reluctantly forced onto the roads for most of his runs. Averaging about 30-40mpw, Swope looks forward to later in the year when he can put a little more focus into his training.
“I still plan on getting in good shape during certain parts of the year and just ‘maintaining’ during other parts of the year,” Swope said. “I am happiest when I am in ripping shape. Right now, I am in the ‘maintaining’ stages. I hope to run a few outdoor races/road races in the spring. As my responsibilities grow in the working world my running has to take the back seat.”
Running wasn’t always “the back seat” in Swope’s life. In his most successful year in high school he averaged 50-70mpw with 2-3 workouts per week. The workouts were very intense and he kept most of his distance runs around 7 minute pace. In college, at the University of Georgia, Swope increased the volume to 75-85mpw. The average pace dipped to 6:15-6:30 pace while the volume and intensity stayed high.
Running and work are not the only things that Swope has become passionate about. Over the years he’s grown close to his fiancée Jill Steffens, who he to wed in September this year.
“My fiancé is a professional runner,” Swope said. “She runs for New Balance and has qualified for this years Olympic Trials. She is coached by Dave Hartman. For now, she competes at a high level for the both of us. She is only 23 and has a very bright future ahead of her. I live vicariously through her.”
Running has had its share of up and downs in Swope’s life. In his late high school and early college years he was among the strongest in the nation for his class. However, in his late college years he had major issues with his thyroid.
“It took over a year to find out it was the thyroid that was the problem,” Swope said. “I struggled through my final few seasons and lost the motivation to train and compete. I took about a year off and started training again last May. That is by far the most frustrating thing I have had to deal with in terms of running. There is nothing worse than falling short of your full potential.”
Swope plans on finding his full potential as he adapts to his job and the heavy workload. Having taken the steps to overcome a thyroid problem that nearly ended his running career, Swope has all the confidence in the world that he can reach his potential. Not to mention a beautiful fiancé that can provide encouragement and possibly competition along the way! Good Luck Mike!
High School PR’s
Mile: 4:19
2 Mile: 9:16
3 Mile: 14:31
Current PR’s
5k: 14:22
10k: 29:28
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