Mike Smith (running coach)

As a runner, Smith competed for the Wachusett Regional High School Mountaineers where his team placed 2nd at the 1997 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association cross country championships. Smith also placed 8th at the 1998 New Balance Outdoor Nationals two-mile run. After initially competing for James Madison University, Smith completed his collegiate running career at Georgetown University. After college, he worked as an elementary school teacher for two years and earned a master's degree. He did not compete during this time period. During this time period, Smith competed in trail and road running and qualified for and competed in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon. Following the closure of the Center for High Altitude Training in early 2009, Smith worked for Hypo2 helping organize altitude training camps for elite athletes in multiple sports. Smith returned to Georgetown as a coach in 2012. He rose through the ranks to eventually become the Director of Cross Country and Track and Field during the 2015–2016 academic year. ==As director of Northern Arizona cross country and track==

Smith joined the NAU cross country coaching staff in fall 2016 in anticipation of the retirement of the current head coach, Eric Heins. That season, the men's team built off of fourth, second, and fourth-place team finishes in the three preceding years to win the 2016 NCAA men's NCAA Division I title. Mike Smith officially became the Northern Arizona University's Director of Cross Country and Track in 2017. In 2025, Smith departed NAU to lead a Nike-sponsored professional running team based in Flagstaff. Abdihamid Nur in the 3000m and 5000m in 2022, As of the conclusion of the outdoor NCAA season in 2023, Smith has yet to win an NCAA outdoor title. As of 2024, Smith's athletes hold collegiate records in the indoor 3,000 m (by Drew Bosley in 2023) and the absolute 5,000 m and 10,000 m records (by Nico Young in 2024). Smith-trained Abdihamid Nur previously held the 5,000 m record. ==Athletes trained by Mike Smith==

Current • Donavan Brazier (2025–present) • Luis Grijalva (2017–present) • Elly Henes (2021–present) • Woody Kincaid (2023–present) • Abdihamid Nur (2017–present) • Colin Sahlman (2022–present) • Rachel Smith (2013–present) • Nico Young (2020–present) Former • Matt Baxter (2016–2018) • George Beamish (2016–2020) • Nikki Hiltz (2022–2025) • Andy Trouard (2016–2018) • Elly Henes(2022–2024) == Championship results by professional athletes ==

Smith was born in 1980 and was raised in Princeton, Massachusetts. ==References==