We, at Mizuno USA, congratulate Mike on his many, many accomplishments and feel privileged to be a small part of his journey. We wish Mike well on his future endeavors.
Author: Mike Aish, Mizuno Elite Race Team Member
Published on: November 13, 2016
I know I’ve said this a million times and then had more come backs than Sinatra, but this time I’m for real. I’m retiring from the sport of running and moving on. Time to start looking for a real job.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a “runner.” I remember the first time I put “athlete” down as my occupation on a customs form. When I got to the counter, the customs officer asked me if I had any drugs? As the color started to drain from my face, he then informed me that I’d probably need them if I wanted to compete with those Africans…. Nonetheless I kept at it without the drugs, and the rest is history.
It’s been 25 years since I put down my skateboard, kind of, and focused on running and I sometimes still can’t believe that it was real. Running changed my life.
I went from a welfare child to traveling the world and staying in fancy hotels. I got to stand on the start line with some of the best athletes in the world and race on some of the biggest stages.
Yes, there are a few things that I’d wish I’d been able to do better, and a few times looking back that I’d wished I’d rested a little more, but what can you do? It’s a hard game and it’s not always rainbows. As a whole, I’m happy with how it all worked out. My agent once told me, “The highs are really high and the lows are really low, so if you want to be in this game you better be ready to deal with it.”
I know I never really did anything amazing or won any medals on the world stage, but I’m not sure if that really matters to me now all that bling. I always felt that I gave my best and was never afraid to risk it all for a great result. I’ve been blessed to have a healthy body my whole career, so rather than run the wheels off of this old truck I think it’s time to enjoy some of my other passions in life. I turned 40 this year and as my grandmother keeps telling me, it’s time to find a real job. Any ideas are greatly welcomed…