Meet the 2023 SWM Athletes: Miles Smith

Miles Smith | Men’s Elite Mile

Social Media: Instagram | Strava

Sponsor: Peninsula Distance Club
College: Stanford
Mile PR: 4:01.87

Currently working as an engineer at start-up based in Berkeley, CA called the Channing Street Copper Company where we are building a first of its kind battery-powered induction stove. I have done a lot of the embedded systems work for the team, with a focus on developing the control logic and then implementing and testing it on the product.
I ran at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) as an undergraduate and at Stanford University as a graduate student and still train under the guidance of my college coach, Ricardo Santos.
I am moving to Cambridge, MA in a couple of weeks to begin my Ph.D. at MIT in mechanical engineering.
As a Maryland native, I think blue crabs are the best type of crab.
I came fourth in the 2019 Raleigh RunDown running a time of 4:12.2 (in Nike Pegasus!), which was a major motivator for coming back here to chase my first ever sub-4 minute mile.

Do you have any superstitions/pre-race rituals? I tend to have my best races when I listen to odd get hype mix that includes Britney Spears and Dua Lipa.
What’s your favorite sport (or athlete) to watch, besides running? I am a big football, both association football and American football! I have always supported the Baltimore Ravens and I am apparently now also a fan of Fulham FC in the Premier League since I am going to see them play in London in a few weeks.
What’s a show or movie you’ve seen lately that’s worth watching? I can’t say I spend the most time watching TV or movies, but I saw “Everything Everywhere All at Once” on a flight recently and I really enjoyed it despite the tiny screen.
What’s a song or podcast that’s currently on your playlist? “In My Room” by Frank Ocean is always on repeat for me.
Do you have any connections to Raleigh or North Carolina? I worked at NC State as a research assistant back in 2019, so I lived in Raleigh for a couple of months and really liked it!

Learn more about Miles at: VIS Experience | Run with the Pros