George Mills, On Running, Eight Questions to the INIT Meeting Karlsruhe 1,500m winner...

George Mills just won the 1,500 meters at the INIT Meeting Karlsruhe, a WIT Gold-level meeting. George runs for the OAC Europe club and he has a British title (2020) on his belt as well. We were able to send George some questions and he sent them back right away. Special thanks to Ana Alarcon, On running communications for her support.

RunBlogRun, # 1. George, a nice win in Karlsruhe! I love that facility, what was it like racing at the INIT Karlsruhe meeting?

George Mills: First of all thank you, I enjoyed it out there! Karlsruhe was awesome, I love the German meets, the atmosphere was electric and there was a buzz around the place. It always makes a big difference for us athletes when we have the opportunity to perform in front of a sell-out crowd.

🇬🇧’s @georgemills800 wins the men’s 1500m by a huge margin in a world-leading 3:35.88 😎#WorldIndoorTour pic.twitter.com/hMVM4mfNA5
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) January 27, 2023

RunBlogRun, #2. That is a strong 1,500m opener, are you planning to race the European Indoors?

George Mills: Yes, I’m planning on trying to make the British Team for European Indoors. Despite having a really solid opener in Karlsruhe, I know there is a lot of work to be done in the next few weeks to get ready for the British Championships.

RunBlogRun, #3. Do you train in the UK or are you training in Boulder with OAC?

George Mills: No, I don’t train in Boulder with OAC. I spent a month there in October but mostly did my own training. I’m a part of OAC Europe, we’re slightly more nomadic. We have a few training bases which is normal for European athletes. In the winter we spend most of our time in Dullstroom, South Africa which is at an altitude of 2000m. Our sea level base would be considered Leipzig, Germany. We spend time

here between camps and base ourselves here over the indoor season. During the summer, usually from May to October, we are based in St Moritz, Switzerland. I’d consider this the best place in the world to train, it is beautiful, and we’re very privileged to spend so much time there.

Introducing the On Athletics Club Europe: Our brand-new track team for up-and-coming runners who dare to Dream On.
The OAC Europe is our youngest team yet, and we’re betting big on 6 incredible talents who’ve tasted success and are hungry for more. https://t.co/MRXhLxcnrJ pic.twitter.com/it4TgKphku
— On (@on_running) May 3, 2022

RunBlogRun, #4: How do you juggle the travel, do you have any secrets?

George Mills: I love travelling and seeing new places so I don’t see it as stress at all. If I was to give 3 top tips it would be to unpack your suitcase as soon as you arrive, living out of a suitcase may seem easy but you’ll feel much more at home if you unpack it. Sleep as much as you can, the guys on the team will tell you I’m a big napper, I’ll usually sleep for 90mins – 2 hours every afternoon between training sessions. The third tip would be to be organised and plan a few days ahead so you know where you have to be and what you’ll be doing. This will take away some of the stress from travel. (Everyone on the team always jokes around asking if we’re sticking to my ‘schedule’ when travelling haha)

RunBlogRun, #5. Will you compete at the British Indoor Champs or Birmingham Indoor this season?

George Mills: Yes, as I said earlier I’ll be at the British Indoor Champs in Birmingham. We have to compete there to have a chance of making the British team for the Euro indoors.

“The best advice my dad has given me is, ‘if you’re going to do something, go all in.’”
Advice from your dad holds a bit more weight when he’s played for England. OAC Europe’s @georgemills800 chatted with us about having a soccer star for a dad, singing and spaghetti bolognese. pic.twitter.com/Gs5TKel5Js
— On (@on_running) August 29, 2022

RunBlogRun, #6. For Budapest 2023, you are running for a country that has some serious 1,500m runners, how do you position yourself?

George Mills: We all know how strong British 1500m is at the moment, and I think it’s probably the hardest team in the world to make, However, I see this as a huge positive as it makes me reevaluate the level I need to be at and pushes me to the max day in day out. I believe I can achieve this goal of being in Budapest and I will work as hard as possible behind the scenes with my team so that I’m ready to give everything when it comes to the trials in the summer.

RunBlogRun, #7. What model of shoe do you train in, and what do you race in?

George Mills: I love all the On Shoes. My favourite training shoes are probably the Cloudmonster, Cloudgoa and Cloudstrauts for easy and long runs. For Threshold & track work I use the Cloudboom Echo 3 which is an incredible shoe. I race in the On Distance spike, this is genuinely the best spike that I have ever worn, the team who designed this are incredible, the best in the business.

RunBlogRun, #8. You won the 2020 British Champs, how did that give you confidence?

The 2020 British Championships feels like a very long time ago, a lot has changed since then but I look back on it with positive recollections and obviously it is a great accomplishment. However, I don’t think it has much to do with the confidence I have now. I like to put the confidence I have now down to my new team OAC Europe which I have been a part of for just over a year now, without them and the support of On, I don’t think performances like Karlsruhe would have been possible

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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