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Our Team

The three coaches of Stride Running each boast 20 years of running experience ranging from sprints to middle and long-distance running. Each coach specializes in a specific component of running to provide the best coaching experience possible.

COACH OMAR

Coach Omar Gonzalez first started running when he joined his high school cross country team for summer practices, where he instantly fell in love with the daily process of training, self-improvement, and team camaraderie. After his first season, he was certain that running would be his lifelong passion.

A Southern California native, Coach Omar competed throughout his college years at UC Riverside. However, his running abilities didn't fully take off until post-graduation. He stayed in California to train under Olympian Abdul Morceli, who had coached the former world mile record holder and state championship coach Michael Wilson. With their guidance, he ran within seconds of the 4-minute mile barrier.

Although Omar decided to pursue a professional career path outside of running, he continued to run and compete in races. As time passed, he realized he still wanted to get more out of running. As he returned to competitive running under his own direction, he immersed himself in the LA running community as a coach with Nike LA and operations manager of Blue Ribbon Sports, Nike's first-ever store turned running community space.

Omar continues to pursue the sport as a runner and as a coach by making it his mission to help his runners reach their goals. He continues to work closely with runners of diverse backgrounds as a USATF-certified coach. Athletically, he is currently pursuing the marathon and the 2028 Olympic Trials.
 

COACH MICHAEL

Mikey Davila found his passion in training and competition early on as a 3-sport athlete (Football, Wrestling and Track) in high school. He made it to CIF in wrestling, but a shoulder injury abruptly ended his football and wrestling career. Although his running took a while to take off, he finished high school with PB’s in the mile and 800m at 4:57 and 2:07. He grew to love the sport and decided to pursue it at the next level, which he did at Riverside City College (RCC) as a Cross Country and Track athlete.

 

While at RCC, he became the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Champion in the 1500m, finishing his time at the school with PBs of 1:55 in the 800m and 3:52 in the 1500m. He then transferred to California State University of San Bernardino where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. Finally, he became a certified Strength and Conditioning coach from National Council on Strength & Fitness (NCSF) to be able to train and pass on his knowledge to his clients.

Mikey continued running after competing in college as he trained with high caliber athletes and elite coaches, including Olympian Abdul Morceli. Coach Morceli had coached his own brother Noureddine Morceli, Olympic Gold medalist in the 1996 Atlanta Games in the 1500m. After learning how to properly train and race from some of the world's best, Mikey ran PB’s of 1:48, 3:43, sub 4 road mile, 14:27 5k. He competed at USATF XC Club Nationals in 2019, and in 2022. To this day, Mikey still competes in many types of races from 800m/1500m track races, cross country 5k-10k, and road miles to half marathons. He continues to push himself to higher levels of achievement, all while helping his clients elevate their performance in training and competition.

COACH BRANDON

Brandon Johnson’s experience in the world of running as both a sprinter and endurance athlete comes with a multitude of running accomplishments. Starting with Track & Field at UCLA, Brandon thrived as a 400m Intermediate Hurdler. As one of the fasted hurdlers in world junior history, the still standing top-10 all-time performances produced a silver medal and initiated a run of Pac-12, West Regional, and NCAA All American tittles and medals.

 

As a professional, Brandon ran as a Nike sponsored athlete for almost a decade in the 400m Hurdles and 800m respectively. Over the years, Brandon competed in 4 USATF Championships, 3 USA Olympic Trials, was a semi-finalist at the IAAF Moscow World championships in the 800m; in addition, he continually competed in the coveted Diamond League and European running circuits. While his accomplishments on the track speak for themselves, His running philosophies have been fashioned by his former renown coaches: Bobby Kersee, Joaquim Cruz and Abderrahmane Morceli. 
Based in Los Angeles, Brandon works as a board-certified Nurse engaging in community health, public policy and HIV/Aids prevention and care. With a broad understanding of physiology, he focuses on injury prevention and skill development by emphasizing the importance of drills and exercises. 

Understanding that in the world of running, every athlete has a unique skill set; in addition to, distinct deficits, he seeks to optimize peak performances by holistically assessing and addressing such skills and/or deficits. 

Athletic Highlights 
•    CURRENT WORLD RECORD HOLDER: DMR
•    2013 USATF CHAMPIONSHIP BRONZE MEDALIST (800M)
•    2013 IAAF MOSCOW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINALIST 
•    CURRENT JUNIOR WORLD RECORD HOLDER: 4X4
•    2007 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SILVER MEDALIST (400M HURDLES)
 

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