Were it not for a phone call from John Gagliardi in 1979, Tim Miles might have pursued a career in forestry.
After graduating from SJU with a degree in secondary education in 1976, the Johnnie cross country and track and field standout taught at Cretin High School (his alma mater) for a year and was doing some coaching at the school.
But he'd gone back to graduate school to earn a master's degree in forestry and had a job lined up.
"It was a company my uncle had," recalls Miles, who as a runner at SJU earned All-MIAC honors in cross country and was the conference six-mile champion in track and field as a senior in 1976 – the same year he finished as runner-up in the steeplechase.
"It was called Natural Resources Management, and it was headquartered in Eureka, California. It still exists now actually. I'd worked for him for three summers in the woods of Oregon and one summer on the prairie in Montana. Most of the time, I was a timber cruiser and that was something I enjoyed doing."
But Gagliardi, the legendary longtime SJU head football coach who was then also the school's athletic director, was calling with an offer that appealed to Miles even more:
Return to Collegeville and take over as head cross country and track and field coach.
"I had a choice to make and I couldn't imagine myself being out in the forest the last weekend in October when the conference (cross country) meet was going on," Miles said. "I knew where I wanted to be."
And Miles remained there for decades to come, coaching the SJU track and field team for 36 seasons (1980-2015) and leading the Johnnies to five MIAC outdoor titles. He remained as head cross country coach for 44 seasons, stepping down after the 2022 campaign. He led his teams to nine conference titles in that sport and 22 berths in the NCAA Division III national meet.
"I think it comes down to the way Tim trained us," said All-American distance runner Chris Erichsen, who was
inducted into the Hall of Honor a year ago. "His focus was on helping us strive to improve each time out. So many athletes came out of there better than ever because of the training environment that existed at Saint John's.
"He always took a long-term mentality. I had a rough portion during my freshman year, but he was patient and understanding. He knew I'd improve. That's what he always stressed – improving steadily year after year."
Miles was named MIAC track and field coach of the year four times (2004, '05, '07, '11) and conference cross country coach of the year on three occasions (1997, 2006 and '07). His athletes earned All-American honors 18 times in cross country and 61 times in track and field.
That included four track and field national titles: Brian Smith in the 5,000 meters in 1983,
Jim Gathje in the steeplechase in 1985 and '86 and
Darwin Dumonceaux in the discus in 1999.
He remained an assistant coach after stepping down in 2015 and helped coach Ryan Bugler to a national title in the steeplechase the following year.
"Tim was such a great coach," Gathje said. "He knew what he was doing and he knew how to communicate with athletes. I know I had to learn a lot as a freshman and he was very patient with me. He let everybody go at their own pace and that helped a lot."
Gathje said it didn't surprise him that Miles remained on the job at SJU as long as he did.
"Not at all," Gathje said. "That's who Tim is. He enjoys working with athletes and he took a lot of pride in the individuals and teams he coached. You could see he enjoyed what he was doing and who he was doing it with."
Miles wouldn't argue with that assessment.
"The guys I had a chance to coach were terrific and I loved being here," Miles said. "I knew early on after taking over that this was likely to be where I stayed for a long time. Everybody here treated me really well. When I needed something, they were there. This was the right spot for me."
