Mike Caldwell returned to his alma mater and joined the Furman cross country track & field staff after retiring from Nike, Inc. where he served in a variety of senior management and executive capacities over a 20-plus year career. A former prep distance standout and a co-captain of the Furman cross country team, he was formally educated and trained in the field of Human Movement Science with an emphasis in physiology of exercise. His educational background after his graduation from Furman included graduate studies at the University of Florida and Florida State University. His thesis examined the "Relationship of Oxygen Utilized in Training to the Performance of Well-Trained Runners."

A lifelong runner, he competed post-graduation for the famous Florida Track Club, which included Olympian Frank Shorter, and trained with Olympian's Marty Liquori and Dick Buerkle among others. He also competed for the Atlanta Track and Club South--the predecessor of the current Greenville Track Club. His career also included the position of Director of Product Marketing for ASICS. Prior to that he was founder and publisher of Racing South Magazine--a monthly devoted to coverage of southern running. He also founded and coached the nationally ranked Racing South Competitive Team, which included multiple qualifiers for the USA Olympic Trials and one sub-2:10 marathoner. He is married to Laura Caldwell, who is a former school record holder in the 800m at Florida State University , a multiple qualifier in the marathon for the US Olympic Trials, US Masters national champion at 5,000 meters, cross country and Half Marathon, and three-time silver medalist at the World Masters Games.