Inspire to Run Podcast
Inspire to Run Podcast
How to Prioritize Family and Fitness for Success with Milton Davison
#135 - As a husband, father of three boys, and train mechanic, Milton Davison, a hybrid athlete, shares how he manages to train while still prioritizing what matters most - his family. Since beginning his running journey in 2014, Milton has qualified for DEKA Worlds in 2022 and 2023 and HYROX Worlds in 2024 and 2025, proving that extraordinary achievements are possible with dedication and smart prioritization.
Milton offers practical insights for anyone looking to improve their fitness while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. His journey from track athlete to marathon runner to hybrid race competitor demonstrates how finding the right fitness format that matches your strengths can lead to competitive success. Milton shares the training methods and life philosophies that have made him a world-class competitor despite a busy family and professional life.
Topics Covered:
- Early Morning Training: Milton shares how he gradually adapted to 4 AM workouts to ensure his training doesn't take away from family time and responsibilities
- Consistent Commitment: Training while working full-time and raising three boys requires intentional prioritization and elimination of distractions
- Sport Evolution: How Milton's background in track and strength training created the perfect foundation for success in hybrid races like DEKA and HYROX
- Family-First Mindset: Milton explains why keeping family as his top priority has been key to his sustainable athletic success
Today’s Guests
Milton Davison
Milton Davison is a husband, father of three, and a veteran train mechanic with over 17 years in the railroad industry. He began running in 2014, completing his first marathon in 2017, and later expanded into hybrid racing. Since 2022, Milton has competed in Deka and Hyrox events, qualifying for multiple World Championships, including Deka Worlds (2022, 2023) and Hyrox Worlds (2024, 2025). His standout race times include a 1:24 half marathon, a 1:03 Hyrox Open, and a 35:38 Deka Fit. Milton continues to challenge himself and inspire others through his fitness journey.
Follow Milton:
- Instagram - @duke_md
Resources:
- Incrediwear: Code for 10% off RICHARDCONNER
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Hey my friend. Today we're back with a new episode and I'm excited to share an insightful conversation I had with an incredible runner and hybrid athlete, and we're gonna share with you how you can prioritize family and fitness for success. Hope you enjoy. Welcome to Inspire to Run podcast. Here you'll find inspiration whether you are looking to take control of your health and fitness, or you are a seasoned runner looking for community and some extra motivation. You'll hear inspiring stories from amazing runners along with helpful tips from fitness experts. Now here's your host, Richard Conner. Hi my friend. Welcome to Inspire to Run Podcast. Today we're sitting down with Milton Davison. Milton is a husband, father of three boys and a train mechanic with over 17 years on the railroad. He got into running in 2014, completed his first marathon in 2017, and has since added DEKA and HYROX to the mix. He has qualified for DEKA Worlds in 2022 and 2023 and HYROX Worlds in 2024 and 2025. His proudest PRs include an hour and 24 minute half marathon, and an hour and three minute HYROX open. He's always pushing to be better on the track and off. Welcome to the show, Milton. Hey, how you doing, Richard? I'm good. I'm good. I'm so excited to have you on the show. And, you know, we have similar backgrounds between running track and, and, uh, high school and, and running road races and now doing hybrid races, and you're just an incredible athlete. So I'm happy to have you on the show and, you know, chat a little bit about, you know, your running journey and, and, uh, all of that, all your successes. And you know, one thing that I didn't read in your bio, but I want to chat about for a moment is you have twin boys Yes, yes. and I have twins as well. They're a little bit younger than your twin boys, but my gosh, ever since we had twins, I feel like I either met a twin, they're married to a twin, or they have twins. So it was so cool to, to meet someone with, uh, twins and at that age, it must be a lot of fun. Yeah, a lot of fun now. A lot of headache worded fun. It's definitely a lot of fun and you know, that, that's so cool that we share that, uh, amongst, you know, running and you're just an incredible athlete and I'm just inspired by all the things that you've done and really, you know, just for our listeners, Milton, I. Met at a deck race almost a couple of years ago and then just reconnected recently. You know, we've been following each other's journeys and, you know, I love to have him on the show and, and talk about his history, so, so Milton, you know, just love to hear a little bit about, you know, your history, you know, in sports, in college, and your transition to road running, and really what parts of your training or your program helped you become a successful runner. I actually. Program myself far as running, um, far as my background in high school and, and junior high school was, uh, running track and playing football so far as endurance. Running was never like on horizon or anything, you know, in sight. Uh, it wasn't until 2014 when, uh, surprisingly my wife actually started running., She wanted to go running., I would go with her, you know, I would take the kids with us. They was, they, the kids was way younger. and then she start running. So then I start running with her and then I kind of fell in love with it or start liking it., I stay with it, you know, she's off and on., And then from there, uh, I ran a 5K., Shortly thereafter started running, they were running 10 k, then half marathon at Marathoning., And then recently in 2022, that's when, you know, DEKA and HYROX kind of blew up and, jumped into that because, , even though I was running half a marathons and, and marathons, I was still, , strength training. So I was still lifting weights, you know, bro splits, you know, doing upper lowers four days a week, five days a week., So then once I seen HYROX and, and DEKA, I kind of just went all in. I'm like, okay. So I lift weights and I run, you know, I have a little endurance, so I just mesh the two and kind of like, it's kind of like perfect for me and you know, I like it, you know what I mean? I'm not super great at endurance and running, and I'm not super great at, you know, lifting heavy weights, but I'm in between on both of 'em, so, And you put it all together and it gets you to to world. So that's a good combination. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just, just enough, you know, I'm, I'm pretty proud, you know, to be this age and , to. To just qualify amongst the, especially in, in, , in HYROX, you know, because you got the world, you got people, you know, in Europe and over the world that qualifies and it's like super competitive, super hard., And just, just to qualify for worlds is like pretty amazing, you know? So, I figure, you know, I, I don't know how I pretty much got this good or, or, or, you know, pretty much able to, to, uh, qualify. But, you know, I, I mean, I do work hard, train six, sometimes seven, seven days a week.. So, yeah, I don't know. It's crazy. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think the lessons are, are in a lot of what you said. So is it consistency? You've been training since high school and you know, kind of building up to where you are now. You're putting in the work. So six days, six or seven. Seven days a week. That's, that's some serious training. So you're putting into work with three kids and a family and a job. And, you know, I'd love to talk to you a little bit about that and figure out how you're managing all that.'cause I, I kind of feel like I'm not doing that very well, but, uh, I'd love to hear that. Uh, yeah. And then you're doing, you know, the strength in addition to the running, which I think is, it's hard to do. So, you know, in my situation. I really prioritized the running over strength, especially over the last couple years as I started to run longer and longer distances. And last year I ran a marathon for the first time. Maybe my last, maybe not, I don't know. But I just to get into miles, I felt like I didn't have enough time for strength and that really hurt me. Uh, I just, you know, I didn't perform as well as I wanted to last year. I feel like I could have done a lot better than I did. I think I did okay. I had some, you know, some good successes there, but going into this year, I said, you know what? I'm going to prioritize strength just as much as I'm getting into miles, and it's really starting to pay off as I start the year. So I'm, I'm hoping it sticks with me kind as I, you know, progress through the year. So I definitely, it feels like, you know, the story you just shared, there's a lot of lessons there as to how you're, you know, able to perform the way you do. Yeah, it's, yeah, it's hard.. Keeping up your strength and be able to run, , 30, 40, 50 miles. You know, some people, at one point I was running up to 50 miles, you know, at the beginning of the year, and still strength training, which is like super hard., Yeah, I mean, and to to explain how I'm maybe to put in so much of time. I really don't have a life outside of my, my family. You know, it's, it's, it's the boys, it's my wife, number one., I have a very small circle of friends, , that I don't get to see that much because, you know, I kind of prioritize training and working and, you know, taking care of my family. But, you know, I just, I make it happen. It's just what you're willing to do. You know, most people watch TV and, know, uh, party or whatever the case may be, socialize, and I, I really pretty much don't watch TV that much, don't really have time for it., So that, that allows me to train so much and still able to, you know, be a father, be a husband, a, a, a, a active husband., And yeah, that's just, you know, that's just where I'm at now. That's incredible. That's incredible. So I'd love to talk a little bit about, you know, take you down memory lane, talk a little bit about your road races, and then we'll transition to the hybrid races. So, you know, love to hear some of your, you know, successes, some of your lessons kind of learned and, you know, maybe some memorable races that you run when you've run your, you know, your road races. Yeah. So, , my, to, to, to go into my running journey, Just last year, November, um, I ran a 1 24 sub sub, 1 25 half a marathon, which is awesome. Really didn't train for it. That's just was in the middle of me doing HYROX training., And I jumped right in it after a HYROX race in Chicago back in November. So I was really stoked with that performance., Marathon. I really don't like marathon running. I only ran two. I love half of marathons., Just the marathon distance is just, it's just brutal. It's just brutal. Not, not just the distance of 26.2 or whatever miles it is. It's, uh, it's the training for it. It's the miles, the training that you putting in to, to, to be able to run that 26 miles., But I, I think I'm a. I think I'm gonna attempt, I think I could probably do a sub three. I think I'm gonna attempt it soon. I don't know when, I think soon., But no, I, I think my favorite road race is actually, , called the Broad Street Run, is in, in Philly., And it's 10 miles, which is perfect. It's like the perfect distance., That's my all time favorite like race., And distance is that 10 miles. you able to go as fast as almost like 10 k, but it feels like a half a marathon. So I, I just, I just love that distance and, and I love that race. That's awesome. So, you know, at some point then you transitioned into hybrid racing, which is. Very, very popular now, especially HYROX, is gaining a lot of popularity and, and both DEKA and HYROX have been around a little while. So love to hear, you know, how did you get introduced to it and why did you feel like that? You know, I think in particular HYROX, like why that became your sport. So I'd love to hear that transition for you. Yeah, so, , because DEKA was, , affiliated with a lot of gyms near the area where I'm at., I had a couple friends that did the DEKA Strong, either DEKA Strong or DEKA Mile, in the gyms. And, and they let me know right away like, Hey, I think you'll like it. You know, it's got the running, they have the one with the running, but you know, it's the functional fitness and, you know, kind of strength, you know, a little bit. It's not too heavy. and that's what kind of introduced me into the, uh. The Spartan DEKA., And then once I learned about the DEKA, that's when I heard about HYROX. And, and actually that was my first time really hearing about OCR as well, like Spartan, OCR, which I did like two races in, , I did two Palmerton. really don't like the spar, really don't like the mud, so I only did two and they was just for fun., Once I got into HYROX, I did my first HYROX in New York, which is technically North Jersey, the the in 2022. once I did that, like I was hooked, I was like, man, it's eight K running, which is a little bit more running. The, the one k in between, which is a little bit longer, you know, to four minutes, over four minutes at the time, with stations in between and it's, it's just all longer. run, kind of like a, kind of like a half a marathon where you just sitting in, you know, a high tempo, know, threshold, you know, , run. I, I just think, I don't know, I think HYROX is more, you don't have to really be that athletic in HYROX. It's just you have to be like really fit, you know, and strong. You know what I mean? More than the, uh, the DEKAs DEKAs. You don't really have to be that, that strong., You need more power and, you know, speed in DEKA, but HYROX is just that longer grindier, you know, tempo, run pace kind of that, that I kind of fell in love with, with, uh, with HYROX. Hmm, I could totally see that. You know, I've done, I've only done DEKA, but I've seen HYROX and you know, I've seen the racers and it's. And I feel like in more endurance kind of RA races would be better for me, but I'm not sure I'm there yet with the strength part of it. So DEKA feels like it's kind of more in line with, with what I'm looking for and the way I, the way I look at hybrid racing, and for me, the ba, the benefit is I. That's gonna help me with my road races. So it's like cross training for me and getting me to do more high intensity work and making sure I prioritize strength training and all those things. And my hope is that it all, that translates when I get to the road races. So HYROX isn't in my future yet, but you know, we'll kind of see how this year goes and into next and, you know, see how I progress. So, but it's really interesting to hear, you know, your perspective between the two and it sounds like you're navigating more towards. HYROX given kind of what you like. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. So, you know, love to hear a little bit about, you know, one of the questions that I like to ask my guests on the show is what was, what has been the biggest obstacle that you faced in your running journey, and how'd you overcome it?, Trying to balance training and life itself far as being a husband and father. you could get wrapped up in, you know, trying to get of training in to try to get better, to try to, you know, chase Podiums or Chase Worlds, or Chase prs. But it's, it's, you're pulling from somewhere else. You know what I mean? So, , that was the big, biggest probably challenge that I had., Once I started the, my whole journey, uh, running journey., But now that I've done it for over, for about 10 years now, I kind of. Know what's more important, and I set aside times, which is usually early in the morning, usually before work, and on the weekends, before the family even wakes up., So, , and also after doing all the training, you also have to be active and, you know, with and involved in, in your family. And., Getting stuff done to run a house, you know, um, and just, just being, being there, you know, for, for your family and everything. What, you know, what tricks or tips would you share with others to help them get to that state? Because it's. There's a lot of distractions, like you said, TV and, and a lot of other things. And, and if you're highly focused on like one thing, you get to, you know, maybe you just miss out on other things in, in life. So like what tips and tricks would you share with, uh, listeners? Yeah, that's a good one.. I would say, , focus on you and know what's, what's, uh, what's, what's more important for you., Just know that, races. Fitness and prs, all that can come and go, but you only have, you know, one family, you know, that can come and go too. But, you know, if, uh, one thing I have to tell people is just prior prioritize what's more important to you? And, and for me, it's, it's definitely family, you know?, I just choose to., Put them first no matter what, and then everything else is secondary., But, , another thing would be, it's a lot of, , it's a lot of, uh, shiny objects that's out there that we like to chase. You know, social media is one. TV and all these TV series and TV shows is another., I mean, if you could go without those things, like I can, because that's what I choose to do., But those things are just not important to me. So I'm able to just, you know, move on from those things. And yes, I, I do still watch TV and I still do be on social media, but it's just not as much as a normal person would be, you know. So, yeah, just prioritize, uh, family first, you know, they say family faith and, you know, whatever else after that. Football, some people, you know, but I just, I prioritize my family first, so, , 'cause they, those are the ones that's gonna be there thick and thin, you know, at my races or when I'm coming home after training., They just always gonna be there. And I think it's kind of selfish to kind of. Put yourself first most of the time., Yes, you can here and there, but, , yeah, just, just I, I'll put those guys first. I love it. I love it. And look at all of what you're still able to accomplish doing that. And it's not maybe necessarily a trade off, but putting them first, but also making sure that you're prioritizing your fitness and you find a way to, to get it all done. I. Mm-hmm. That's awesome. So, you know, tell me, I asked you about the biggest obstacle. Tell me, you know, if I flip it, you know, flip the script here, what's maybe the one thing that you're most proud of in your running journey? Um, I would say my ability to be consistent, , my ability to., Have a plan and, uh, stick with it. That's, that's the biggest thing,, because you could get distracted and life itself can run its course., Most things you can't control. But the things that I can't control is getting up early in the morning, getting up four o'clock in the morning to to do my runs or to do my exercises before work. getting up on the weekends early in the morning when everybody's still in bed, you know?, And just different things like that. Like that. That's what I would say. Mm. Okay. Okay. I tried it. I, uh, was. Shared a little bit about my life on, uh, some past episodes about starting
to get up at 5:00 AM at the beginning of this year, which I was on a really great track for a while, and then I fell off for a little while and then I got back on for a little while and spent a little bit of a rollercoaster, but definitely getting up early. I agree that helps, you know, give you more time in the day. More quiet time to do the things that you need to do, whatever that priority is, and kind of frees you up to do other things, you know, as the day progresses, whether it's family, work, um, et cetera. So I definitely understand that. But it's an adjustment. I mean, I know a lot of folks would be, they would say, I'm just not a morning person, you know, and, and then they'll stay up late at night or whatever the case is, and you know, and then you just. I always say, you don't have to do 5:00 AM I mean, in your case, 4:00 AM which I think is truly incredible. Um, but if you wake up at seven, could you wake up at six and that gives you a whole hour to, you wouldn't believe what you can get done in just an hour if you get up and you get focused and you get, you know, kind of get on with your day. So that was kind of the mantra that I, I was kind of talking about as a, at the start of the year, and that's something I'm trying really hard to, to stick through, even though I got off track a little bit. Yeah. But you know, another thing Richard, uh, about getting up that early every morning., Well, the days that I work, , Sunday through through Thursdays, It's like when I get up that early, I can't stay up late around eight o'clock at night. It is like I'm ready to go.'cause I've been up for, darn there, 16, 18 hours by the time it's, you know, six, seven o'clock. So, , once you get accustomed to it, because I was never a morning person., Prior to, to running., So that was just an adjustment that I had to, had to, uh, to take. But it was just, that was, that's what I was willing to do to make sure I got my, my running and my exercising and my fitness in, , because that was the best time to, uh, best time of the day to get it done because I still have a nine to five and I still have a family afterwards. So, Mm-hmm. And how did you even maintain that during the day? Like are you a coffee drinker or what did you do to, to no, I, I, I do, I drink caffeine maybe two days a week. Uh, I don't wow. Yeah, I don't drink coffee. I, I do drink coffee, but I don't drink it, , every day. It is just, . I don't know. It's just, I, I, I get up my alarm, you know, my, my work starts at six 30, so I have to be, you know, done and showered and dressed and ready for work by six 30. So, , it just took, just took years. It definitely wasn't just a, oh, it hit a, you know, hit a switch and, and, and, and I got up. I mean, I started off at five, then worked my way down to 4:30,
then worked my way to 4:00. It just took time. Took, took maybe, maybe a few years, maybe after Covid, I would say. That's when, that's when, uh, it, I made that shift. I, if, if, if I'm thinking back, that's, that's kind of when I made that shift to,
to like 4:00 in the morning every morning. That's awesome. That's awesome. And I feel a little bit better'cause I've been trying to do it just for a few months. But if you're saying it takes time, then I, I'm good. I feel better about my, my own journey, so, uh, so that's great. So, you know, I'd love to hear, you know, what's, what's next for you coming up this year? You know, I know you mentioned that you're doing more HYROX and you're, you know, kind of focused on worlds. I know that's coming up. So kind of what are your big goals this year? Yeah, so, , got a big race coming men's doubles in New York City, HYROX in about three weeks, three or four weeks. then after that it's, uh, Worlds in Chicago. I. , And then after that I'm definitely gonna take off in the summer, and probably just lift and get stronger and cut back on the endurance just to just, you know, rest up my knees and my joints and everything. You know, as you get older it's harder to recover., That's pretty much where I'm at this summer. Far as after, after Worlds in, in HYROX. but I do have, , big plans next, next high rock season to where, , I wanna team up with, um, uh, one of my mixed partners that I've teamed up with in DC and we, we are gonna be doing a whole lot more races, mixed doubles next year. So that's, I'm looking forward towards that. Yeah, I tell you, the team races have been a lot of fun. I mean, I, I'm a, I'm a runner, so, you know, doing any, for me, any of the DEKA stations isn't entirely fun for me. I mean, some I'm better at than others, but, you know, it's a grind. But being able to kind of split it up, which I know high Rx is a little bit different 'cause I think you have to do all the runs together. Right. So you have to, there's certain things you have to do. So DEKA could split up a little bit more, but that's a lot of fun.'cause then you can hit the stations that you know are, are more fun for you or aligned with, you know, your fitness. And I've had, you know, like I said, a lot of fun doing that over the last year or so with, uh, with some partners. Yeah, teams are are awesome, man., It's, it's a grinder doing it by yourself, HYROX and DEKA, but, uh, I did DEKA, DEKA teams as well. DEKA Mile. No, I think it was a DEKA fit with teams. Uh, yeah. The way you could break that up where each one could do a run, each one, you know, start a station, the other finish the station. Yeah. It's just like, it's, it's kind of like playing the team sport, you know, from me coming back from having a football background, you know, always, it's not like I play the individual sport, so team up with somebody is like. It's like, it's like, uh, yeah, it's like a team and you just, you share that pain and you just con continue to push each other, which is like super fun. Like, it's just, it is, it's, it's awesome. I love the teams. Love it. Love it. So, so Milton, I'm having so much fun with this conversation and you know, kind as we wind down here, I'd love to ask you like, what would you say to our community to inspire them to run while prioritizing what's important in their life?, Take it one day at a time., Write down a plan, write it down, put on a, put it on your calendar, uh, your notes, , wherever you, wherever you can see it every day, , of, of, of the, the plan. Whatever your plan is. But go in having a plan of what you're gonna do, you know, , day by day, week by week, month by month.. It's your journey. So just, just wherever, wherever you are, don't pay attention to wherever everybody else is, how know what everybody else is doing., Just focus on yourself. Just focus on yourself. Love it. Love it. Thank you so much, Milton, for coming on the show and having this conversation with me. How can our followers find you and follow your incredible journey online? Yeah, so I'm on Instagram, , duke, DUK Eco md. yeah, I'm just on Instagram., I'm. Barely active on there, but you know, you shoot me a follow or I'll post up a video or here and there., Not that active, but yeah, that's, that's pretty much where you can find me on social. Sounds good. All right, so I'll put that information in the show notes and make it easy for our listeners to find and follow you. And you know, I wish you the best and wish you luck in your races, uh, that are coming up, especially worlds in Chicago. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it, Richard. All right, with that, thank you and have a great day. Thank you. That's it for this episode of Inspire to Run podcast. We hope you are inspired to take control of your health and fitness and take it to the next level. Be sure to click the subscribe button to join our community, and also please rate in review. Thanks for listening.
