Bill Vilona
GoArgos.com Senior Writer 

In the rare moments when his life slows, Michael Padilla transfers his love of speed back to youthful days. 

With running shoes on, Padilla returns to the track circling the University of West Florida Soccer Complex to experience what helped shape future ambitions.

"Just to relive the glory days," said Padilla, one of UWF's most decorated cross country athletes. "I'll go there and think about the memories I had running fast times on the track and how I am not that person anymore."

He's now a person with a wide range of fulfillment. 

Padilla, 35, married with two kids, is living in Pensacola as retired member of the U.S. Marine Corps and instructor pilot in the Navy Reserve. 

He doubles with a civilian job at Naval Air Station-Whiting Field as maintenance test pilot for DynCorp International, helping to ensure the T-6 Texan aircraft with its World War II roots is properly set to train future Navy and Marine aviators. 

"I have lot of experience on the airplane," said Padilla, who graduated from UWF in 2006 as an NCAA Division II All-American and the Argos' first men's cross country runner to race in the D-2 national championship meet. 

"This is my dream job," he said. "I make sure the plane is air-worthy. I'm the last person to sign it off before we give it to the active (military) duty guys to go fly and teach students."

Being a Marine Corps pilot was something Padilla made his goal since graduating from Pine Forest High School, then earning a scholarship with the UWF men's cross country team. 

During his four-year career with the Argos, spanning from 2003-2006, Padilla produced seven of the top 10 times in the 8K, including a school record. He also owns four of the top 10 times in the 10K with the crowning feat being the school record time he set in the 2006 NCAA Division II championships, which were held at the Escambia County Equestrian Center. 

That meant his final competitive race as a college athlete happened in his hometown. It led to being named All-American and later in 2010 with selection on the Gulf South Conference All-Decade Team. Earlier this month, the GSC announced its All-Decade Team for the 2010-19 decade, which includes three men's and three women's Argonaut honorees.

"I felt like I worked extra hard that year," Padilla recalled. "Because I really wanted to make it to nationals. And I ran my fastest 10K that day. That was really special to me and it being my last college race a few miles down the road from my parents' house.

"That's definitely a highlight of my career."

His career also included being a four-time, All-GSC, All-South Region selection and three-time qualifier to the NCAA championship event. 

He was also a two-time, All-GSC academic selection. In 2012, Padilla was inducted into the UWF Athletics Hall of Fame. 

 

"I'm definitely so thankful for the opportunity I was given at UWF with (former) coach (Matt) Dobson and my other friends who were student-athletes on the team," Padilla said. "It was good times back then.

"I think if I wasn't a UWF student-athlete, I don't think I would have the job I have right now. I know running has zero to do with me being a test pilot. But it was one stepping stone in the right direction."

Upon graduation, Padilla entered the Marine Corps Training Program, often viewed as a grueling, mental-straining test of will to see if you're able to handle the rigors of being a Marine.
 
  It was also when Padilla began dating his wife, Ashley, also a UWF graduate, who later earned her nursing degree and has been at Baptist Hospital. 

"I wanted to be a pilot since I was 19," Padilla said. "I really wanted to be a jet pilot. The Marine Corps gave me an opportunity to fly really cool airplanes for awhile. 

"To be a pilot you had to be an officer and being an officer, you have to go to college, so (UWF) was one of those stepping stones to get me to where I needed to go. 

"My biggest highlight was being an instructor pilot. Because I think not only did it make me a better pilot, but it made me overall a better communicator and better teacher at the same time."

Looking back, he credits being a student-athlete for helping him survive and thrive in Marine Corps basic training, then the three years it took to earn his wings in 2009 as a Marine pilot. 

"I think being a cross country athlete, or just an athlete in general, kinda set me up for success with it," he said. "Because being a runner, I did 8-12 mile runs five to seven days a week. I worked out anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours a day, so that right there set me up for success for all the physical part of the training. 

"It also gave me a lot of mental toughness. Because when you go through the type of training that the Marine Corps has you do early on, I think it requires a certain type of mental toughness. A lot of the training is not that hard, but there is just a lot of it."

 

After eight more years in the Marines, where he flew the AV-8B Harrier attack jet and became an officer in Cherry Point, N.C., directing a 40-member squadron, Padilla retired from the Marines in 2017. 

Four years earlier, Padilla and Ashley, a Tampa native, returned to Pensacola to live. The couple will be married 11 years in October. They are parents of two boys, Zachary, 6, and Jacob, 18 months. 


 

He has even found time to play in a local band, Horseshoe Kitty, that has steadily attracted a big local following.

"We are very busy individuals," Padilla said, laughing. "I made up my mind I wanted to get off active duty. Mostly for having a family. Having kids kind of changes your outlook on a career path. I knew once I was done with my commitment, I wanted to get out."

Padilla stays in touch with college teammates on those UWF cross country teams. One of those is Dr. Craig Henry, who opened his own practice, Henry Chiropractic, on Ninth Avenue.

"Life was super easy as a college athlete because the only responsibility you have is yourself," Padilla said. "I'm definitely so thankful for the opportunity I was given at UWF with Coach Dobson and my other friends who were student-athletes on the team. 

"It was good times back then."