Gary Martin’s passion for running extends miles beyond the track
The Virginia and former Archbishop Wood distance runner has found writing as another outlet for conveying his commitment to track and field
Gary Martin graduated from Archbishop Wood last year as one of the most decorated high school runners in Pennsylvania history. Now a freshman at Virginia, he’s still impressive on the track. But he also has found another outlet for the love of his sport — one that allows him to reach people all over the country: writing.
Martin is a contributor for track and field media outlet Citius Mag. Some of his articles highlight professional or high school track athletes and their accomplishments. But he also frequently writes about his own race experiences. Martin offers a peek behind the curtain by describing his thought process during a race, explaining the adjustment to track season after cross-country season, and charting his transition from high school to the college level.
“I’ve always been interested in writing,” Martin said. “I’ve been a huge fan of sports. I would write about the 76ers and basketball when I was in high school. So that’s kind of how I got into it. And then I feel like it was just kind of a natural progression.”
The partnership actually can be traced back to last year’s Penn Relays. At the same meet where Martin set the record for the high school mile, he got to know other Citius Mag contributors. They later approached him about writing for the website.
“I’m able to write out my thoughts and sit back and reflect on my season and my racing, and it helps me have a clear mind,” Martin said. “I also hope it helps other runners. I’ve had people reach out to me and say that coaches send it to their kids or their runners and would say, ‘This is really helpful, I appreciate it.’ So that’s super cool. It lets me know that I can influence other people.”
Other writers from Citius Mag were on hand at this year’s Penn Relays to see Martin’s return to Franklin Field — this time as a college runner.
Individually, Martin had the fastest split in the 4xmile relay, clocking in at 3 minutes, 58.24 seconds in the second leg. He was just one of four runners in the field to break a four-minute mile during the relay on Saturday, and his efforts had Virginia in first place by the time he passed the baton.
In the end, Virginia barely missed the podium with a fourth-place finish, but Martin still had something to celebrate. It had been one of his goals to run a sub-four minute mile at the Penn Relays last year as a high schooler, and he’d just missed the mark with his record-breaking time of 4:01.04.
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Martin accomplished the feat later in the season at the Catholic League championships, becoming the first Pennsylvania high school runner to do so. But now he’s done it at Franklin Field in front of a hometown crowd.
And his Penn Relays record from last year still stands, too. Hatboro-Horsham senior Brian DiCola, a familiar competitor of Martin’s, won this year’s high school mile in 4:11.23.
“We kind of have a connection,” Martin said of DiCola. “I think his school is 10 or 15 minutes from me. So I’m always rooting for him. And I think on a better day, he comes a little closer [to my record]. I think he has a chance to get in there. But I was just glad to see him win.”
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While Martin ultimately didn’t top any podiums at Franklin Field this in this edition of the Penn Relay Carnival, he still came away with a memorable experience — and just maybe something to write about.