‘The strongest I’ve ever been’: Record-setting miler Gary Martin returns to the Penn Relays

Just shave a couple more seconds. Just run a couple more laps.

Gary Martin frequently repeats these phrases to himself while he puts himself through the grueling training circuit that requires him to run up to 80 miles per week. The Archbishop Wood graduate concluded his high school career in 2022 as one of the most decorated distance runners in state history; he is the only Pennsylvania high school runner to record a sub-four-minute mile (3:57.88).

Now a sophomore at the University of Virginia, Martin continues to shatter records.

In February, he broke the school’s mile record with a time of 3:54.73.

“Physically, I feel like this is the strongest I’ve ever been,” Martin said in a phone interview. “I feel like I’m just now really starting to understand my body and how to push it to the limit. I’ve been consistently really healthy, training well, and racing really well. I’ve set [personal records] pretty much every event.

“Racing-wise, I’m really confident and I feel like I’m in great shape.”

Martin hopes his dedicated regiment and improved focus will pay off this weekend when he returns to the Philadelphia area to compete in the 128th Penn Relays beginning today at Franklin Field. The Warminster native is slated to run in the distance medley relay on Friday and the 4xmile on Saturday.

The Penn Relays carry significant meaning for Martin, who earned his title as the prestigious event’s one-mile king with his first-place finish in 2022.

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“It’s special going back,” he said. “I’ll have a lot of friends and family there. I’ve been doing the Penn Relays since grade school, so it’s definitely kind of like a homecoming for me. It’s a special event, between the fans and crowd. That stadium is super historic. So it’s always a fun time.”

Martin and his teammates also will be driven following their less-than-spectacular performance in last year’s Relays, when Virginia just missed the podium with its fourth-place finish. Given his dominance at the event as a high schooler, Martin labeled it as a disappointment.

“There’s a lot of motivation going into it,” he said. “I think our team has had a lot of good finishes at Penn Relays, but we’ve never won one. We’re bringing everybody back, we have a crazy talented group, and we’re going into it with the mindset of like, not ‘win or bust,’ but we’re going in knowing that we should come away with a title in one of the events. That’s our mindset going in.

“When I’m running a mile, it’s always about convincing myself that I’m able to run as fast as my body is able to. It sounds weird, but it’s one of those things where you get so used to running – if I run 59 seconds a lap, in my head, I need to run 58 seconds a lap.

“You have to put yourself out there to even have a shot at it. That’s the big mental part that I’m now really getting a grasp of.”

Martin’s parents, Rob and Heather, will attend this weekend’s Penn Relays. Franklin Field is about a 45-minute drive from the couple’s residence in Bucks County.

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According to his father, their home has felt empty without their only child’s regular presence over the past couple of years. In addition to Martin’s passion for running, his dad was Martin’s coach in various youth sports throughout his childhood.

“We are insanely proud of him,” Martin’s father said. “He’s so consistent, and in every aspect of it, he pours in every ounce of effort. He’s grown a lot over the past two years. It’s bittersweet because we miss him. Growing up, we never missed a meet, never missed a game, never missed a practice. But the Penn Relays … it’s a great meet just because of the history. It’s a pretty cool environment. It’s definitely our favorite meet to attend, and we’ll be cheering loudly from the second row.”

Aside from Martin’s excitement to compete close to home, the self-labeled coffee lover also looks forward to visiting one of his favorite cafés, The Board and Brew, in University City. Martin said he plans to order two to three cortados each day — before and after — his races this weekend.

As he has skyrocketed toward the top of the NCAA runners’ circle, Martin says he has taken a liking to his unique regiment. Outside of his emphasis on strength, he stresses the most important aspect of training is sleep recovery.

“Funny enough, I think as I’ve gotten to college, I’ve found that diet is less important than it was in the past,” Martin said. “When you’re running 80 miles a week, the most important thing is eating enough. If you drive yourself crazy and try to be super restrictive and tell yourself you can’t eat dessert, you’re probably doing more harm mentally than you are doing good physically.

“I’m not super restrictive with my diet. I try to eat mostly healthy foods. But there’s lots of space in a runner’s diet. … I really focus on getting lots of sleep; eight or nine hours a night is my requirement.”

Following the Penn Relays, Martin has aspirations of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 1,500 meters. The trials are scheduled for June 21-30 in Eugene, Ore., and the Olympics will be held from July 26 to Aug. 11 in Paris.

“I’ve been running more miles, longer workouts, so I truly think I’m a lot stronger and have a chance to chase this [Olympic] goal,” Martin said. “If anyone asks me about my second-best event, I think I’d rather go up in distance rather than down in distance, which has never been the case for me. That specific approach has helped with my [1,500-meter] and mile times.”

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