Reaching the Division I level is a transitional moment for any high school athlete. Almost everyone comes in thinking they will still be the best of the best, only to realize there are thousands of people just like them.
However, junior Gary Martin is an exception. He is a well-rounded student-athlete who excels on the track — as well as in the classroom and community. Martin is Virginia’s star, certainly, but he is more than just that. He is the perfect ambassador for the program. He is a strong student, a team leader and someone who engages with the Charlottesville community. He is also one of the best runners in the nation.
In all of men’s indoor track and field, there are 11,156 runners, but Martin is undoubtedly one of the very best. Friday, Martin was a key part of the Cavalier team that broke the NCAA men’s distance medley relay record. Additionally, he just recently ran the second-fastest NCAA mile of all time Feb. 8 at the Millrose Games.
Also at the Millrose Games running the Wanamaker mile— the signature race of the meet, which has been going on since 1926— were Olympic athletes Yared Nuguse and Hobbes Kessler — and Martin held his own, coming in fifth in the middle of a tight pack of professional athletes. His time of 3:48.82 has put him just a half second behind senior Ethan Strand of the University of North Carolina’s, who set the NCAA record for the indoor mile time a week earlier.
The consistent success is all part of the process for Martin, who has been breaking records throughout his life. The Warminster, Pa. native enjoyed a dominant high school career, breaking four minutes in the mile in a high-school only race — a feat only four other high schoolers had achieved at that point and only Martin and Jim Ryun, the first ever high schooler to run under four minutes in the mile, completed the race without the use of a pacer.
With such an impressive high school record, Martin could have gone to a number of other schools. So what made Martin choose to pursue a collegiate program at Virginia?
“I picked U.Va. because I really fell in love with the team culture,” Martin said. “So I feel like I’ve had a really good support system [here].”
That support system is crucial, especially as an out-of-state student who had seldom been to the South before his time at the University. However, despite growing up a few states away, the transition to Virginia was not as hard as one might think.
“We have quite a handful of people [and Philadelphia Eagles fans] on our team from the Philadelphia area,” Martin said.
Martin and former Virginia runner Shane Cohen, who signed with Nike as a professional runner last fall, watched the Super Bowl in the airport together on their way back from the Millrose Games. The Eagles’ win was the cherry on top for Martin’s incredible weekend.
After coming to Virginia in 2022, Martin’s cross country and track seasons were solid but not very notable. Martin had some positive performances and a few high profile moments, including a trip to the Olympic trials for the 1,500 meters, but he failed to qualify past the first round.
However, this past fall was a turning point, and Martin’s runs during the cross country season catapulted him into the collegiate conversation.
Martin’s breakout run came in the ACC Cross Country Championship last November in Cary, N.C. when he defeated two of the favorites for the race — seniors Parker Wolfe and Strand of North Carolina — and came away with the win. Martin set a course record and became the first Virginia runner to win the ACC title in cross country over the past 14 years.
Perhaps known better for his time in 1,500 meters and the mile, Martin’s 8k at cross country ACCs and 10k at NCAA D1 Cross Country Championships marked his growing strength in longer distance events.
He placed 13th overall at NCAAs, a significant jump from his finish the previous year in 219th.
Both Strand and Martin competed earlier this indoor season in the 3,000 meters at Boston University where Strand and Wolfe pulled away from Martin and the rest of the pack with Strand setting an NCAA record in the event. Martin might not have held onto them at the end, but he did drop 11 seconds from his personal and Virginia school record.
To say the very least, this year Martin has gone from a high performing collegiate athlete to a possible contender on an international level. So what has changed with his training this past year? Not much, both Martin and Vin Lananna, director of cross country and track and field, would tell you.
For context, a typical training plan for collegiate distance runners includes a mix of easier runs and long runs to build endurance, tempo runs and a couple hard workouts each week that focus on speed.
“It’s just a lot of consistent but maybe not flashy workouts,” Martin said.
Even so, while Martin’s typical week may not sound flashy to him, his week of training prior to the Wanamaker mile included a 13-mile long run — at a 6:29 mile pace — and a workout of 20x200 meters and an 800 at mile race pace. Martin has also focused on recovering from his intense schedule by keeping a close eye on nutrition, strength training and sleep.
Unlike many of the runners — and Olympians —- Martin competed against at the Wanamaker mile, whose full-time job is to be a runner, he also has to go to class five days a week, while also running close to 80 miles a week in the same amount of time. Even so, he does it all with a smile.
“Gary is the quintessential college athlete,” Lananna said. “He is a big team guy. He thinks about his own personal performances, but he also values his contributions as a member of the team.”
When Lananna asked him what events he would like to run at the NCAA Championship, Martin’s response was “whatever is best for the team.” Lananna also knows that Martin can deliver when needed and trusts Martin’s instincts on the track.
“The better the competition, the higher the stakes, the more pressure, the better he performs,” Lananna said.
The competition, particularly Strand, has definitely been a motivator for Martin as Strand’s time in the mile the week before Millrose confirmed to Martin he was capable of more.
“Seeing him do it, I knew I could do it now,” Martin said, “He's made me better as a runner, because, like, it's some runners you know are best at, like, kicking at the end or pushing from far out, but … he can win it in different ways.”
Off the track, Martin is busy majoring in American Studies and Media Studies, but has also taken the time to engage with the high school track community by announcing at meets like the Dogwood Track Classic, a competitive meet, held at Virginia’s Lannigan Field.
His interest in sports journalism, too, has been an important part of his identity. Martin occasionally writes for Citius Mag, where he will post about his track season or discuss up-and-coming high school runners.
“I've had people come up to me and say ‘I read your piece, your blog, and it was really interesting. And it helped me see my training in a different way,’” Martin said, “And I think that's really cool for me, because I can help people through running fast and maybe inspire people.”
Looking ahead to the rest of his indoor season, Martin still has a few goals left to secure. One high on his list is a team win at ACC Indoors.
“We were the ACC Outdoor champions last year,” Martin said. “So I think going indoors for ACC, especially, like it's going to be looking at how I can help my team, like what events I can run and what I have the best chance of winning in order to get points to the team.”
Even though Martin is focused on his team, he knows his individual performances will be an important determinant in an ACC Championship. There is likely to be at least another race between Strand and Martin either at ACCs or NCAAs, but, whether it is in the mile or the 3k, Martin is certainly anticipating it.
“I’m very excited for it,” Martin said when asked about a rematch, “You know the saying, iron sharpens iron.”
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