Considered One of the Best to Ever Run, Gary Martin Epitomizes the Essence of a Student-Athlete

Toeing the line with some of the best in the event, Martin knew his work was cut out for him. The race was led by none other than the newly minted world record holder, Yared Neguse, with his time of 3:46.63. Running the first half mile in last place, Martin started clipping off runners in the latter half of the race to finish fifth overall.

“I was proud of myself because I adjusted pretty well when I didn’t get out that well,” said Martin. “I settled in and when the pack started to string out a little bit, I knew it was time to go so I worked my way up to eventually finish in fifth and I was really happy with how I ran it.”

“Gary’s race epitomizes big-time performance,” said UVA assistant distance coach Trevor Dunbar. “He was up against a world-class field and proved he belonged. A major statement to his fitness and confidence.”

Not only did he put himself in the conversation with some of the best to ever run, but Martin also held pace with four men setting national records, including Yared Neguse (American, 3:46.63), Cam Myers (Australian, 3:47.48), Azeddine Habz (French, 3:48.56) and Andrew Coscoran (Irish, 3:49.26).

“I am super grateful to be part of that conversation,” said Martin. “I thought that was a time I was capable of running in my training and progression. I have wanted to be running at this level for a while now, but I think when you actually go out and do it and look around, I am getting to race against Yared Neguse, who is an Olympic bronze medalist, and I am running a time that is just off the indoor world record. When I put it that way, that is when it starts to become pretty surreal.”

“For a young athlete to be able to run that fast while in college and be fifth is really pretty impressive,” said Vin Lananna, Virginia’s director of track & field and cross country. “Those were 11 of the best runners in the world and for him to finish fifth, and that doesn’t include all those that didn’t run at the Millrose Games. It was not like it was a time trial race, it was a good competitive performance.”

His success in the Big Apple did not stop there, as Martin went on to record a new personal best in the men’s 1500-meter race to finish in eighth place with his time of 3:33.41. He eclipsed the 40-year-old Virginia record in the non-NCAA event by more than 10 seconds. The previous record was held by John Hinton at 3:45.04 from 1985. He also broke the NCAA record in the event. For his performances, Martin garnered ACC Athlete of the Week and National Athlete of the Week honors.

His performance comes as no surprise as Martin opened the 2024-25 indoor season at Boston University’s Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener (Dec.6) where he broke his own Virginia record in the men’s 3000-meter race, clocking 7:36.09. The race was led by none other than one of Martin’s ACC foes, North Carolina’s Ethan Strand, and his collegiate record-breaking performance. With that, Martin was able to dip under the previous collegiate record of 7:36.42 from 2023 and record the fifth-fastest time in collegiate history in the event.

“For Gary, he has good instincts and is a great competitor,” Lananna said. “The better the competition, the higher the stakes, the more pressure, the better he performs so as a coach of many years and knowing that sometimes it’s best to get out of the way and let him run, that is exactly what I did.”

UVA’s coaches knew Martin was primed for a big race. “His training had gone exceptionally well all of January, and we knew there was more in the tank after the Penn Elite meet,” said Dunbar. “Still, to see 3:48 and #8 all-time in the world was beyond expectations, but the signs for greatness were always there. I have my complete confidence in Gary’s abilities.”

The fierce competitor Martin is, he has always been. A native of Warminster, Pa., Martin attended Archbishop Wood, where he first met his high school coach, Paul Streleckis, and began to take running more seriously. “When he first came, he didn’t have much of a background in track,” said Streleckis. “He started out as more of a sprinter, and he made the district meet as a 400-meter runner.”

Finding his calling at the distance events, the 18-year-old Martin broke the 4-minute mile barrier in his senior year at the 2022 Philadelphia Catholic League Championships, running 3:57.98. He broke Jim Ryun’s record of 3:58.3 set in 1965 and became the first Pennsylvania high school athlete to run sub-4 for a mile. Ryun was the first high school student to run a sub-4 mile without a pacer, running 3:59.00 in Wichita, Kan. in 1964. At the time, Martin’s 3:57.98 was the fastest high school mile run in a field of only high school students as Alan Webb, Drew Hunter and Ryun ran faster but in a field of professionals.

Competing at a level above the rest, even in high school, it would have been easy for Martin to focus on himself rather than the team. This was simply not his style as he was always willing to help others on the team succeed as well.

Streleckis recalls the time Martin was a member of the 4×800-meter relay team that qualified for the state championships, at which Martin wanted to compete in as many events as needed to help the team to a title. “Things he doesn’t really have to do,” said Streleckis. “He could have just done things individually, but he was willing to do some of those things [to help others] and I actually had to hold him back.”

“Track and field is a team sport but when you are in the race what is going to benefit the team is you doing your best individually,” said Martin in response to his ‘team guy’ mentality. For which Lananna said he believes “Gary is the quintessential college athlete. He is a big team guy, and he thinks about his own personal performances, but he also values his contributions as a member of the team.”

Anchoring the distance medley relay (DMR) to another record breaking performance at the Arkansas Qualifier, Martin exemplified his team mentality. The relay team of Wes Porter, Alex Sherman, Conor Murphy and Martin combined efforts to record the fastest time in the world, the second fastest ever run clocking 9:14.19. Their time broke the collegiate record, Arkansas Qualifier meet record, Randal Tyson facility record and the school record. Martin anchored the team to victory running 3:50.09 for 1600-meters.

Making the shift from high school to college can be tricky, but the tactical nature of the collegiate scene works to his benefit. “He trained at a high level in high school, but there is a big difference from being a high school superstar to making that smooth transition over to competing against many people who are just as good,” said Lananna.

Going into the ACC Indoor Championships, there were question marks next to what event(s) Martin would pursue. “You go to the conference meet and it’s not always about running fast but what gives you the best shot to win,” Martin said.

“The fact is that he has the opportunity to run lots of different events at the conference meet and the NCAAs,” said Lananna. “When he and I talked about what that might be, his first question was whatever is best for the team is what I would like to do.”

“Gary is all about the team,” said Dunbar. “He gets just as excited when Jeremiah Nubbe throws a big weight throw or Alex Sherman hits a PR as he does when the distance guys race. That team-first attitude permeates to everyone.”

Every point matters in a competitive conference such as the ACC. “Going into ACC indoors it is going to be what I can do to help the team, what events I can run and have the best chances of winning to get points for the team,” said Martin. “So, I need to refine my race tactics and be aggressive and want to go out and win and really just put myself out there.”

Put himself out there and win is exactly what he did. Martin won gold in the 3000-meters in ACC Championship meet record time clocking 7:36.69. Also at the championships, Martin brought home the silver medal in the men’s 5000-meters crossing the line in 13:30.69. With his time, Martin was able to dip under the previous ACC Championships meet record of 13:47.85 from 2022 by Matthew Carmody of Notre Dame. He also bested the Virginia school record in the event of 13:31.87 set in 2024 by his former teammate, Yasin Sado. The Virginia men finished runner-up in the team standings scoring a total of 75 points, marking the program’s best finish since a runner-up finish in 2017.

Taking the indoor scene by storm, Martin made his career Bowerman Watchlist debut announced by The Bowerman Men’s Watch List Committee in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Thursday, March 6. The Bowerman award is collegiate track and field’s most prestigious award honoring collegiate track & field’s top male and female athlete for the year.

In preparation for the postseason, both coach and protégé admit it is more than the workouts on the track that builds great performances. It is not all about flashy workouts but rather the component of consistency and “putting the work in and seeing small gains day in and day out in practice and knowing that I am ready,” said Martin. “And off the track, physically, making sure I am eating healthy and getting sleep and giving my body every chance possible to recover because the more I recover the higher level I can train at.”

As part of taking his recovery seriously, Martin highlights the importance of the mental side of sports “by mentally preparing myself to be in the conversation with these guys, building myself up and being confident in myself. I think even if you can do it physically if you don’t believe in yourself and you don’t believe you are able to do it you are not going to be able to run.

When looking at schools, a large component for Martin was the guys on the team and the team culture. “They build me up and make me feel confident that I can go out and compete really well both off the track and on the track.” Alongside his teammates are Dunbar and Lananna. Martin said they “tactically and training-wise are great coaches and prepare me physically to train, but I think they also do a very good job of making me know that I am in the shape to go compete and making me feel confident.”

Being the “quintessential college athlete,” as Lananna dubbed him, is not a title garnered solely by his performance on the track. More than a star athlete, Martin is a model student. Recently named the ACC Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year, he takes pride in his academics, and he’s working toward a degree in media studies with a minor in psychology.

“Time management is big,” said Martin. “Running takes up a lot of time and whenever I am not running, I am trying to get as much sleep as possible and eat as healthy as possible. I think I have gotten good at locking in when I need to and getting my work done on time and then taking time to decompress and give myself time to do nothing.”

A four-time All-ACC Academic Team, two-time ACC Academic Honor Roll and CSC Academic All-District honoree, Martin tries to find balance in the chaos of the student-athlete life. As someone who is trying to do well in the classroom and compete at the highest level, “I think giving yourself time to get everything done and giving yourself time decompress mentally so that you can go as hard as you can whenever you need to accomplish stuff in the classroom and on the track,” he said. “I think that is equally important.”

An important turn in Martin’s career came just this past cross country season as the junior won the 2024 ACC title in meet record time, breaking the tape at 22:17.6 for 8k. Martin finished nearly 10 seconds ahead of the field to become just the third Cavalier in program history to win the ACC individual title, alongside Ryan Foster (2008) and Emil Keineking (2009, 2010).

Comparing his record-setting race at the Millrose Games, Martin admits it is up there with winning the conference cross country championships. “Anytime you can run a race that fast [Millrose Games], I think it is pretty special, and I would even look at things not as big as this like winning the ACC Cross Country Championship,” said Martin. “That was a huge personal feat because that was my first big cross country win….This is right up there with that, to be No. 2 in the NCAA and at the time No. 8 in the world, it is pretty incredible to do that while I am in college.”

Lananna noted the only difference between Martin and his professional competitors in New York was “the fact he goes to class every day and has to prepare for it and do work. He has done all the things a high-end athlete would do at the same time taking classes at a high level as well.”

Martin came to Virginia to be great, not only on the track but also in life, and Lananna believes he “has taken advantage of all that UVA does. Gary has taken advantage of whether it is the volunteerism in town, he takes advantage of the academic opportunities, he really loves the sport and he loves kids.” From announcing baseball games growing up to finding his passion for writing for outlets such as CITIUSMAG and his 76ers blog, Martin has grown to “represent everything that is so great about college athletics,” according to Lananna.

After completing his degree, Martin has contemplated getting into coaching, and Streleckis “thinks he would be awesome at it. He is very encouraging and just the way he recovers from things and his attitude.” Lananna echoes Martin’s potential, saying “he is very popular. His ability to command and take control of a conversation and think on his feet is really good.”

For now, Martin has the indoor national championships to look forward to ahead of the outdoor season. “I know I am in shape to run really fast, and I am really confident and know I can run fast but still hungry because I still need to prove myself in a more tactical and fast race,” said Martin. “I think the pieces are there, so I am excited to get the chance to prove myself in different kinds of races and actually go compete for a NCAA title.”

Last season, Martin finished second in the mile clocking 3:56.15 at the 2024 Indoor ACC Championships, finishing just between the North Carolina duo of Parker Wolfe and Strand. He came back a little over two hours later to finish third in the 3000-meters with a time of 7:54.59. At the 2024 Indoor NCAA Championships, Martin suffered a tough fall in the final turn of the race to ultimately finish 10th and earn second-team All-American honors. In just one weeks’ time, he is slated to toe the line in the 3000-meters and run a leg of the DMR at the 2025 Indoor NCAA Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.

In his first-ever indoor mile race donning the orange and blue, Martin finished 16th crossing the line in 3:56.83 at the 2023 David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston, Mass. Fast forward to this year where he will be remembered as one of the greatest to ever run the eight-lap race.

Feeling as though he has only just scratched the surface, Martin attributes the many ups and downs since coming to college as part of his success with “a lot of growth and learning from having to run tactical races and figuring out the strategy of the sport.”

When asked what advice he would give his younger self, Martin said to “be patient, be consistent and realize that things are not always going to come easy, and it is not always going to be a linear progress. Sometimes you are going to hit bumps, have bad races, have bad seasons, but you just have to keep pushing and don’t give up.”

Martin “has the heart and the mind of a champion, and I believe that the sky is the limit,” Lananna said.