After winning what he called his “first big race,” Gary Martin scanned social media comments for reaction. There, a few scrolls down on an Instagram post from a national media outlet, was the line that still makes the world-class runner chuckle.
“Amazing that art student from NYU got lost on the way to class and stumbled into winning nationals,” one user wrote under a post from Citius Mag announcing Martin’s victory in the championship mile of the 2022 New Balance National Indoor event in New York.
Three years later, Martin could still pass as a bookworm when he’s on the track. The junior University of Virginia student-athlete is easily recognized in competition because he’s typically out in front – and he’s rocking his signature black-rimmed glasses.
Martin smiles with pride after receiving All-America recognition at the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championship meet. (UVA Athletics photo)
“I’ve been called ‘The Running Nerd,’ all kinds of stuff,” Martin said. “I think it’s really funny. I’ve kind of leaned into it. I don’t let it affect my self-perception or my competitiveness at all. It brings a smile to my face.”
Samson had his long hair. Martin has his Ray-Ban frames.
The bespectacled star enters this weekend’s Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Championships fresh off running the world’s ninth-fastest mile ever on an indoor track – and 45th-fastest on any surface. The 3-minute, 48.82-second performance on Feb. 8 at the Millrose Games in New York – the second-best indoor mile in collegiate history – earned him National Athlete of the Week honors from the U.S. Track and Cross Country Association.
𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧😮💨
Gary Martin breaks his own Virginia school record in the mile clocking the SECOND FASTEST TIME IN COLLEGIATE HISTORY ➡️ 𝟯:𝟰𝟴.𝟴𝟮 !!!#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/bTzQOKlnqm— Virginia Track & Field and Cross Country (@UVATFCC) February 9, 2025
The organization recognized Martin again two weeks later for his role – running the 1,600-meter anchor leg in 3:50.09 – in UVA’s NCAA-record setting performance in the distance medley relay race at the Arkansas Qualifier in Fayetteville.
DMR weekend did not disappoint 👏
Wes Porter, Alex Sherman, Conor Murphy and Gary Martin = @USTFCCCA National Athletes of the Week!
🗞️: https://t.co/R1EUOZpqXw#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/40TZyY4KVI— Virginia Track & Field and Cross Country (@UVATFCC) February 24, 2025
Martin, who also won the ACC Cross Country Championship meet in the fall, said one key to his success is visualization. He likes to picture the race before it ever happens and imagine how he’d respond to all possible scenarios.
But once the gun goes off and reality sets in, it’s about actually seeing and reacting. Martin used to do this without glasses, until a hiccup during a relay race his freshman year of high school changed his approach.
“Everyone was coming in at once and a lot of teams were wearing black,” Martin said, describing the scene as he attempted to take the baton from his teammate, “and I couldn’t tell where our guy was. So, I’m squinting, trying to see him.
“I eventually got the baton, and it worked out fine, but that was the moment where I was like, ‘I’ve got to try wearing glasses to run.’”
He said he’s typically the only bespectacled runner in any given race.
Contacts were once an option, but Martin couldn’t get used to touching his eye. Rec Specs aren’t his thing, either. The spectacles he wears on the track are the same ones he wears walking Grounds as he pursues a media studies degree.
Martin breaks the finish line at the 2024 ACC Championship meet in Cary, North Carolina, cementing a league record time of 22 minutes, 17.6 seconds. He cleared the rest of the field in the 8-kilometer race by eight seconds. (UVA Athletics photo)
UVA director of track and cross country Vin Lananna calls Martin an “essential college athlete.” While Martin projects to have a long professional running career, he’s building a resume for a future in journalism.
The perennial All-ACC Academic Team member regularly contributes to Citius Mag, a running-focused online publication with more than 205,800 followers across X and Instagram, writing blog posts that range from firsthand accounts of his races to analyzing the best high school runners in the country.
Martin, whether in his native Philadelphia or in Charlottesville, has also been a volunteer announcer at youth track events.
“It’s one thing when I’m at a meet and people come up to me and recognize me for running fast and congratulate me on a result,” Martin said. “But I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘I read your piece, and it was really interesting and it helped me see my training in a different way.’ That’s really cool for me because I hope I can help inspire people.”
Anna Katherine Clay, an assistant professor of practice within UVA’s media studies department who spent a decade as a writer, reporter and producer for ESPN, envisions a “seamless transition” into sports journalism for Martin whenever he decides to follow that path.
Clay has had Martin in three courses in the last two years, including Athletes, Activism and the Media.
“He always participated and engaged with discussions,” Clay said. “When we had speakers, he would ask really great questions.
