Gary Martin Drops 4:12 Polar Bear Mile

WYNDMOOR, PA -- The remarkable last year for Gary Martin continued with yet another head-turning performance.

This one came on a chilly day at LaSalle College High School for the first PCL Polar Bear meet of the season. Temperatures dipped into the low 30's, but that didn't seem to bother the Archbishop Wood junior. Martin went out aggressively and hung tough en route to a full mile victory in a time of 4:12.56.

"Honestly, I don't mind it," Martin said about competing in the cold weather. "It's not bad running weather today -- it's not too windy -- so it felt pretty good, just getting out and getting a nice little chilly run in."

Martin went out hard, coming through the halfway point in 2:04 -- right on his pre-race target -- and he held on well to finish in 4:12. His time is the 16th fastest outdoor full mile in Pennsylvania state history and certainly the fastest outdoor mile in state history in the month of January.

"I felt good (coming through the 800)," he said. "I knew it was going to be fast. I knew I was in shape to run it because I've nailed some good workouts the past couple weeks, but I was hoping for around 4:15, so when I saw I came through in 2:04 I knew I had a chance to beat that."

Martin's race on Saturday comes a week after he ran a very quick 8:36.61 for 3,000 meters at Holy Ghost Prep on a similarly cold (and more windy) day in Bensalem. All of this comes on the heels of a breakthrough cross country season that saw Martin win the PIAA Class AA state title at Hershey and then drop a 14:52 XC 5K at a national-caliber meet in Alabama.

Next up for Martin will be a trip down south to compete at the East Coast Invitational at the new Virginia Beach facility.

Watch the race above and check out meet links and the results of the boys mile, as well as a post-race interview with Martin below.

• Complete Results
• Race Videos