Hey everyone! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Franco Martins. This year, I will be a senior going into cross-country season at the Windermere Preparatory School in Windermere, FL. First off, I would like to thank Todd for the opportunity of sharing my season with you, and I hope you all enjoy.
With the World Cup in full stride, I thought it might be fun to share my background and past season with you guys.
I was born in São Paulo, Brazil and moved to America at the age of 3. From the start, I had soccer in my veins; from youth squads to travel teams, I played soccer thorough my lower and middle school years. Upon arriving in high school, my freshman and sophomore years consisted of mostly soccer and tennis, though I was injured practically every other month. The summer coming into my junior year, I realized that apart from the team aspect of soccer and tennis, I wasn’t very fond of either sport. I believe that is what ultimately made me come to a realization that running is what I really enjoyed.
As summer began and I was still recovering from a stress fracture on my foot, that’s when I realized how much I loved running and that it was what I would focus on for the next two years of my high school career. Naturally, like any other runner, I had thought of the possibility of a state championship in the back of my head. Many people would probably say I had the “dream year” and “burst on to the scene” as I improved over a minute for the 5K and almost 40 seconds on the mile to end up with three state championships in the 1A class. This would have never been possible if it weren’t for the amazing competition I had all year and crazy supportive coaches, friends, and family that helped guide me along the way, so shout out to all of you. As crazy as it sounds, I hope I surprise everyone again this upcoming cross-country season.
The Golden South Classic last month marked the end of my junior track season with a new 1600 PR. After taking a week off to get my legs fresh and relaxing a bit, it was right back to the grind. Every day has been carefully planned so I don’t miss these amazing World Cup matches. Go Brazil! The World Cup and other international competitions get me fired up in a way nothing else really can, seeing all these athletes competing for their country on the biggest stage is a dream for everyone and must be an amazing feeling.
Summer training is a extremely important factor in the success of the upcoming cross-country season and, as the weeks go by, I’ll be posting here about the tips I use. These are, of course, just a few of the many keys to success, but they certainly do help. Hope you all enjoyed and stay tuned!
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