Running has helped McKayla Martin prepare mentally for entering UT
Senior moments in 2020
McKAYLA MARTIN
Imagine, though, being between those two worlds, right on the cusp of graduating from one to the other by – well, graduating.
McKayla Martin is a senior at Clinton High School. She’s a cross-country runner who was planning on running track this spring.
“I’ve been running cross country since my junior year,” said Martin. “I’ve always loved running. I used to play soccer in middle school, and I took a break from that and decided to just focus on running. I ran cross country in middle school, too, but just had a change of interest, I guess. Running is my number one stress reliever. It’s one of those things where I go for a run after I have a rough day and it really helps clear my mind a little bit and just get me into the right headspace.
“It’s definitely been a positive thing for me. It’s one of those things where you know you have a bad day at school and for me the best thing was always getting to go for a run, because I knew after that I could focus on what I needed to do.”
Martin said her biggest accomplishment has actually come this year by way of cross country.
“I shaved three minutes off of the best time I’ve ever run. I think the best I’d ever run before was 24 [the time for 3.2 miles], which is a big accomplishment to me. I had a change of heart this year and decided this was going to be the year where I really pushed myself, especially during quarantine, since I had a lot of time to train.”
Martin said she got into both running and soccer because of her mother.
“My mom actually played soccer in college so I just grew up playing soccer with her. My mom also runs a lot now, so some Saturdays she would ask if I wanted to go on a run with her and I just got into it and figured out I liked running more than playing soccer.”
Martin was recently accepted to her “dream school,” the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she plans to study biochemistry along with cellular and molecular biology. She doesn’t think she’ll run at the next level, but said that Clinton has definitely prepared her for the next step.
“I owe so much to the ROTC program at my school because coming in as a freshman and trying to figure out high school was hard,” she said. “If you’re able to find a group that you like and that treats you like you’re one of them, you’re a mile ahead of everyone else.
“I came in really shy without a lot of friends. but ROTC changed that and helped me build up my confidence and figure everything out. I owe all that to the ROTC program and the kids in there.”
When asked if there was one teacher in particular who stuck out in her mind, Martin said Coach Kumes, the coach of the cross-country team and the ROTC instructor.
“In both cross country and ROTC, he’s just taught me so many lessons that I’ve applied to my life now and also later,” she said.
“He’s just such an amazing guy. Something I’ve really learned is what he calls the ‘circle of five.’ The five people who you choose to be around you and how each person has an impact on you and how important it is to let the right people around. You are the people you hang around with, and so it’s important to choose them wisely, and that’s something I’ve applied in my life so far.”
When asked if there were any lessons that she’d learned and would like to leave to her younger classmates, David said she hopes they will keep going.
“I would leave them with the advice, as generic as it might sound: Don’t ever give up. High school can be really exhausting sometimes, but you just have to make yourself keep going and believe in yourself.
“The only person that can ever do what you’re doing is you, and you have to realize that and be confident enough to do what you’re put here to do.”
When asked what she thought she was “put here to do,” Martin said:
“Good question. I’m still trying to figure that out.”
Everyone struggles to figure themselves out, though, and high schoolers especially are trying to make their way in the world.
Still, Martin wanted to make sure she thanked her teachers for everything they’ve done.
“I’d just like to say thank you for continuing to push me to be the best version of myself,” she said.
“I would just like to thank them for doing whatever they could to make sure their students can be successful and for always putting their students first and genuinely caring about us.”
