NathanMartin

Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier who in 2020 ran the fastest marathon by a Black man born in the United States. Martin ran 2:11:05 to finish ninth at The Marathon Project in Chandler, Ariz., surpassing Herm Atkins’ 41-year-old mark of 2:11:52 set in 1979. He also bettered his own personal best by nearly three minutes at the time.

This year, he bettered that personal best again, finishing fourth at the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn., in 2:10:45.

Martin also finished 69th at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta and 23rd at the 2016 Trials in Los Angeles. He was the runner-up at the 2019 USATF 20K Championships.

Martin grew up with six sisters and has endured some tough challenges in recent years, losing both of his parents to cancer. He discovered his love for running in middle school, when his P.E. teach hosted a mile challenge in gym class. He wasn’t the fastest kid at first, but by eighth grade was winning every race. He went on to race for Spring Arbor University, where he won the NAIA 10,000 and marathon titles in his senior year within a 32-hour period, breaking the NAIA record in the latter. He works as a substitute teacher and coach.

Race History