SUBWAY FEATURED STUDENT: MARTIN FLORES, HAGERMAN

Martin Flores of Hagerman started running in the sixth grade and he hasn’t stopped since then.  He pretty much has the competition in his rearview mirror most of the time.

“It just started off as something you do as a middle schooler,” explained Flores.  “It started as the mile run in PE, then the coaches told me ‘Hey, you’re pretty good.  You should try out for track.’  So, I went out and I enjoyed it.  I wasn’t the best my seventh-grade year.  But that’s what ate at me and got me going hard.”

“I like the adrenaline, I like how I feel when I’m running.  You gotta use every bit of your body to get to the finish line.”

He runs track and cross country.  Flores enjoys them both, but prefers the variety of events at track.  “I feel like I can do any sort of distance, but I prefer to stay 5K or lower.”  He finished third in cross country last season and went undefeated on the track, winning the 800m, 1600m and 3200m events.  He was a repeat winner at state in two of those events.  This coming spring, Martin is looking for three in a row in the mile and two-mile races.  “I feel like I have a good chance.  I feel like I’m still strong.”

“This past year I didn’t think I was going to win my two-mile. I had done 4-5 events before that on Friday and Saturday.  I was really tired.  I usually lead the races and that day I wasn’t leading the race.  I was like, ‘Maybe this is the day I lose.’  It came out how I wanted it to come out and I actually won it.”

Flores says he would like to explore competing at indoor track.