Lockdown running leads to full scholarship

Sport Youth

Poppy Martin only started running competitively three years ago and she’s already recognised as one of New Zealand’s best.

What started as a fun whānau lockdown activity and friendly sibling rivalry for Poppy (Ngāti Whakaue/Te Arawa) and her brothers, has now become a serious career path that is taking her around the world.

The Rotorua 18-year-old has recently returned from Serbia where she competed as part of the New Zealand team at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships and is now preparing to head to California to begin a full four-year scholarship at the University of San Francisco.

Growing up, the former John Paul College Head Girl had wanted to be a professional athlete. However, up until a few years ago she thought her pathway would be in hockey, with dreams of representing New Zealand in the sport at the Olympics.

“I did reps hockey, and I played club hockey and everything like that, and played for my high school. It wasn't until lockdown [in 2020] that I started running with my brothers,” Poppy said.

“I think [the friendly sibling rivalry is] what got me into the sport of running . . it was pretty fun just challenging them all the time.”

It wasn’t until a regional cross country competition held in Whakatāne after lockdown that Poppy advanced from “runs around the block”. She placed second in that race – much to the surprise of many at the event. After that race she was introduced to coach Jason Cameron, who has been coaching her since October 2020.

“One of the marshalls on the sideline was standing next to my dad . . . and he goes, ‘Wow, who's that girl running up the front there?’.

“No one expected to see me because they’d never heard of my name before.”

Since then, Poppy’s name has become a regular feature in event top placings.

“I run track in the summer and cross country in the winter, and occasionally a small road season in the spring. My favourite at the moment is definitely track.

“I think I enjoy the track so much because of the tactics behind it. I love cross country because it's just pure grit. You just put your head down and get to work but track is a bit of fun because you can kind of play around with when you're going to make your move, sitting on someone's tail waiting for that right time running from the front being bold.”

In February the Lake City Athletics Club member raced the New Zealand U23 1000m race at the Porritt Classic in Hamilton. Not only did she win her race, she secured a nine second personal best with a time of 9:45.23 and her first national title on the track.

As a competitive runner, Poppy has a busy training schedule. She has always been driven but says her whānau support has played a massive part in her successes.

“[Training is] every day, it's multiple times a day, it's every week back-to-back all season, every season. You have to have discipline for it. It's a big commitment but I do it because I love it.

“Every training, my parents are always there to ask me how it went. If I'm feeling a little bit unmotivated, Dad will come out on the bike with me.

“My whānau support has been massive. My parents have done so much for me, they're my rock.”

She also highlights Rotorua’s resources as another factor.

“I think growing up in Rotorua has had so much to do with my love for running. I pretty much do all my training runs in the forest. I’m so lucky to have it on my back doorstep.”

Poppy’s parents Grant and Min Martin are very proud of their daughter’s achievements but more so proud of the person she is. He was excited about the opportunities she would have through her scholarship.

“To know Poppy is to love Poppy,” Grant says.

“Poppy works so hard and she’s so motivated. She was really focused on this and the opportunities are just amazing,” he said.

Although Poppy won’t have Rotorua’s resources or her whānau with her in San Francisco, she’s excited for her next journey.

“I've talked with the head coach and the assistant coach, I really clicked with him. I really liked his values and what he thought makes a good team, what makes a good athlete and I could just tell that he cared about me more than just an athlete. He thought about me being a student, being a human, being an international student coming from halfway around the world.