TOLEDO – There never has been a serious injury. Nothing major has kept Treyton Marty from toeing the line at a golf course or 5,000-meter trek through a wooded area for a cross country race.
Yet nagging stuff like sickness once hampered the Toledo High School star distance runner. One instance two years ago opened his eyes to reconsider his training regime.
“I came into state with no running the past week, just (was) pale,” Marty recalled. “It was bad.”
Fast forward two years and those days are a thing of the past as Marty enters his senior primed for a banner three months in chasing his first ever individual state championship in Class 1B/2B.
Third a year ago at state, Marty begins as likely the second fastest runner back this fall behind Dexter Delaney of Liberty Bell.
There’s a host of seniors that ran sub-16 minutes, 50 seconds a season ago, paced by Reardan’s Gabe Brewster.
“My expectations are really high,” Marty said. “I trust my training and I really feel something big is about to happen.”
That sophomore year state meet in Pasco was an aberration rather than the norm. Marty claimed six victories, including the C2BL Championships. He finished second in his first 5k of the year and at the district meet.
Then came state, where he placed 24th in 18:01.70, the third slowest time of his season. Things were in the midst of changing that summer.
Marty’s diet took a turn for the better as did his sleeping habits and schedule.
“That’s the most underlooked part of training, what you put into your body and how you treat your body,” Marty stated.
Coupled with an increase in mileage to around 45-to-50 per week, Marty laid the foundation for a stellar junior season.
He repeated as the C2BL champ, earned another runner-up finish at districts and punctuated the campaign by leading for portions of the state meet and placing third in 16:32.80.
At the Nike Hole in the Wall Invite, he also set a new lifetime best time of 16:23 flat.
“I just want him to finish really strong,” Toledo head coach Kyle Askin said. “I want to see him succeed. One of the cool things of how much running he has done, he naturally grows as a leader. I put a lot of work on him to help lead the younger kids.”
Monday was the first day of cross country practice and Marty led the way for team stretches before a warmup and closing with a one-mile time trial Askin does at the start of every season.
Coincidentally, a mile race is being used as a teaching lesson for Marty. During the 1,600-meter run in Yakima in May, Marty was the rabbit for the race before falling into the chase pack and ended up sixth.
“I definitely should have played it smart,” Marty said. “This summer has been a real confidence booster.”
Askin believes the ceiling for his star runner is high. What remains to be seen is if there will be front of the line competition in meets.
Adna grad Jordan Stout and former Winlock runner Chase Trodahl were always in the front battling with Marty. The top expected returner in 2B is Rainier’s Zach Hamilton.
“We’ll know in a few weeks,” Askin said. “That will make him a better runner if he is pushed.”
The future for Marty does have running in the picture, but a final destination is unclear. He did state he wants to run in Montana, preferably near Missoula. Montana Western has reached out to him.
For now, his sole focus is a senior season that he wants to end with a bang.
“A successful season would be really far up at state, either (first) or (second),” Marty said. “I want to make it a really good race (at state). It is going to be a tough goal, but I think I’m getting close.”
