Geoff Martinson was dreading the thought of a return to Indianapolis.
Last year at this time the former Prince George Track and Field Club mid-distance runner went there to compete his specialty, the 1,500 metre event, and had to wait until 1:45 a.m. to race when heat and humidity brought thunderstorms that delayed the start. When he finally did race, his results were disappointing.
But on Saturday, there were no delays and Martinson made the most of his time on the track, winning the men's 1,500 metre race.
The 25-year-old, a Prince George secondary school graduate who went on to the University of Victoria, where he now makes his home, was upset at first when he learned he wasn't part of the fastest group of 1,500-metre runners, even though his 3:42.94 seed time ranked third quickest. But as it turned out, two of the runners in his heat set a blistering pace and Martinson used that to his advantage and qualified for the final, which he won in 3:34.58, edging second-place Brandon Bethke (3:40.42) of California and third-place Patrick Todd of Texas (3:43.50).
Martinson, an aspiring Olympian for 2012 in London, reported his thoughts after the race on his blog, at www.runmartinson.ca.
"Unofficially but hopefully official 3:39 mid," he said. "Second-fastest time and my first time under 3:40 since 2008! Damn this weird meet, but very happy right now!"
Martinson's next meet is the senior national championships in Calgary, June 22-25. The event will be broadcast nationally on CBC on Saturday, June 25 starting at 1 p.m.
