Here’s your merit badge for pedantry: You are good at drawing attention to the little details that might actually change an outcome of a race. “In some games, I get down to one second after the starting signal. In others, there’s five or 10 seconds of waiting. That’s good and bad. It’s good because it gets me ready and then if I time it right, I can jump ahead and I have more of a chance of being successful,” said Martin, who is a two-time reigning champion. But after being successful for so long, he understands that it’s actually a good thing if he can’t move up to be in front on the starting signal. As an elite runner, Martin would be at a severe disadvantage if it was a head-to-head race to the finish line where he was behind the starting signal and others have more than one lap to catch him. For him, his best chance is to take a slower start and to be in the mix with the leaders until he has to really push it. To get ready for the meet, Martin got a few days’ worth of mileage into his legs to acclimate himself to the elevation. He was also encouraged to get in some longer runs at altitude to further acclimate his body. “It definitely takes some adjustment to the elevation and to do it for more than a half-mile, that’s definitely going to be a challenge,” he said. “But if you just take a little bit at a time and do it every day, it’s not that big of a deal.” Then there’s what he’s used to seeing at sea level. The time difference between sea level and nearly 9,000 feet is a lot. So as athletes like him get ready for this weekend, Martin said they must also pay attention to getting the oxygen exchange going. He wants to make sure that with the lungs and the body, it doesn’t get sluggish. “With the oxygen exchange you need to make sure that your body can catch up to the lack of oxygen because that lack of oxygen will make it harder to work your body,” he said. There are so many aspects that go into building to this meet, but the No. 1 thing is to just get in shape. “To be honest, you’re here to compete and then, you hope that you can compete with the best out here,” Martin said. Martin has been in Salt Lake City for a couple weeks to prepare for the U.S. Cross Country Championships and for Saturday’s 15K event, he said it was challenging to train at altitude because of the altitude-specific training. He’s been working with a personal trainer in Boulder, Colo., and has continued his training regimen to keep him on pace and at home in Utah. “So from there I get down here, I do all my normal workouts, some of the stuff that they’ve been telling me to do, but I just have to adjust my body and altitude is not so much the training aspect,” he said. “But it is the racing aspect. So, altitude is not a big deal until I get here and get into a race where I’m going to have to do something on it.” Having altitude as a coach means having to take a different approach to getting your body ready for a race. Martin said that’s key to his training and something he has a huge advantage over others in. But the biggest advantage comes with what Martin knows about himself, the advantages and disadvantages, and with the altitude, it’s clear he’s ready for the start of Saturday’s meet. In a nutshell, it comes down to this: He’s ready for anything. “I think that’s a great thing for cross country, it’s a great environment and every day they set it up to be the best it can possibly be, but at the same time, if you don’t put in the work and the right mindset, then you’re going to be like the rest of them.” The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Salt Lake City station of ABC 7.