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Olympian Brenda Martinez speaks honestly about growing up poor

Brenda Martinez is now an Olympic-caliber athlete. But, as she discusses, it's important to never forget where you came from.

 

“Note to #MyFutureSelf: Never forget where you came from. Remember when your parents chose to buy Christmas presents over paying the electricity bill or when they stayed up all night making tamales to sell so you could travel to youth track meets. Never forget when Coach Carlton and Coach Tierney paid for you to attend XC camp. Remember the day when UC Riverside offered you a scholarship to run and you succeeded by placing 2nd in the 1500m at NCAA, but failed the next year. Recall the day your agent called and said New Balance believed in your potential. Reminisce on the moment Coach Vigil agreed to coach you and all that it took to win a Bronze medal at the World Championships. Remember the tragedy of not making the 800m US team, how it led to the moment where you made your dreams come true; when you became an Olympian. Never forget, your life is indebted to those that helped create the life you have. And when it’s all said and done I hope you can ask yourself: Can you look back at your life and know you did everything possible to help others? To all my followers: What would you tell your future self?” #MyFutureSelf Photo Credit: @blairphotog

A photo posted by BRENDA MARTINEZ (@bmartrun) on

If you’re following any elite track and road athletes on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, there’s a good chance that you have come across the #MyFutureSelf posts. In a new New Balance campaign, elite athletes are writing mini letters to their future selves to motivate, inspire and encourage the best versions of themselves for 2017. So far, we’ve seen several uplifting messages but just this week, we saw one which we thought was the best so far.

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On her Instagram feed, middle distance runner Brenda Martinez (who ran the the U.S. in the women’s 1,500m in Rio in summer) wrote about growing up in a low income family. 

“Never forget where you came from. Remember when your parents chose to buy Christmas presents over paying the electricity bill or when they stayed up all night making tamales to sell so you could travel to youth track meets,” she wrote. “Never forget when Coach Carlton and Coach Tierney paid for you to attend XC camp.”

Despite struggling when she was younger, Martinez, 29, earned herself a podium position at the 2013 World Championships. That year, she took home a bronze medal in the 800m. 

Going in to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, she was one to watch in the 800m again but after getting involved in a collision on the track in the Olympic Trials, she failed to secure a spot in the race. There was good news for her in the Olympic year though. She ran well in the 1,500m and competed for her country on the track in Rio. Unfortunately though, she did not make it past the semi-finals. 

While obstacles may present themselves, her recent social media post clearly demonstrates that she is capable of keeping a positive attitude to overcome hard moments. 

RELATED: Heartfelt and inspiring moment awes crowd at Olympic Trials

“Remember the tragedy of not making the 800m US team, how it led to the moment where you made your dreams come true; when you became an Olympian,” she wrote. “Never forget, your life is indebted to those that helped create the life you have.”

The track star’s full note to her future self is in her Instagram caption above. 

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