Meet the Coaches

Garrett Martin, Co-Head Coach

Coach Martin has been a runner since childhood, first hooked on racing after outpacing his dad in a hometown road race in Staunton, Virginia. He began coaching cross country and track at Lincoln Academy in 2015, growing the program from 18 to over 60 athletes. 

Coach Martin focuses on meeting each runner where they are while building a supportive, inclusive team culture where hard work and a sense of shared purpose leads to growth and success. While several LA runners have gone on to run in college, he is most proud of those team members who have developed a lifelong love of running and are constantly seeking to leave their school, community, and world a better place than they found it. 

Coach Martin was named Maine State Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2017 after guiding LA to its first Class B state title in 72 years. He is also a nine-time KVAC Coach of the Year and part of the coaching staff at Acadia Running Camp in Bar Harbor. 

He ran cross country and track at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in the steeplechase, and has relied on running to explore the world while working or studying in India, Ecuador, Japan, Guatemala, England, Russia, and the Mississippi Delta before settling in Maine. Beyond coaching, he serves as president and CEO of the Maine Center for Economic Policy and holds a master’s degree from Princeton University. His wife, Jenny Mayher, is Lincoln Academy’s Communications Director, and their children, Essie and Josiah—both LA cross country and track alumni—graduated from Bates and Tufts. 

Mary Boothby, Assistant Coach

Coach Boothby (aka Coach Mary or Mary) didn’t start running until much later in life…35! She attended Lincoln Academy, graduating in 1993. She played some tennis in high school but mostly wanted to be on stage singing musicals. Once she started running, though, it quickly became one of her favorite ways to explore the trails in midcoast Maine.

Mary’s family has owned Granite Hall Store since she was 7 years old. She and her sister Jane Frost now run the store and every summer employ a lot of local teens - runners and nonrunners alike. Mary lives in Bremen with her husband, Tom (a woodworker) and two daughters who both went to school at Lincoln. They have many pets including a tortoise and lots of chickens! 

She’s super excited to be a part of the team, getting to know this great group of kids and spending more time with the LA runners who help her scoop ice cream all summer.

Taylor Holmes, Assistant Coach

Coach Holmes, a 2018 Lincoln Academy graduate, found his way to running through the LA track and field program as a sophomore and joined the cross country team the following fall. Since then, he’s become a devoted fan of the sport at every level. He began coaching LA’s indoor and outdoor track teams in 2022–23 while working at the school as a substitute teacher and is excited to officially join the LAXC coaching staff this fall.

Known as the team’s statistician and historian, Coach Holmes has used his history background and hours as a study hall monitor to research LA’s track and cross country records. His work has expanded the Top Performers Lists and Hall of Fame archives to cover more than a century of results.

Taylor lives in Damariscotta and continues to run whenever he can between academic and professional pursuits. He is pursuing degrees in Political Science and English through the University of Maine and plans to pursue graduate study in the future. Outside of running, he can be found around town, at the YMCA lifting or mixing it up on the basketball court, or working alongside his father painting houses. He is very much looking forward to a great XC season!