'I fell in love with running' Bay County girls runner of the year: Margaret Bartlow

North Bay Haven's Margaret Bartlow almost saw her cross country season cut short when she was hit with an illness that sidelined her for a month. The junior battled through and returned reinvigorated and ran her way to a fourth-place finish at the Class 2A Cross Country State Meet.

For all her efforts, Bartlow was named the Cross Country Girls Runner of the Year as voted by coaches around the county.

Noah Grays rise as dominant big man How Benching transformed Noah Gray into Bay County's most dominant big man

Goals Scoring Race neck and neck Goals Galore: Hill and Smith Dominate Bay County

"The honor means a lot because when I first got into running I had no idea what it was going to turn out to be," Bartlow said. "I am not a very athletic person, and I spent years trying to find a sport I fit in and running took over and is a really big deal for me."

Bartlow has seen her love for running grow and once she saw the potential she had she decided to embrace it and take the next step by attacking the offseason with several different methods of improvement.

"I try different things but what seems to work most for me is getting in easy miles and building up to a decent lineage once the season starts," Bartlow said. "In-season can be very difficult on the mind, so it is nice in the offseason to let yourself recharge and fall back in love with the sport."

The junior said she used to typically struggle with pre-race nerves but engineered a way to let her mind control her body instead of her body controlling her mind. Once she recovered from her midseason illness, Bartlow began each race with a renewed sense of gratitude to be able to race again.

"Margeret is an absolute beast, to her she has never done the best she can but she works and has put in the work to earn everything that she has," North Bay Haven cross country coach Osmond Ashman said.

One of the forever highlights of her young track career will be standing on the podium at state with a medal around her neck alongside some of the fastest girls in the country.

"I was up there with these legends I have been watching all season long and it was like 'oh my gosh they are so fast,'" Bartlow said. "Standing on the stage and getting my medal next to them was a crazy experience."

Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: north bay havens margeret bartlow bay county cross country runner of the year north bay haven state medal