It was an early Saturday afternoon: Nov. 30, 2024. Anxious runners were lacing up their boldly colored sneakers. In the midst of it all, Tamalpais High School senior Emma Gardner stood still. Her crisp, black, Tam state championship jersey stood out in a sea of neon running gear. Gardner toed the line, surrounded by unfamiliar faces, but a familiar setting. No other girls from Tam’s cross country team had qualified, yet this marked Gardner’s fourth state championship. She would have to do it alone. The gun sounded and a flurry of girls were off, a brutal 3 miles stretching out in front of them, determining if they were State Championship material.
“I felt really confident because I knew that I had done the training, so I got out really fast and stayed calm for the first 2 miles,” Gardner said, reflecting on her mid-race thoughts. “The last mile was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
Gardner crossed the finish line confidently. One of her coaches, Martin Langeveld, was waiting for her with news that would change everything. She had broken Tam’s 5k record.
“Tam has been blessed with some really talented runners in recent years. Emma is now part of that legacy,” Langeveld said. “She’s one of the best runners to come through our program, so we knew she would do great things.”
A year ago, Gardner’s running career seemed uncertain. Her hip bones were inflamed. This painful injury crippled her 2023 cross country season, and her seemingly unbreakable cheery mindset. Playing two varsity sports during 2022 had taken a toll on Gardner’s body, and her overuse injury was the price she paid. Not being able to run, let alone walk fast, gave Gardner lots of time to reflect on her athletic career at Tam.
As a freshman, Gardner felt welcomed to the cross country team with open arms. With her twin brother Caeden Gardner by her side, she felt invincible.
“Even though I was pretty bad, I actually got my sister to join, and as soon as she joined, she was better than me within a week,” Caeden Gardner said.
The Tam Cross Country environment was the ideal balance of work and play. The harder the workout, the more the team bonded. Emma Gardner started off strong, coming close to the freshman cross country records, and breaking the freshman record for the 800 meter race in track and field.
This momentum catapulted Emma Gardner through her sophomore year, where she ran another outstanding season. She was just seconds off the 1600 meter school record. Sadly, due to her injury, sophomore year track and field would be the last time Emma Gardner would run until over a year later.
“I genuinely didn’t think I was gonna be able to come back stronger and thought that I would have to deal with my injury for life,” Emma Gardner said.
“It was devastating to see Emma’s running career derailed by her injury. She’s such a fierce competitor, and it’s always difficult for elite athletes when they’re told that they can’t train or compete,” Langeveld said.
Watching her junior season slip away was heart wrenching for Emma Gardner: “Junior year, especially for kids that wanna get recruited, is the most vital time,” she said.
As she sat on the sidelines of each cross country race, and then each track meet, Emma Gardner hoped that her lack of a junior season didn’t sideline her from a running career in college. She kicked her recovery into action, trying anything and everything. Emma Gardner was determined to run before her senior season started, hopefully putting her on the radar of certain Division I schools.
“I had to see a specialist and fly to LA every 2 weeks to get lidocaine, saline, and cortisone injections. I had to miss school: it took over a year,” Emma Gardner said. Her family was in for the long haul, supporting her every step of the way.
“I like to tell Emma before she races: ‘You know who you are, these girls ain’t nothing. Prove it to them: that you’re just better.’ And almost every single time she just goes and whoops the competition,” Emma Gardner’s twin brother Caeden Gardner said.
This reliable support system is what got Emma Gardner through her injury. All of the missed practices and incomplete races, her twin was there for her. Emma Gardner started to recover, building up her pelvic strength through physical therapy and rest.
It was raining hard the day Emma Gardner stepped onto the soggy Tam track. Her vibrant Nike running shoes were pristine, after all, she hadn’t worn them in 12 months. Today was the day she would run for the first time since her injury. Emma Gardner smiled, the rain drenching her nylon running clothes. She was back.
After a brisk mile, Emma Gardner returned to her car, satisfied and completely soaked with rainwater, but she couldn’t care less.
This sport, despite all of its shortcomings and injury inducing obstacles, had given Emma Gardner the greatest gift of all. It had brought her and her twin brother closer together.
“We’re just always holding little goals above each other’s heads, which is friendly motivation to see who’s the best in the family,” Caeden Gardner said.
To Santa Clara University, Emma Gardner was one of the best runners they had seen. On Nov. 3, 2024, Emma Gardner committed to the NCAA Division I school. She chose Santa Clara because the “team felt just like the Tam team. They were all so bonded and you could tell that they were having fun,” she said.
For Emma Gardner, the 2024 cross country season brought the Tam team closer together than they had ever been in her four years. Which is why, on that cold Saturday afternoon on Nov. 30, Emma Gardner felt isolated on the State Championship starting line.
Her worries quickly dissipated as she zoomed through the course. She spotted the end up ahead, her vision blurring as she went for her final kick, a hail mary towards the finish line. Ponytail swinging, she crossed the line, collapsing in front of her coach.
That’s when Tam’s cross country and track and field head coach Phil Oreste told Emma Gardner that, not only had she ran a personal record, she was now going down in Tam history as the fastest girl to ever run the 5k. With this lasting impression left on the Tam running community, Emma Gardner was more than satisfied, she was ecstatic.
This 2025 track season, Emma Gardner is back and ready for more. We would expect nothing less.
