Four-year varsity basketball starter, senior Hailey Wortmann is used to sprinting in short bursts across the court. After shifting her training to longer distances, she completed the 2026 Publix Atlanta Marathon on March 1 — her first full length marathon.
“I started running consistently around a year and half ago because I wanted another form of activity other than basketball,” Wortmann said. “That already gave me a good base to start with, and then around November, I started doing long runs to prepare for the marathon.”
Wortmann said long-distance running helped her to destress, and she quickly became obsessed.
“I started running to deal with my mental health struggles, and it gave me a good outlet to just let me think and distract myself from everything going on,” Wortmann said. “That is how I got hooked on the long-distance routes, because the longer I would run, the more time I gave my mind to decompress.”
Wortmann’s dad, Rich Wortmann, has seen the positive impacts running has had on Wortmann, especially when it comes to balancing her busy schedule.
“I think running has helped provide some balance between schoolwork, wrapping up her senior year of basketball, making big decisions about what to do after graduation, etc,” Rich Wortmann said. “When she was running, she was able to decompress and focus on the run, as opposed to everything else. This offered a positive outlet to channel some of that pressure into something productive and rewarding.”
Beyond finishing a marathon in just over three hours and thirty minutes, Wortmann hit her goal of earning the Ultimate Peach from the Atlanta Track Club.
“I wanted to earn the Ultimate Peach honor from the Atlanta Track Club, which is basically when you complete the Peachtree Road Race, Atlanta 10 miler, QQQ Thanksgiving half and Publix Full Marathon all in the same year,” Wortmann said. “I also figured it would be fun to do since I’m also graduating high school this year and just turned 18.”
Rich Wortmann has worked to help keep Wortmann motivated and trained alongside her, as well as ran the marathon with her.
“There was no chance I was going to keep pace with Hailey, but we got to spend time together going to Charlotte, which was a lot of fun,” Rich Wortmann said. “I also enjoyed talking to her about the thon and how her runs went. The common experiences we had formed a bond, and we can laugh about the different outcomes. Also, I felt like I made a small contribution to helping her get over some injuries that occurred during her training cycle. It was awesome to see her have such a strong race showing that the hard work paid off.”
Senior Katy Constantinides, Wortmann’s basketball teammate since sixth grade, has seen her grow as an athlete throughout her training.
“I think Hailey is really motivated by becoming the best version of herself in anything she does,” Constantinides said. “In her running journey, she’s achieved a lot in a short amount of time and is always training to be first in her age group. In basketball, she’s always stood out on the court as she’s in the best shape out of anyone and [which is unusual] for being a forward.”
Constantinides attributed Wortmann’s impressive finish to her natural diligence, which she said also shows on the basketball court.
“She is extremely dedicated and has a great work ethic,” Constantinides said. “As a teammate, I would say she definitely is the team’s source of energy. She’s always the one to bring a speaker and start a dance circle. During practices, she’ll make sure to encourage everyone after a mistake and motivate them to keep pushing through.”
Wortmann does not plan to slow down. She hopes to carry her momentum forward and one day qualify for the Boston Marathon, which has a 3-hour, 25-minute qualifying time for women aged 18-34.
“I definitely plan to continue running,” Wortmann said. “I want to train more seriously for my next marathon and try to qualify for bigger races like the Boston Marathon.”
