Meagan Martin on her Qualifying buzzer: ‘It felt like pure happiness.’

You ever doubted Meagan Martin’s gritty determination, just watch her American Ninja Warrior season 13 Qualifiers run.

The seasoned veteran and Women’s Champion had a run full of bumps and roadblocks. And yet, she still gifted us with an important milestone: The first buzzer of the season for a woman.

The run had us more than on the edge of our seats. We were basically on the floor with anticipation and anxiety. Meagan tripped as she approached the startline and endured a few scary moments on the course. But Meagan preserved no matter what. She hung on to Pretzel Twist with a resolve that could move mountains. It all led to an emotional buzzer.

Before and after her run, we had the chance to catch up with Meagan to learn more about what’s different for her this year and what she’s planning for next.

How an injury shaped her training for this season

“One of the things that have happened (since season 12) is in January, I injured my finger. So as far as my training goes, it’s been a little different. I actually think I’ve trained more (Ninja Warrior) than I usually do. I’ve trained like two times a week for the last month and a half.

But because of my finger, I’ve had to focus on trying to get through things without as much strength. Mainly just trying not to hurt it worse. I have to do things differently. Which, from a technical standpoint, I think it’s actually been helpful in a lot of ways. I’m a little more efficient. It was a cool approach to have. It’s changed the whole way I train in general.”

On her Qualifying run

“Right before my Qualifiers run, I was pretty exhausted. I was talking to Adam Rayl like 10 minutes before and I was like, ‘I’m already ready to go home. I’ve been away from home for so many days.’ I’d gone straight from a job. He was like, ‘No! Go warm up! You gotta get psyched!’

Right before I went I was trying to remind myself to have fun and relax. And then I rolled my ankle walking to the start line. So then I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I am such a klutz.”

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

She wasn’t as worried about the Pretzel Twist as we were

“I felt pretty comfortable on that obstacle. I like when I can be more in control, where I know I just need to hang on. Mentally, I can force myself to hang on. Going to the last pretzel, I wasn’t expecting it to be so difficult to build my swing there. The other swings were really easy to build. So when I got there I was like, ‘Dang it. It’s a little harder to get off this obstacle. I’m just going to really push because I am getting to that wall.’

I was very determined to get to the Warped Wall. Last season, on obstacle five in the Qualifiers, I was looking at the Warped Wall while I was on the obstacle and I messed up because I lost my focus for a second. I was like, ‘This is not happening again. I’m getting to the wall. Push, push, push.’

Why that buzzer was so emotional for her

“The buzzer felt so good. I was so relieved. I started crying. I was like, ‘I can’t believe this happened. Now I can go home! And I hit a buzzer again. I feel so happy.’

I didn’t think I could put it together after being so exhausted. It felt like pure happiness. I was so excited.”

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

Moving into the Semifinals

(The Semifinals were recorded in Los Angeles, outside and at night.)

“I feel pretty good tonight. I haven’t competed outside in a long time. I’ve never competed in LA. I haven’t competed this late in a long time. I’m excited to see the obstacles on the walk-through and start to build a game plan. Again, I’m just going to try to have fun. I feel like that’s the most important thing for me. At the end of the day, it’s just about enjoying it. I’ve already put in a lot of work, so whatever happens, happens.”