Maybe she said that running sucks and there's other hobbies out there?
Maybe she said that running sucks and there's other hobbies out there?
nolove wrote:
broken arrow wrote:Sad but true. This is nothing new of course, many young woman once they go through puberty can no longer run the times they did before. Their power to weight ratio drops off significantly. The only difference here is that she was on the world stage. We wish her the best in her future endeavors.
At least she got to be a letsrun legend Ajee Wilson has done 3* what she does, and she still doesn't get much love here.
That's probably because Wilson is a doper.
The whole Mary Cain thing bugs me. While things like burnout happen and people change priorities, interests and move on - something just seems like it all could have gone better.
This is such a great sport. From my hs days as a runner to college experiences to national class post collegiate to 30yrs of coaching the sport I can't say enough about how fortunate I am for those experiences. I lacked the opportunities Mary had earned early but would much rather enjoy the incredible long term opportunities and experiences. Being part of a team of peers during my hs and college days was not only fun but it also helped me improve. I needed to help the team which also helped me individually.
Each season was more enjoyable and I got to learn about myself and my running in an environment that supported my goals with patience and vision.
So when I see examples of too much, too soon,etc I feel bad for people like Mary Cain who miss the fun that people like me have experienced in the sport over a long time. She might find her niche in the sport which is good but was clearly misdirected by others(not?parents?)
She was very good ,not a prodigy. She was a Guinea pig for NOP. Her development was forced. He short life on top is unfortunate. I think she would be a collegiate senior this year and experiencing the many exciting battles that people like Jenny Simpson and Emma Colburn have enjoyed.
This one bugs me wrote:
She was very good ,not a prodigy. She was a Guinea pig for NOP. Her development was forced. He short life on top is unfortunate. .
She was absolutely a prodigy with little room for improvement.
She made a big mistake turning professional when she did. Going to college and running in a team atmosphere for two or three years would have been an experience that she would have cherished. I don't think a young lady just out of high school, going to school, living by herself thousands of miles from home, and practicing with a bunch of older professional runners was the right course to follow. Predictably, everything fell apart. I wish her all the best.
She is probably done and based on everything else surrounding Alberto & the NOP, John Capriotti made Cain sign a NDA which is probably why we hear next to nothing from her. Think about how odd that is compared to other sports and entertainment areas, fans have literally no idea what a star/prodigy is doing. There is a reason why she it totally cut off.
Very sad story. Similar to Ritz, but keep in mind she was a teenager, I bet she had no idea what Alberto and Tresure were giving her. Which is probably why in 2015 her Mom got into a screaming match with Alberto at USAs telling him to stay away from her daughter.
If this whole investigation gets serious we might hear more from Mary Cain.
T&F Nut wrote:She made a big mistake turning professional when she did. Going to college and running in a team atmosphere for two or three years would have been an experience that she would have cherished. I don't think a young lady just out of high school, going to school, living by herself thousands of miles from home, and practicing with a bunch of older professional runners was the right course to follow. Predictably, everything fell apart. I wish her all the best.
Nobody who doesn't know her personally has any clue whether going pro was a mistake for her personally, but there's nothing to indicate that her troubles are a result of that decision.
It's worth remembering that she was ALREADY world class in high school. If she had just continued running the same times, then NCAA competition would have been a waste of time. You can't learn racing tactics from people who aren't in your league. She was good enough at 18 that it was entirely realistic for her to focus her efforts on the Olympics and WCs. It's entirely different from when Rupp went pro out of high school and he was still years from being world class.
As for the stress and pressure of going pro, it's not clear to me that there's any difference between that and what you face in the NCAA. As a prodigy, you're under a microscope either way. Just ask Alan Webb. And moving thousands of miles from home? That's what most collegiate runners do.
Everyone wants to talk about what she missed out on by not running in the NCAA. The problem is that we're all looking back to our own college experiences, which we think we wouldn't trade for anything. But we don't really know what we're talking about because we don't really understand the alternative that's available to a world class runner. Most of us have never traveled around the world for meets, made friends with athletes from other countries, been introduced by name over a loudspeaker in a foreign language, or received a shipment of brand new Team USA gear. And if we were ever fortunate enough to stand on a podium at a global championship, we'd probably say that just about whatever it took was worth it.
Which is probably why in 2015 her Mom got into a screaming match with Alberto at USAs telling him to stay away from her daughter.
[/quote]
Can you or someone else elaborate on this?
It wasnt fun for her, it was for you and me too (though I was never more than a mediocre runner and average coach).
She's not the only young phenom who walked away from the sport
NERunner053 wrote:
Which is probably why in 2015 her Mom got into a screaming match with Alberto at USAs telling him to stay away from her daughter.
Can you or someone else elaborate on this?[/quote]
If this actually happened Cain's mother was basically publicly arguing with The Almighty considering Alberto's first phone call was " a sign from God".
800 dude wrote:
Everyone wants to talk about what she missed out on by not running in the NCAA. The problem is that we're all looking back to our own college experiences, which we think we wouldn't trade for anything. But we don't really know what we're talking about because we don't really understand the alternative that's available to a world class runner.
Everyone seems to assume that the entirety of whatever is or was going on in this kid's (at the time) life is even specific to the sport when it may not be.
While collegiate endeavors can take an athlete thousands of mile from home, the collegiate experience also provides other athletes and, in general, peers in exactly the same boat. This will tend to make it an easier transition.
I don't know who Cain was provided in terms of having a peer presence but it most likely was no one. This could not have made the overall experience comfortable for her. This all at a very transitional time in anyone's life.
I think all we know is that she last competed at the Manchester (CT) Road Race on 11/24/16. It appears that she DNF'd and it was speculated that she injured her knee. I haven't seen any confirmation of this or what the extent of the injury was if it is true.
If she had a knee injury it is not unusual that she would take the track season off. We also haven't seen Boris Berian this track season which I believe is due to a knee injury although he has been nearly radio silent like Mary Cain.
Just this Fall it was Mary's intent to run a couple of winter indoor races and then focus on making the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London according to Runner's World:
https://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/mary-cain-leaves-the-oregon-project
She is probably not "gone for good"; just rehabbing.
She reminds me of Lynn Bjorkland, a super child legend and then.....
ck3237 wrote:
She reminds me of Lynn Bjorkland, a super child legend and then.....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_BjorklundOn October 8, 1997, Bjorklund was camping with her brother in the Pecos Wilderness near Santa Fe, New Mexico when the two witnessed a plane crash. The pilot and his passenger were burned and injured. In a rescue attempt Bjorklund covered 18 miles (29 km) of rugged terrain on foot in less than three hours. She guided two helicopters to the crash site, and the two men were airlifted to safety.
This is an interesting example of running actually being useful.
For Mary Cain, running was a fun activity. She also probably made a lot more money off of running than most high schoolers ever make doing anything. If running stopped being fun for her, there's nothing wrong with moving on.
I agree with everything you said.
I would also add onto your last point. As collegiate runners, we also forget that plenty of non athletes really valued the social experience they had in college. Those experiences range widely and fit the individual. It would have been entirely possible that she would end up getting more out of a "normal" college experience than the experience of an athlete.
Murray Ave wrote:
Which is probably why in 2015 her Mom got into a screaming match with Alberto at USAs telling him to stay away from her daughter.
Source on this?
I moved to Los Alamos last year and it is always very interesting hearing about the running history of the town, besides all the scientific history. Does anyone know what Lynn Bjorklund is up to these days? Does she still live in Los Alamos? I know Tony Sandoval lives here.
Seen on Fordham campus this past April/May in a boot.
She is still alive though, saw her last week in the area
WTFBBQ wrote:
She's still young. Only 21. Even if she gave up running completely for a couple of years, can't write her off until at least another 5 or 6 years.
A very good point. A classic example: Ron Clarke. He was touted as a phenom middle distance runner, even carrying the Olympic torch and lighting the flame at the Melbourne Games. But his running stalled and he actually gave up running until the early 60s when he was 24, got second thoughts and decided to give running another go. He turned himself into an ace long distance runner and went on to set 18 world records from 2 miles to 20KM.
She has plenty of time.
Murray Ave wrote:
She is probably done and based on everything else surrounding Alberto & the NOP, John Capriotti made Cain sign a NDA which is probably why we hear next to nothing from her. Think about how odd that is compared to other sports and entertainment areas, fans have literally no idea what a star/prodigy is doing. There is a reason why she it totally cut off.
Very sad story. Similar to Ritz, but keep in mind she was a teenager, I bet she had no idea what Alberto and Tresure were giving her. Which is probably why in 2015 her Mom got into a screaming match with Alberto at USAs telling him to stay away from her daughter.
If this whole investigation gets serious we might hear more from Mary Cain.
I was at that meet, seated only a couple rows behind the Cain's. I do recall seeing Mrs. Cain speaking to Alberto with Mary standing next to them, but there didn't appear to be any screaming. It looked to me like they both were trying to comfort Mary after bad the race. Can you tell me what time and the location the screaming occurred?
I’m a D2 female runner. Our coach explicitly told us not to visit LetsRun forums.
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