This is it folks - Mary Cain is the greatest high school distance runner we have ever seen

Brianruns10 wrote:

She's outstanding, but I hope she and her coaches develop her talent gradually. Don't try to rush her, certainly don't push her to jump right into the Pro world like Webb did.

She's excellent, but still has a ways to go to be an world elite, and she's gotta learn how to handle herself.

I would say she's not ready for the world champs, and we probably shouldn't even have unrealistic expectations for Worlds in 2015.

2016 should be the goal, and the next three years devoted to careful planning, training, and preparation, with an eye for overtraining and overracing.

I think, if she and her team play it smart and don't try to push her as some phenom on a meteoric rise, and just treat her like any other runner with talent, she could be a world beater by then.

It's like you don't even know who Mary Cain is

this is it folks.... wrote:

I was thoroughly impressed with her 1500 high school record... and now she has also just taken down arguably the strongest distance high school record (800 m) and become the first high school female to run under 2 minutes in the 800. We are witnessing history here, hold on for the ride!

You just called 800 distance lmao

She is running in an era where almost all elite athletes are using PEDs, this puts her achievements into question.

I'd be willing to bet alot of money, she is at least blood-doping, if not using EPO.

Mediocre x-country athletes in HS even know how to get EPO from pharmacists. I don't believe Mary is natural.

Zola Budd ran faster than the world record at age 17. Cain will probably end up like her, almost winning elite races for a couple years, then regressing to modest performances or retiring. That's what usually happens with teen phenoms.

Thetruth90 wrote:

She is running in an era where almost all elite athletes are using PEDs, this puts her achievements into question.

I'd be willing to bet alot of money, she is at least blood-doping, if not using EPO.

Mediocre x-country athletes in HS even know how to get EPO from pharmacists. I don't believe Mary is natural.

How much money?

Thetruth90 wrote:

She is running in an era where almost all elite athletes are using PEDs, this puts her achievements into question.

I'd be willing to bet alot of money, she is at least blood-doping, if not using EPO.

Mediocre x-country athletes in HS even know how to get EPO from pharmacists. I don't believe Mary is natural.

Do you practice being an a%$hole?

Scott57 wrote:

Mary Cain is a phenom. But to call her a high school runner is inaccurate. She doesn't run for a high school team. Ryun, Webb, and Gallagher did. She's a pro in every respect but the paycheck.

I hate when people try and make this argument. How old is she?

She finished 2nd to Baxter at nationals. Around 2 seconds back.

She is goofy and nice, but man, what a mega-dork. Sometimes cringe-worthy. Now think of high school kids out there who are finely attuned to what's cool (in a variety of contexts). Can you imagine Mary having mass market appeal to that age bracket? High schoolers on here please feel free to weigh in and set us old folks straight.In contrast, I see tons of high school girls replicating Alexi Pappas' bun...check out the pics on her twitter feed. That girls has market appeal.

You don't work in marketing, do you? Ms. Cain's incredibly likeable, effervescent, bubbly. She's having fun every time she's on the track. She's much more likeable and open than runners like Hasay and Flanagan. The imperfect posture only makes her more human.

This is a mistake I see posters on this board make often. You cannot compare men and women's times like that, because the different is not linear but closer to an exponential curve. One reason for this is because many of the top women have straighter bodies (i.e. bodies shaped more like men) which give them a greater advantage over the rest of the women. The men have no such advantage.

ddBguyj2013 wrote:

Some have a point, in that she is training under an elite coach and not even doing standard high school workouts, but some people just advance faster than others. She's no different than the smart kid who takes college level classes in high school, or works summer jobs as an intern at Apple or Google because of their deep understanding.

Shouldn't runners get the same kind of opportunities as people who advance in other fields quicker than their peers?

Crazy debates.

Everyone with their right mind knows that she'd be solo time trialing, every time out, if forced to run only high school meets.

And if that were the case, she and we, would be missing all these great times, races, experiences.

Sorry to interrupt, but this thread is officially bankrupt until somebody responds to PwacTwac. He (or she) has an incredibly good point.

PwacTwac wrote:

Different era but I believe Mary Decker is our greatest high school female distance runner....

Cain can't even run Webb or Ryun's splits. Great runner but comparing her to men, come on Femminazis.

She may indeed be the greatest female high schooler. However, I know plenty of guys who ran much faster than she has in high school. Therefore, they are the greater runner. A woman runner is a sub category of all runners. To be called the best you have to beat the best no matter the gender.

Ok, instead how about the most dominant high school aged track runner in American history.?

ddBguyj2013 wrote:

Maybe salazar can do something about her hunched over posture, not just while running either.

I don't know if I would be doing do much tinkering with the form of someone with natural talent such as Cain, unless it's causing injury. Radcliffe and Zatopek had terrible form, and were the best in their eras.

I'm not saying her awkward upper body/arm action isn't... well, awkward, but it seems many of the best runners have sort of uncorrected idiosyncrasy. Rodgers and Geb's one arm swinging more than the other also come to mind - a little less noticeable, but still. Alamirew has a stiff, somewhat high-shoulder form and he placed 3rd last night. Michael Johnson was known for his unorthodox very upright form, and he did quite well with it. It's a tough call.

And Ryun rolled his head, and Webb sprinted with those weird two-parallel-tracks foot landings, and Prefontaine threw his right arm out to the side, too. Decker had great form, but it's actually pretty rare for a distance runner. (By the way, anyone notice that Rupp has a slight forward roll to his shoulders, too?) Salazar tries to keep his athletes from repeating his own mistakes, and he's always pointing out his own bad form in contrast to, say, Rudy Chapa's. He'll no doubt try to streamline Cain's arm carriage, and the circuit/plyo/resistance stuff has to help overall. (I started doing some of what I saw Rupp and Farah doing in that recent slideshow, and I swear I can sprint better already--not a high bar--after a few weeks.)

Bad Wigins wrote:

Zola Budd ran faster than the world record at age 17. Cain will probably end up like her, almost winning elite races for a couple years, then regressing to modest performances or retiring. That's what usually happens with teen phenoms.

Zola Budd was a shy girl who had never competed outside South Africa until shortly before the 1984 Olympics.

She was granted British citizenship earlier in 1984, among huge controversy, following a campaign by the Daily Mail, she was granted British citizenship, which normally took years for a South Africa.

This broke international rules but she was eventually allowed to compete.

This led to public demonstrations against her in the UK, all in all taking a huge emotional toll on a shy young girl.

The Decker controversy and being booed in the Olympic final didn't help her emotional state but the following year she broke the 5,000 meters World Record.

She then returned to South Africa following threats by Anti-Apartheid campaigners to physically attack her on the track.

She was subsequently BANNED for 3 years from international competition, at the age of 22, for competing in South Africa.

She started racing in South Africa in 1991, having an excellent season, running the second fastest 5000m in the world that year.

She competed in the 3000 m at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, but did not qualify for the final.

A year later finished fourth at the World Cross Country championships.

Unfortunately she could never repeat that form on the track.

She resumed competition in 2009, winning a half-marathon in Myrtle Beach in 1:20:41 and a 12K in South Carolina.

She competed in the 2012 50 Mile Comrades Marathon, running 08:06:09.

Comparisons Mary Cain'situation are ridiculous.

ryan foreman wrote:

Sorry to interrupt, but this thread is officially bankrupt until somebody responds to PwacTwac. He (or she) has an incredibly good point.

PwacTwac wrote:

Different era but I believe Mary Decker is our greatest high school female distance runner....

Decker by a slight margin. She was a bit younger than Cain when she began setting records (14 I believe), and Decker was winning many of those races against international competition. Cain's sole victory so far has been the US indoor mile off that terribly slow pace.