Can Cain make a comeback?

No and nobody

Marathon or forget it

The 35-45 yo women are dominating marathons right now you nitwit. So what you're actually saying she has the perfect body type for something you completely don't understand.

Thon or nada

45? Many are in their 30s but they are all 100 pounds and don't have bellies. Linden 97 lbs. S. Flanagan 106. L. Flanagan 107. Hall 112. Bates 105. Hasay 100. Cain 135?

CainTrain wrote:

Cain's body has had time to recover from what she went through at NOP. She's only 23, could she make a comeback with the right coach? Who could bring her back to at least being competitive nationally? (I think her chances of Olympic/WC medals are over but maybe she could still make teams at least)

It is very unlikely. Even in PR shape she would be a borderline candidate to make a team and she hasn't been close to those numbers for 5 years now. Maybe she is closer than we think (i.e. running really good in workouts and the like and then getting random injuries right before racing season) but that isn't the impression I get. Just about the only result we have had in the last 3 years is that 21:50 4 mile race. 5:30 pace which isn't very encouraging. That is the type of effort that she should be doing every week as a tempo run.

The one video I have seen of her running (the one in Mammoth) showed a very akward looking running form. Maybe she always looked like that on easy runs but it didn't look anywhere near as fluid as when she was racing as a 17 year old..

She should spend a 6 months/year training like she did as a high school freshman and just working on fixing her stride and getting her speed back. Run 30 mpw and try to get back to a person who can run a 56s 400m and a sub 2:08 800m. Don't try to be an elite athlete. Just try to be a decent track athlete and get in a half dozen races.

If you can do that, you can try to then build off it. But a ton of people (of both genders) find it really hard to recapture their past glory days. I am not sure we are at the point where science can tell us why and how to recover.

She is smart and well educated, so she is not stuck with running as is the case with her former mentor. Get an MD or similar degree like her father and she can treat patients who went through hell like her chasing a dream in a marginal sport at great risk to their health.

My best man at my wedding was a WR holder in the indoor mile and he quit at 23 to pursue a PH.D. I didn't understand it at first but eventually got it. He is convinced that running is a do well and "get out" activity and much like football, where injuries loom large.

Hearing her speak she comes off as an impressive young lady. She missed part of adolescence and I hope she can discover that life can be fun in your late teens and early twenties.

Morans as they come wrote:

The 35-45 yo women are dominating marathons right now you nitwit. So what you're actually saying she has the perfect body type for something you completely don't understand.

This is just very blatantly untrue, and I have no idea why you would say that this age range is dominating.

Chicago Winner 2019: Kosgei 25

Chicago Winner 2018: Kosgei 24

London Winner 2019: Kosgei 25

London Winner 2018: Cheruiyot 35

Berlin Winner 2019: Ashete 31

Berlin Winner 2018: Cherono 35

New York Winner 2019: Jepkosgei 25

New York Winner 2018: Keitany 36

Tokyo Winner 2019: Aga 25

Tokyo Winner 2018: Dibaba 25

Boston Winner 2019: Degefa 28

Boston Winner 2018: Linden 35

This pattern doesn't change as you add more years.

anything can happen, but most likely running at a high level just isn't fun for her anymore so a comeback won't happen...too many bad associations. Imagine doing world class training carrying all that mental baggage. When you a are a smart, educated person whose peers are starting jobs and families and you have so many other opportunities to try out adult life.

Does anyone know what her test scores were? Decent HS grades doesn't mean smart these days.

Just think if Al Sal were coaching Brenda Martinez. Just think what would have happened to Al Sal's jaw if he would have tried to ridicule Brenda Martinez about her weight. I'm certain Al Sal's jaw would be held together with wires and a permanent plate. Hasn't Brenda Martinez always had a higher percentage of body fat and greater mass than Mary Cain? Eight-hundred metres runners do not need to be skinny. I know most on let'sjog think sprinting speed is genetic. Not true. These 1/2 a dozen years of Mary Cain training as a 1500m/5000m athlete has killed her raw speed she had as a teenager. I doubt Cain can regain her 200m/400m speed. Cain always was an 800m runner. The problem: Salazar saw Cain as a 1500m/5000m runner.

Nah she’s DONE

Morans as they come wrote:

The 35-45 yo women are dominating marathons right now you nitwit. So what you're actually saying she has the perfect body type for something you completely don't understand.

You can take the list from above and look at it a different way to account more for depth.

London 2019 Top 3: Kosgei (25) Cheruiyot (36) Dereje (22)

Berlin 2019 Top 3: Bekere (31) Dibaba (29) Kaptich (34)

Tokyo 2019 Top 3: Aga (25) Tola (25) Demise (23)

Chicago 2019 Top 3: Kosgei (25) Yeshaneh (28) Burka (33)

New York 2019 Top 3: Jepkosgei (25) Keitany (37) Aga (25)

Boston 2019 Top 3: Degefa (28) Kiplagat (39) Hasay (27)

Women above their mid-30s are almost nonexistent at the podium places of the marathons. The ones who are there (Cheruiyot, Keitany, Kiplagat) are the same ones who dominated the marathons for years and are now only slipping from age. It's much more accurate to say that women in their 20s are dominating the marathons.

Just think ... wrote:

Just think if Al Sal were coaching Brenda Martinez. Just think what would have happened to Al Sal's jaw if he would have tried to ridicule Brenda Martinez about her weight. I'm certain Al Sal's jaw would be held together with wires and a permanent plate. Hasn't Brenda Martinez always had a higher percentage of body fat and greater mass than Mary Cain? Eight-hundred metres runners do not need to be skinny. I know most on let'sjog think sprinting speed is genetic. Not true. These 1/2 a dozen years of Mary Cain training as a 1500m/5000m athlete has killed her raw speed she had as a teenager. I doubt Cain can regain her 200m/400m speed. Cain always was an 800m runner. The problem: Salazar saw Cain as a 1500m/5000m runner.

+1

this unhealthy idea many have on here of what women should look like is ridiculous. I think she should spend the next year working on gaining back her raw strength/speed and focus on the 800. I think she can make a comeback. I would love it if she came back and broke the American record for 800.

No

This thread is disgusting

Cain not abel.

She looked terrible in that video. I got the impression she has had some injuries that might have permanently hurt her running ability.

No. Not unless she loses a pile of weight. That's the catch 22 of the whole situation.

She is no longer naturally built like a runner.