Mary Cain 2nd in NYRR 4 Mile Midnight Run

I course marshalled around the 1.6 mile mark of this race. It was thrilling. The lady that won, appeared to be very tall and was really fast running solo. She was 6th there and finished sixth.

kibitzer wrote:

I saw her at an Armory practice a few days back. She was doing a few mobility drills with hurdles and I "accused" her of prepping for the steeplechase. She just laughed. Nice to see her getting enjoyment from running.

I think the key is she is enjoying running. She had kept a burden to herself for a while and now I sense she has released that.

Will she ever be a top pro again? Highly unlikely but the one thing going for her is she wants that to be the goal so it can't be truly ruled out.

nasreddin hoja wrote:

I course marshalled around the 1.6 mile mark of this race. It was thrilling. The lady that won, appeared to be very tall and was really fast running solo. She was 6th there and finished sixth.

Did she look relaxed??

Why has no one asked this??

Is Central Park all ‘crete??

wejo wrote:

kibitzer wrote:

I saw her at an Armory practice a few days back. She was doing a few mobility drills with hurdles and I "accused" her of prepping for the steeplechase. She just laughed. Nice to see her getting enjoyment from running.

I think the key is she is enjoying running. She had kept a burden to herself for a while and now I sense she has released that.

Will she ever be a top pro again? Highly unlikely but the one thing going for her is she wants that to be the goal so it can't be truly ruled out.

Agree. At the end of the day, what is important is that she is healthy & happy, and if she can still enjoy running, more power to her. Whether or not she can get back to national class is very much secondary.

This puts her sub-21:50 4-mile streak at 2 years.

Best questions wrote:

nasreddin hoja wrote:

I course marshalled around the 1.6 mile mark of this race. It was thrilling. The lady that won, appeared to be very tall and was really fast running solo. She was 6th there and finished sixth.

Did she look relaxed??

Why has no one asked this??

Is Central Park all ‘crete??

For a brief moment there, you had me believing my all time favorite LR poster had returned. RIP The Concrete Runner

CP is blacktop pretty much. Some camber in places. Relaxed? It was night and they were running their asses off.

Snooze............

Best questions wrote:

nasreddin hoja wrote:

I course marshalled around the 1.6 mile mark of this race. It was thrilling. The lady that won, appeared to be very tall and was really fast running solo. She was 6th there and finished sixth.

Did she look relaxed??

Why has no one asked this??

Is Central Park all ‘crete??

SHE'S BACK BABY!!!!!!

That's good enough for me.

This is a nice run by Mary. Glad she enjoyed herself.

Rick Sanchez wrote:

Great progress in her return to find the joy in running. Happy for her.

First American overall too.

1. First American? Dude it’s a fun run in Central Park that gets a lot of press.

2. Progress? More like confusion.

Someone who is just looking to find joy in running wouldn’t choose a high press race with low competition. She’s still wants the attention but can’t compete at a pro level anymore. If it was for joy of running it wouldn’t be this race..... I predict she show up at the Coogan 5k and cow harbor 10k this year for similar reasons.

Hayduke wrote:

2. Progress? More like confusion.

Someone who is just looking to find joy in running wouldn’t choose a high press race with low competition. She’s still wants the attention but can’t compete at a pro level anymore. If it was for joy of running it wouldn’t be this race..... I predict she show up at the Coogan 5k and cow harbor 10k this year for similar reasons.

There is nothing wrong with choosing a race that you think you have a chance at doing well in. It's actually more FUN to do well against a weak field as opposed to being destroyed by a strong field.

rojo wrote:

Scubacane wrote:

I agree , it’s quite hilly and she ran it at midnight- probably not the ideal time of the day to race so it’s not a bad result

It’s not a bad result but the reality is she ran a 4 miler in Central Park in May in 21:50. Now she’s running 21:43. I have no idea where she is in her training cycle but short of her being in a base phase now (or taking it easy and having fun on NYears) versus maybe being more in shape in May, there is little to get excited about with this result other than the fact that she’s having fun and finishing races.

Rojo, can you explain what you mean? If she ran faster a few days ago than in May, wouldn't that point to her being in better shape than she was in May? How do you figure that she was more in shape in May if she ran a faster time the other day?

Do we know what she is doing besides running? Assuming she is un-sponsored now so I wonder if she has a full time job and running is more secondary at this point.

please advise wrote:

rojo wrote:

It’s not a bad result but the reality is she ran a 4 miler in Central Park in May in 21:50. Now she’s running 21:43. I have no idea where she is in her training cycle but short of her being in a base phase now (or taking it easy and having fun on NYears) versus maybe being more in shape in May, there is little to get excited about with this result other than the fact that she’s having fun and finishing races.

Rojo, can you explain what you mean? If she ran faster a few days ago than in May, wouldn't that point to her being in better shape than she was in May? How do you figure that she was more in shape in May if she ran a faster time the other day?

He means more in "race shape" (relative to the overall season), obviously she was not in better shape in absolute terms.

This makes sense. thanks for clarifying!

Does Mary Cain even need to run national class times to be worthy of a large fanbase at this point? I mean there was a point when Dean Karnazes was the most popular runner in the USA. Surely Mary Cain has more star power than Dean Karnazes.

The sport is a joke right now with the Vaporfly bs, the constant busts and suspicions, and “Lord Coe” randomly demolishing events with a wrecking ball. Ultimately, it is up to each of us to decide what is inspiring and entertaining. Mary Cain is both.

Love Mary sand want her to be successful but if she wants to run at a high level again she needs to join a profesh group. Yes NOP was too far, esp at the time, but now she’s 23. Need accountability, leaning in to the profesh mindset, etc

I agree . Cain is enjoying running again and that is a good thing . Is this a great break welcome back performance , no . If she runs a 1545 first 5 k on the track in March that would be a some nice progress .