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I have decided, and am truly excited to announce, that I will be turning pro. I believe that, in the long run, this is the best way for me continue to develop as an athlete.
All of my friends and a lot of kids at school know what I do. It's really something that's a big deal in my town. So it keeps it really special when people do congratulate me.
I like that kind of weather. Constant drizzle. At the Olympic trials in 2012, my mom was, like, 'It's pouring rain out there, Mary. You shouldn't even notice it. You're Irish.'
Tracksmith came to the table with an outside-the-box opportunity to join their team as both an athlete and employee, to pursue my dreams, contribute to a team and build a career.
My attitude is, especially in New York, we have some pretty brutal summers in terms of humidity. So for me, if you survive a summer of running in New York City, you get your runner badge!
I feel like athletes lean into this indestructible character. But unless you're doing something really shady, no one nails every day of their life. You're always going to have rough patches.
Part of me wonders if I had worked with more female psychologists, nutritionists and even coaches, where I'd be today. I got caught in a system designed by and for men which destroys the bodies of young girls.
I think for me, I've always come back to the fact that I feel most alive when I'm racing. That sounds very cliche, but for me the reason I feel that is because racing is that opportunity to really find your limit.
It definitely is very exciting running against professionals now. Many of the runners in my races have amazing resumes and a lot of experience, so I just remind myself that every race is just a learning experience.
At the end of the day, as long as you kind of focus on what you can do and what you can achieve and what's in front of you, that's all you can be doing and all you should be doing. Anything else is probably unhealthy.
In the U.S., track and field struggles and I am such a trackie. I love the sport. It's one of those things where if I could garner a little more attention for it or make it a little more exciting, I would love to do that.
I definitely look to people like Usain Bolt and Sanya Richards and especially Allyson Felix, being an American athlete who went pro right after high school. Of course I would like to replicate that career, but obviously as a 1500-meter runner.
We live in a society in which female weight is both fetishized and also under so much scrutiny. And so trying to shame somebody into losing weight is just such, I mean, an emotionally, psychologically and mentally traumatizing way to coach somebody.
Don't get me wrong, it's fun when you get cheers for being a little kid. But if I wanted to be babied, I would not have gone pro. I'm welcoming the idea that people will be thinking of me as Mary Cain the professional, not Mary Cain the high schooler.
Sometimes athletes are expected to lose weight over the course of the season. But usually they work with a professional nutritionist. There's not some arbitrary target that's trying to be reached. It's more go through the process - train hard, eat well.
Different people have different things that trigger them to realize their situation was not OK. In events like the #MeToo Movement, there are many cases where it took decades for someone to talk about their situation. That doesn't mean their stories aren't valid.
I feel like in New York, we could of course open up more bike lanes, but I think it's even more important to create access for people to run, because I think it's more open to people of all socio-economic backgrounds. I think it's even more of an equalizer, in terms of sports.
I absolutely think I have the ability to be a world-class athlete and make a team. But even if I never make another world championship team or Olympic team, I think there are so many things I can say about the sport that can really excite me and bring me a lot of motivation in the day to day.
I think it went really well. There was part of me that really wanted to go with the rabbit. But, honestly one thing that I struggle with a lot is really just competing...being in a pack, running with a lot of bodies. I'm 17 and I'm still not really used to it, so the goal today was to just race.
The biggest thing that I've appreciated is that a lot of brands have stepped up and sent me stuff. As a professional runner, for many years I've been given Nike clothes. It's been kind of cool and fun to try something new and to do something that I haven't done in six years - train in non-Nike gear.
In terms of just the number of people who run, New York is really unlike any other city. We have such a culture of people who would qualify themselves as runners, and then we have a whole host of people who maybe wouldn't consider themselves a part of that community, but who do actively run, whether it's for exercise or whatever reason they want.