Quotes from Mary Cain

There's something really fun about being a kicker. Once you get to 200 to go and you're still with those girls, you smell blood.

I tied so much of my self-worth - and trust me, if you're a runner, you understand this - to my performance.

Societal pressures can really force girls to look one specific way, when in reality there's not one way to be good.

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 often kind of forget about my running. It's not until I'm really at these competitions and at these meets that I really remember what I do.

It took me so long to accept that a lot of the stuff I went through was really messed up. I did realize I was being invested in more as a product rather than as a person.

To be completely consumed by track, that might be a little bit out of my comfort zone. I kind of like having friends who are less tracky.

So in my sophomore year of high school, I ran in Barcelona for the World Junior Championships, and I set the national record for the girls' 1,500 meters in doing so.

I want to stay humble and not sound cocky. But at the same time I don't want to be the little high schooler.

What I have learned in this sport is that it's very easy to feel very alone.

In so many ways, I just love athletics. It would be really hard for me to pivot outside of the sports world.

I think you have to be a leader to be a coach. I think you have to be somebody who is willing to stand up even when it's hard.

I joined Nike because I wanted to be the best female athlete ever.

As long as I really stay on top of my school work, which I'm for the most part able to do, it's really no problem, me missing school.

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.

Getting to wear a Team USA uniform is amazing. I really wanted to get a uniform.

I never let myself get psyched out. My motto is, 'Stay calm and carry on.'

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.

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 was only looking at a few schools and narrowed it down to the University of Oregon. Having a great choice made me more excited and I knew it would be a great opportunity.

For many years, the only thing I wanted in the world was the approval of Alberto Salazar. I still loved him. Alberto was like a father to me, or even like a god.

Latin AP was a struggle. There were a lot of people in class drawing pictures during that, but I took it seriously.