“I'll do my core, I'll do my strength training, I'll do my occasional cross train…” — Mary Cain

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

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.

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.'