Track phenom Mary Cain does it again

It’s hard to imagine that setting record after record could become a little boring, but that’s what some track sportswriters might think as they can almost write the script in advance about high school distance runner Mary Cain breaking a new record even before she steps on the line.  All that apparently needs to be done is fill in the time she actually ran.

But, what we are seeing here is far from boring, it’s quite the opposite–what we’re seeing here is history in the making.

The junior from Bronxville, N.Y. did it again Saturday night as she smoked the high school two-mile record set by Melody Fairchild in 1991 by running 9:38.68 against a world-class field of women at the New Balance Boston Indoor Grand Prix shattering the previous record of 9:55.92.

Cain started out in dead last in the nine-competitor field but she kept at it as each lap went by passing people along the way. Cain, who is known for her kick, unleashed a sprinting last lap to finish in third behind Ethiopian Olympian Tirunesh Dibaba who ran 9:13.17 and Canadian Sheila Reid who ran 9:37.97.

“I kept going and going,” said Cain in the press conference after the race. “It was a lot of fun to be on the starting line with them. I didn’t know I was going to be there with them at the end.”

On January 12th, Cain set the 3,000-meter indoor record by running a 9:02.10; a mark that LetsRun.com called, arguably, the greatest distance performance in U.S. high school history. Then, last week, she ran 4:32.78 to shatter the mile record that stood for 41 years.

So this week, everyone was looking for another special mark. She did not let anyone down.

Next up for Cain will be the Millrose Games on Feb. 16, where she will be running in the Women’s Wanamaker Mile at the N.Y. Armory.

For complete results of the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, click here.

Photo by Patrick Tewey (patricktewey.com)