Home Best of 2026 This Is Not about Running: A Memoir

This Is Not about Running: A Memoir

by Cain, Mary

Regular price $24.19 USD
Regular price $40.32 USD Sale price $24.19 USD

You save $16.13 USD (40%)

In stock — Ships within 1–2 business days

Format

Print Book Currently viewing Hardcover $24.19 USD $40.32 USD
Condition
Secure CheckoutYour data is protected
Fast U.S. ShippingShips within 1–2 business days
Authentic Titles100% Genuine Books
Book Overview By one of the fastest runners of her generation, an affecting, brutally honest memoir of elite sports gone wrong--and a clear-eyed call f...

By one of the fastest runners of her generation, an affecting, brutally honest memoir of elite sports gone wrong--and a clear-eyed call for how parents, coaches, and young athletes themselves can build a healthier youth sports culture.

Few women have ever run 800 meters in under two minutes. Even fewer people have taken on running's abusive training culture and won. Mary Cain has done both.

She emerged as a running phenom at age 12, a straight-A student obsessed with Greco-Roman mythology and the freedom she felt when she ran fast. Like any middle-schooler, she just wanted to fit in, so she learned to run through the discomfort of hard training sessions, and the confusion of her coaches' and teammates' bullying. And she was overjoyed when, at 16, Alberto Salazar called to invite her to train with the famed Nike Oregon Project.

Cain was poised to transform the sport, Salazar told her. She resolved to hold on to his favor, even as he insisted she lose weight and push through the pain of emerging injury. For years, she excelled, setting records against elite runners twice her age. The Olympics were in her sights.

But off the track, Cain was crumbling. She snuck granola bars in the middle of the night and sank into a deep depression as injury after injury set in. Finally, she left the Oregon Project, telling herself she just needed a break. A chorus rang out across the running community: What happened to Mary Cain?

Now, with her suit against Nike behind her, Cain is ready to share her side of the story--and to flip the script on abuse in youth sports. She draws on her diaries from this wrenching period of abuse to show, with clarity we rarely see, how young minds respond to the win-at-all-costs culture that pervades youth sports today. By turns raw, wry, and impassioned, This Is Not About Running is a fierce memoir of the damage wrought when we prioritize competition over mental health.

Book Details Format: Hardcover | Pages: 336 | Language: English | Publisher: MARINER BOOKS | ISBN: 0063441888
FormatHardcover
Pages336
LanguageEnglish
ISBN0063441888
EAN9780063441880
PublisherMARINER BOOKS
Publication Date2026-04-28
AccessoriesNo Accessory
ConditionNew
Product TypeHARD COVER BOOKS
Weight1.01 Pounds
Length9.27 Inches
Width6.28 Inches
Height1.15 Inches
Shipping & Returns Fast, reliable shipping and easy returns on eligible items.

Most orders ship within 1–2 business days with fast, reliable U.S. delivery.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in line with our store return policy.

Why shop with AlbakiReads

Fresh Inventory from Major Publishers

Sourced through trusted book distributors, with fresh titles added regularly.

Secure Checkout

Your payment information is encrypted and protected every step of the way.

Fast U.S. Shipping

Most orders ship within 1–2 business days.

Books for Every Kind of Reader

From page-turners to timeless classics—find your next favorite read.