Mary Cain, an 11th grader from New York and the national high school record holder for 1500 meters, will be coached by Alberto Salazar. Photo Victah Sailer
For Mary Cain, it began with a hero-worship photo-op at the Olympic Trials last June. For Alberto Salazar, it began later in the summer, when he watched a YouTube video on his laptop computer. From these seemingly humble seeds a potentially mighty tree has sprouted: Cain, a 16-year-old high school junior from Bronxville, New York, and the most promising U.S. female distance runner since Mary Decker emerged 40 years ago, is now coached by Salazar, head of the Nike Oregon Project, the man who guided Mo Farah and Galen Rupp to Olympic glory last August at the London Games.
