When The New York Times featured Mary Cain’s Opinion piece, "I Was the Fastest Girl in America, Until I Joined Nike," in 2019, the running world, including elite athletes, was shocked. Behind her record-breaking success was a story of pressure, abuse, and survival. In Part 1 of this special two-part series for Set the Pace, Rob sits down with Mary to discuss her powerful memoir, “This Is Not About Running,” and her experiences as a young professional athlete with the Nike Oregon Project and Coach Alberto Salazar. Mary shares how harmful coaching practices, body shaming, and a culture that prioritized performance over well-being affected her physical and mental health, ultimately leading her to speak out and advocate for change. The conversation explores the lasting impact of those experiences, the importance of recognizing RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport), and why creating healthier environments for athletes matters most.

Content note: This episode includes discussions of eating disorders, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts that some listeners may find difficult.

You can find Episode 1 of HSS's 4 part series on RED-S HERE 

And hear our interview with Josh Kerr HERE! 

Tickets are now on sale  for the 2026 Toyota USATF Outdoor & Para National Championships!  NYRR members Get a 10% off discount code. Find your discount code on your Haku dashboard.


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This week, Rob and Becs lead a roundtable discussion on how heat and humidity can become a runner’s secret weapon. Whether you're training for a fall marathon or just trying to stay fit in the summer, running in the heat can help make you a stronger and faster in the fall. Joining the conversation is Dr. Eamon Duffy, a sports cardiologist at Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian and a new member of the New York Road Runners Medical Advisory Council. They’re also joined by Dr. Eric Roy, a water scientist who founded the water-filtration company Hydroviv out of his Washington, D.C. apartment in response to the Flint, Michigan water crisis. Hydroviv was later acquired by Culligan®, the official water partner of NYRR. Rounding out the discussion is Coach Ben, NYRR’s Head of Training Programs, who shares practical tips for training in the heat, including why runners should focus on effort over pace. 

Tickets are now on sale  for the 2026 Toyota USATF Outdoor & Para National Championships!  NYRR members Get a 10% off discount code. Find your discount code on your Haku dashboard.


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New York Road Runners’ Gordon Bakoulis joins Set the Pace this week to talk with Rob about her legendary career as both an elite athlete and NYRR’s editorial director. Gordon qualified for the Olympic marathon trials in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 and was a finalist in the 1992 U.S. Olympic 10,000m trials. As she looks ahead to retirement after nearly 24 years at New York Road Runners, she reflects on the organization’s continued commitment to innovation and inclusion and why she believes those values will continue to shape its future. Gordon also shares her remarkable running journey—from discovering the sport as a teenager during the running boom of the late 1970s to joining the Atalanta NYC run club and competing at the highest level. She discusses her experience as a running coach and explains how helping others pursue their goals continues to inspire her. 

Tickets are now on sale  for the 2026 Toyota USATF Outdoor & Para National Championships!  NYRR members Get a 10% off discount code. Find your discount code on your Haku dashboard.


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Join Ali Feller from Ali on the Run and Aisha Praught Leer from Citius Mag as Set the Pace, Presented by Peloton Reruns the MastercardNew York  Mini 10k. Whether you ran the race or have FOMO for not being there, this episode is for you! Tune in for post-race interviews with the Mastercard New York City Mini 10K champions, to hear what it took to break the tape at this iconic race. Following in their footsteps, thousands of runners also crossed the finish line with goals of their own. Three of those runners share their stories of strength, grit, and resilience.

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and throughout the month we’ve been sharing stories about running and mental well-being. We also celebrated Mother’s Day, and for many members of our community, running, mental health, and motherhood are deeply intertwined. In this week’s episode, Rob and Becs speak with Peloton instructor Selena Samuela, who opens up about raising identical twin girls, Stella and Frankie, and the mental and physical challenges of returning to movement postpartum. Selena reflects on body image, motherhood, rebuilding fitness slowly, and her powerful mantra: acceptance is not the same as complacency. Now, 24 weeks after giving birth, she’s back teaching live at Peloton and rebuilding her running day by day. 

NOTE: This episode explores one runner’s journey with fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

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This week, Rob turns the mic on Becs to talk about her next adventure. Becs opens up about the highs and lows she’s experienced with running since completing the Great World Race over a year ago. She shares how she stepped away from road racing, rediscovered her love of the sport through trail and ultra running, and embraced a less pressure-filled approach to training and competition. After years away from the trails, Becs returned to the sport by taking on the Napa Valley Trail Marathon in March, followed by the Canyons 50K in April. Check out this episode to hear about her journey into the ultrarunning world, how she’s adapting her Peloton classes to reflect the challenging elevation of trail racing, and her next challenge. 

WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE!

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Joining Rob live from the RBC Brooklyn Half After-Party at Maimonides Park is special guest Camila Ramón, a Peloton instructor and recording artist who was one of the thousands of runners crossing the finish line on Coney Island. Born in Buenos Aires, Camila moved to Miami when she was seven. She teaches cycling, treadmill, and strength training in English and Spanish as Peloton's first bilingual instructor. Also joining the show is HSS physical therapist Carrie Whitelam, an orthopedic clinical specialist and certified athletic trainer who works closely with runners on the importance of recovering after races. Plus, hear from other runners as they share their race-day stories of grit and heart. 

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Winning a major marathon goes way beyond the podium for a Kenyan athlete—it reaches their families, their communities, and entire towns. But for the women, success can also put them in danger. Check out this week’s episode as Rob joins a roundtable discussion led by NYRR's Head of Content Matthew Singer along with Chief Diversity Officer Erica Edwards-O'Neal and Director of Professional Athletes Dorian Kail—all reflecting on their trip to Eldoret, Kenya this past February. The group visited training camps, sat down with champions, and toured a children's hospital built with funds raised by TCS New York City Marathon charity runners. They also spent time with Tirop's Angels, an organization founded in honor of Agnes Tirop—a world-class runner who was murdered by her partner in 2021. Gender-based violence is something many women in Kenya face, and in some cases, it is their athletic success that makes them a target. New York Road Runners will continue to work with Tirop’s Angels and the organization’s founder, Viola Cheptoo.

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Joining Rob and Becs this week is NYRR Chief Event Production Officer and Race Director Ted Metellus, breaking down everything you need to know about the RBC Brooklyn Half, from the new expo location at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park to essential race-day logistics such as getting to your corral with plenty of time to spare for a stress-free arrival. Ted and Rob share course insights, including tackling the hills in Prospect Park before exiting onto Ocean Parkway for a long straightaway toward Coney Island. Ted also notes that the finish line has moved approximately 200 feet south, past the pedestrian bridge. He explains why it’s worth staying for the After-Party at Maimonides Park to relax with a hot dog and a beverage. Plus, Becs offers tapering advice to help release any nervous energy as race day approaches. 

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More than 600 runners from over 24 teams descended on The TRACK at New Balance to cover 26.2 miles — but instead of slogging through city streets, this one was 211 laps on a banked 200m indoor track. And Rob and Meb were in the center of it all, interviewing runners right off the track including Ali Feller, Olympians Kim Conley and Aisha Praught Leer, Endorphins Running founder Tyler Swartz, Boston's Matt Prichard, The Megs from Believe in the Run, and many more.

Watch what what happens when you put Olympians, first-timers, and everyone in between on the same track at the same time in pursuit of 26.2 — relay style.

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