"A raw account.... Cain’s memoir grippingly charts her path from glory to disillusionment to despair and back. It’s a powerful and haunting testimonial." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"What’s most horrifying about [Cain's] story, which she tells bluntly, directly, and with determination, is not that it’s so unusual, but that it seems so piercingly ordinary. A convincing condemnation of the treatment of young athletes." - Kirkus Reviews
"The book often reads like a personal journal.... But that doesn’t diminish Ms. Cain’s courage in sharing her vulnerabilities or undermine her call for dramatic reform. Holding one coach, or one company, to account will not eliminate the institutional rot plaguing women’s sports. Ms. Cain is now a medical student at Stanford University, and her own survivor’s journey should serve her well in the healing of others." - Wall Street Journal
"This Is Not About Running is a brave and deeply important contribution to the conversation around how we treat women in sports. Mary Cain’s voice forces an honest reckoning, reminding us that real progress requires confronting silence and holding both systems and people accountable." - Allyson Felix, seven-time gold medal Olympian
"Mary Cain’s story is a wake-up call for the entire sports world. In This Is Not About Running, she peels back the curtain on a toxic culture that prioritizes medals over health and marketing over humanity. It's not just a moving, courageous memoir about the dark side of elite sports. It's a demand for a better, safer future for all performers. Essential reading for us all." - Steve Magness, bestselling author of Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness
"To know Mary Cain for real is to love her. This Is Not About Running exposes what happens when performance is valued over people and silence is mistaken for strength. Mary’s book is entirely in her voice, uninhibited and, finally, after years feeling silenced and afraid, she is fearless." - Alexi Pappas, Olympian and author of Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas
"This incredible book isn’t a story about one woman. It’s a story about a system designed to commodify at any cost — their slogan more of a threat than a motivation. The best books change how we think, and Mary Cain has done just that." - Michelle Wolf, writer and comedian
"This Is Not About Running is about ambition, betrayal, courage, and, yes, running. Mary Cain’s story deserves to be known by everyone in women’s sports—from athletes and coaches to parents and fans." - Alice Robb, author of Don’t Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet
"Forthright.... Cain's courageous and candid memoir may help older teens and student athletes recognize red flags of abuse in sports culture." - Booklist
"This Is Not About Running, is a brave, blisteringly honest memoir about a young girl who loved running, and about the systems, policies, and people who placed winning at all costs above her well-being. Fearless on the page, Cain tells hard truths with the hope that her story can help others." - Elle
"Cain’s memoir is devastating as a chronicle of abuse of a young girl and the breaking of a promising athlete. It is uplifting, too, because of Cain’s persistence, her resistance, her humor, and her ultimate acceptance of herself." - Runner's World
