Today we welcome Mary Wineberg to the podcast. A Brooklyn native, Mary became a self-described “Cincinnati girl” at an early age, experiencing an education in the Cincinnati Public Schools district that ultimately led her to Walnut Hills High School, where she discovered her passion for and skills in competitive running. She enrolled at the University of Cincinnati on a track scholarship, joining the School of Education in pursuit of an athletic training career. As a runner she set the school record in the 400-meter dash and ran at the Conference USA meet. After graduation, she decided she wanted to train for the Olympics, a long and trying process that, ultimately, allowed Mary to earn a gold medal as the lead-off runner in the 4×400 metre relay in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Off the track, Mary’s career in education has led her to the classroom, the CPS School Board and, most recently, back to Walnut Hills to work as the school’s track coach. She’s also an accomplished author and public speaker with her company, Secure Your Gold.

In this episode Mary shares with us her story of finding her way to competitive running, overcoming her own insecurities to pursue Olympic success, and her varied experiences in the field of education. She also gives us the inside scoop on how she decided to become a running coach, a role she had never seen for herself before an opportunity presented itself.