Accomplished runner Jessica Kain, a member of Scotts Valley High’s Athletics Hall of Fame, was one of the 11 athletes added to Saucony’s 2025 North American roster of professional runners earlier this week.

“It still feels a little surreal,” said Kain on Friday. “I get to tell people I run professionally.”

Kain, who serves as an assistant coach on San Diego State University’s cross country and track and field programs, will remain in San Diego for work, and to prepare for upcoming competitions under Robert Lusitana, SDSU’s head coach and her personal coach the past six years.

She has already sent her competition schedule to Saucony. She’ll run in the U.S. in her first year, focusing on the 1,500 meter race, and hopes to compete in Europe next year.

“Diamond League is the goal,” she said.

Her personal best in the 1,500 is 4:12. She hopes to knock seven seconds off her time and qualify for the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on July 31-Aug. 3.

She’ll compete in the 1,500 in her first race as a professional at the Stanford Invitational on April 4. She also plans to compete in the 1,500 at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific on April 16-18, and the Boston 5K on April 19

The rest of Saucony’s newly signed runners includes: Katie Camarena, Anthony Camerieri, Chandler Gibbens, Jessica Gockley-Day, JaQuavious Harris, Alex Korczynski, Marcelo Laguera, Abbie McNulty, Julia Paternain, and Yazmine Wright.The recent signees join existing Team Saucony athletes Vanessa Fraser, Sam Chelanga, Malindi Elmore, Aubrey Frentheway, Jackie Gaughan, Molly Huddle, Grayson Murphy, Brian Shrader and Jared Ward.

Fraser, a former standout at Stanford University who lives and trains in San Francisco, is also a Scotts Valley High alumna. Fraser spoke highly of Saucony and helped connect Kain with the company.

Kain thanked Fraser and the tight-knit running community in Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley for all they’ve done for her.

After shining at Scotts Valley, Kain competed in cross country and track and field at SDSU, where she posted several top-10 all-time marks. Among them, she set the school records in the 3,000 meters (9:32.77) and Distance Medley Relay (11:49.06) during indoor track season.

At the Mountain West Conference Track and Field Championships, she posted three top-three finishes in her career in the 1,500, with her best time of 4:17.66 coming in 2024. She qualified for the semifinals in the 1,500 at the NCAA West Preliminaries and finished 16th in 4:20.

Kain comes from an athletic family, Her parents, Pete and Shari, own Kain Performance and train athletes of all skill levels. Pete, who played water polo at Whittier College, is USA Triathlon coach and certified swim coach, and Shari, a former volleyball player at UC Santa Barbara, is a national champion cycling and triathlon coach. Her younger brother, Jeremy, is a junior on Duke University’s cross country and track teams.