What does it cost to join the ranks of the elite?
Though I grew up running (#400M, represent!), I never competed at the level that my sister did (and still does). Running is her passion, and, naturally, that expands to the content she consumes. Today, she’s taking the reins as a guest poster to share her latest running read - and make the case for reading it no matter where you stand on marathons. Livvy - take it away:
I’ve been a runner since high school, but I hadn’t heard of Kara Goucher until my roommate, Lauren (unsurprisingly a fellow runner), introduced me to her via - what else? - Instagram. I began following her and was a fan right away. Outside of being a fantastic runner, it’s clear even just from her feed that Goucher has a story to tell. So, when Lauren gave me Goucher’s new memoir for my birthday, I was thrilled.
I’m coming to you now on the other side of devouring this book in the span of just a few days. It was one of those books that makes you feel different after. I came away from the story with an immense respect for Kara - who, in the memoir, details the way she used her voice to shed light on the darker side of running (while, of course, sharing her triumphs, too).
Goucher is a 3x NCAA champion, 2x Olympian, World Championship silver medalist in the 10K meters, and a podium finisher in the New York and Boston marathons. Growing up in Duluth, Minnesota, Kara wasn’t surrounded by pro runners, but she was born with both a love for the sport and Oylmpic aspirations.
In The Longest Race, Goucher takes the reader through her running life - from her middle- and high-school races to making the UC Boulder team to securing a coveted spot at the Nike Oregon Project, an incubator created for long-distance runnings’ most promising up-and-comers, in 2004, which is where the ‘dark side’ of this story unfolds.
In fact, The Nike Oregon Project was shut down in 2019 following allegations of misconduct surrounding co-founder and head coach Alberto Salazar, a 2x NY marathon winner and Olympian who was known as “cutthroat” and “ruthless” at the best of times, before these allegations surfaced.
The Longest Race details Goucher’s harrowing experience (and that of her husband, Adam) at the hands of Salazar, and she writes in detail about the heartbreaking verbal, physical and sexual abuse she went through during her time as a Nike athlete. Because Salazar was an icon in the running world, she was afraid to speak up - and, because Goucher’s career was taking off, publicly, she feared she had too much to lose.
It’s a devastating story, at turns heartbreaking and inspiring. It’s not all dark Nike tales; there’s a lot of triumph and inspiration, too. Reading this book and feel stronger on my runs - inspired by Kara to dig deep and relentlessly never give up (I am hoping this effect lasts through September, when I am slated to run a marathon). In the words of Mary Cain “her book is essential reading for anyone who wants to make sports safe and fair for everyone.” And I promise - you might love it, even if you hate running.