The Longest Race, Kara Goucher
The Longest Race, Kara Goucher
7 Rating(s)
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

The Longest Race
Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike's Elite Running Team

Bestseller

Author: Kara Goucher, Mary Pilon

Narrator: Kara Goucher

Unabridged: 8 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/14/2023

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In “one of the most important athlete memoirs of its generation” (Kate Fagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Olympian Kara Goucher reveals her experience of living through and speaking out about one of the biggest scandals in running.

Kara Goucher grew up with Olympic dreams. She excelled at running from a young age and was offered a Nike sponsorship deal when she graduated from college. Then in 2004, she was invited to join a secretive, lavishly funded new team, dubbed the Nike Oregon Project. Coached by distance running legend Alberto Salazar, it seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime.

Kara was soon winning a World Championship medal, going to the Olympics, and standing on the podium at the New York and Boston marathons, just like her coach had done. But behind the scenes, Salazar was hiding dark secrets. He pushed the limits of anti-doping rules and created what Kara experienced as a culture of abuse, the extent of which she reveals in her book for the first time. Meanwhile, Nike stood by Alberto for years and proved itself capable of shockingly misogynistic corporate practices.

The Longest Race is an unforgettable story that is “as interesting as it is important” (Molly Huddle, two-time Olympian) and also a crucial call to action. Kara became a crusader for female athletes and a key witness helping to get Salazar banned from coaching at the Olympic level. The Longest Race will leave you “motivated, empowered, and ready to take on the world” (Allyson Felix, Olympic gold medalist) as it reveals how Kara broke through the fear of losing everything, bucked powerful forces to take control of her life and career, and reclaimed her love of running.

About Kara Goucher

Kara Goucher is a three-time NCAA champion, two-time Olympian, winner of the silver medal at the 2007 World Championships in the 10,000 meters, and a podium finisher at the Boston and New York Marathons. She is a running analyst for NBC Sports. She cohosts the hit running commentary podcast Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara, as well as the Clean Sport Collective podcast, promoting fair play in sports. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her Olympic-runner husband, Adam, and their son, Colt. Her website is KaraGoucher.com.

About Mary Pilon

Mary Pilon is the New York Times bestselling author of The Monopolists and The Kevin Show. She cowrote and cohosted the audio series Twisted: The True Story of Larry Nassar and the Women Who Took Him Down. She previously covered sports at The New York Times and business at The Wall Street Journal. She is a story producer on BS High, HBO’s documentary about the Bishop Sycamore High School football scandal. Find more of her work at MaryPilon.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily

Wow. Kara bares her soul in this book. And Alberto Salazar is an absolute piece of trash.......more

This was a phenomenal book - both heartbreaking and inspiring but a story that needed to be told. Kara read the audiobook and while she is not the best speaker the words hit closer to home as her voice shook while she described some of the abuses she faced. Anyways whether you read this or not - fuc......more

Goodreads review by Elise

Such mixed feelings about this book. It’s worth a read, but Kara Goucher ultimately comes across as inauthentic and hypocritical. It’s worth noting that she only whistleblows on the Oregon Project and Alberto Salazar once she was suspended by them during her pregnancy and leaves the team. The abysma......more

Goodreads review by Theresa

I could not put this book down. Kara’s story is equally inspiring and horrifying. A must-read for any running fans.......more

Goodreads review by Natalie

On the one hand, I tore through this book. As a once competitive runner myself (nothing of course near Kara's level), I was intrigued by the elite world of running. The highs and lows of the salaries and contracts, the incredible facilities Nike offered, the constant string of injuries and surgeries......more


Quotes

"At first, Goucher’s voice is joyful as recounts how she came to be a top runner and was chosen to participate in the Oregon Project. Then you hear her angst and frustration as it all goes wrong. Goucher audibly works through her horror as Salazar assaulted her on a plane and during a massage, her disbelief as she attempted to explain it all away, and, finally, her reckoning with the abuse she was experiencing. It’s a plainspoken, authentic performance of an important sports exposé."