Book Review: The Longest Race
In the second of my running book reviews this season, I will be sharing my thoughts on Kara Goucher's groundbreaking book "The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike's Elite Running Team" written with Mary Pilon and released this year. (Read my first book review of the season about Lauren Fleshman's "Good for a Girl" here.)
Kara Goucher and the cover of her new book, The Longest Race.
To be transparent, Terra Running Company doesn't carry Nike and after reading The Longest Race, I am proud to say that. Nike has a history of troubling relationships with their elite athletes, a muddied control of the entire sport of professional track and field, and continues to financially support banned coach Alberto Salazar.
Kara Goucher chronicles her childhood, losing her father tragically in a car accident when she was almost 4 years old and he was hit by a drunk driver. Goucher grew up in Minnesota, and her family plays an important role in supporting her, but also in her constant quest for a father figure.
Kara and her husband Adam joined the Nike Oregon Project in 2004. At the time, this was the most secretive, elite, and best funded professional running team in the country. Coach Alberto Salazar was a famed professional distance runner and the opportunity was one the Goucher's couldn't pass up.
Kara chronicles how the experience changed her, through the isolation, the toeing the line of anti-doping rules, and the difficult relationship with Alberto as she found success. Kara makes claims in this book that have never been made public and shines a light on the controversial tactics used by Alberto at the Nike Oregon Project. Kara risked losing everything she had earned by making these claims and opening herself up to scrutiny.
The book opens with a quote from poet Adrienne Rich, which correctly sums up my feelings on Kara's book: "When a woman tells the truth, she is creating the possibility for more truth around her." Kara risked everything to tell the truth, a truth that hadn't been told by anyone else, and I am so thankful she did. Her bravery has changed the sport of women's distance running for the better. As a longtime fan of women's distance running, I have followed Kara's career from the Nike Oregon Project to running for Altra and as Oiselle's first elite athlete, to her current battle with dystonia, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary muscle spasms, that has led to her no longer racing competitively.
This book is a must-read for any women's distance running fans, but also an insightful read if you are interested in the rise and fall of Alberto Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project. The book is a wonderful mix of memoir and racing chronicles, but is easily understood even if you aren't well versed in the world of college and post-collegiate running.
Have you read either "Good for a Girl" or "The Longest Race?" If so, let me know in the comments or on social media your thoughts!