The Longest Race - Kara Goucher - March 2023



 I have a picture with kara from the houston marathon expo in 2018. I had no idea of how difficult her life was at that time or was in the past. I had no idea what this book was about when I got it digitally. I thought it would be about her training schedule with perhaps some inside news about doping in the sport of running. She truly had a tough time at nike. Although Salazar was a good coach in many ways, he was also arrogant, abusive, controlling, and inappropriate a lot (this book is of course her side of the story which makes this review slightly more difficult). I have no reason to doubt her. In terms of reading this I would say this is a must read for runners and is worth reading for everyone else. I would put it in my top 20. Nike suspended her pay while she was pregnant which was bs. Salazar treated her bad a lot which was bs. At the same time, she took it and did not even tell her husband some stuff. And here I do not want to blame her, but for a large part of the book I was like "Kara how are you not leaving Nike already." "Kara how are you not saying anything." "Kara how are you racing under this stress." How much she is to blame for her own predicament is probably the most difficult question in this book. It was also hard for me to hear nike get bashed because I loved reading shoe dog (see me and Scott's review) and I own a lot of nike gear. In any case the ending is more fulfilling as she begins to speak up and really make a positive impact in the sport of running. I'm not that happy she voted for clinton jajajaja (sorry) but I am super happy she is trying to make the sport clean and help others who have suffered through abuse.

In terms of running, you really really really get to see how badly people want to win. You really get an insider view of the pay and how contracts work for professional runners. You really get to see that being a pro athlete can be really terrible a lot (depends on the person as I read Deena's book and she did not have it nearly as bad). You really get to see why people cheat because if you are a pro runner you and your family have to eat. The injuries she goes through are crazy. I would go mad if I was injured this much. I can relate to the part about the dorito. I can relate to the part about the gatorade. I can relate to the part about tapering being the hardest part. I can relate to using the stationary bike. If you are a runner you will relate for sure. I was super happy she talked about weight a lot. Most running books that I have read skip over this. I was not really happy about her critique of the carbon plated shoes. Maybe she has a point based on the rules. I am not sure. I am not sure how people ran marathons without them.  

In terms of cheating, I really looked up to Galen and Mo but now I do not know what to think. Did they cheat? Well, they never failed a drug test. However the anecdotal information in this book makes it seem like they did for sure. I would say they pushed the limits for sure and likely cheated but it is a very hard question for me to answer definitively.

Shalane is a stud. 

I have likely written too much but as an avid runner it was hard for to put this book down. It is top 20 material. 

if you like running or are an athlete or are passionate about equality and treatment of women (i support too) read it for sure and enjoy

page it!!

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