Scan barcode
profpetitfours's review
4.0
Fans of American racing know Kara Goucher's successes well, and she's followed up her illustrious running career with an excellent turn as a commentator for NBC Sports.
Many followers of American racing also know about the Oregon Project and Alberto Salazar, a top running coach who led the Nike-sponsored team and is now banned from the sport. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking most of Salazar's problems were due to doping, but Goucher's memoir (and Mary Cain's willingness to go to the NY Times) shows that the mistreatment and cruelty were much more profound. He was only banned for 4 years due to doping but has a permanent ban from Safe Sports due to his other behaviors.
The well-written and fast-moving book traces Goucher's progression from childhood fun runs to her time at CU Boulder to the heights of the US Olympics. It's after Boulder that she follows her then-boyfriend, and rising American running star, Adam Goucher to the Oregon Project. Salazar's mistreatment of Goucher is swift, commenting on her body, weight, skills, and relationship and eventually results in both sexual harassment and sexual assault. At the same time, Salazar pushes the limits of what is legal, ensuring his male athletes--most notably Galen Rupp and Mo Farah--excel in the sport. It's clear that both Goucher and co-author Pilon, have to tread a fine line, as neither Rupp nor Farah has ever had positive doping results, but they lay out evidence that shows both may have received performance-enhancing drugs that were covered up by Salazar and his medical and coaching team. The control that Nike and Salazar had over Goucher's career is staggering, including limiting her pay while pregnant and on maternity leave, even as she was one of the most requested Nike athletes.
I think Goucher and Pilon do a compelling job explaining how both Gouchers could have remained clean, while others in the project were not. I ultimately believe her and she works to atone for the silence that she engaged in when Salazar turned his sights on other members of the Oregon Project.
Overall, the book left me even more impressed with Goucher as an athlete and a person. Coming forward to report Salazar is no easy feat, and she did it while facing down the uber-powerful Nike, who basically owns American running at this point (the fact that she has to wear Nike while doing her job at NBC Sports made my stomach turn).
Many followers of American racing also know about the Oregon Project and Alberto Salazar, a top running coach who led the Nike-sponsored team and is now banned from the sport. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking most of Salazar's problems were due to doping, but Goucher's memoir (and Mary Cain's willingness to go to the NY Times) shows that the mistreatment and cruelty were much more profound. He was only banned for 4 years due to doping but has a permanent ban from Safe Sports due to his other behaviors.
The well-written and fast-moving book traces Goucher's progression from childhood fun runs to her time at CU Boulder to the heights of the US Olympics. It's after Boulder that she follows her then-boyfriend, and rising American running star, Adam Goucher to the Oregon Project. Salazar's mistreatment of Goucher is swift, commenting on her body, weight, skills, and relationship and eventually results in both sexual harassment and sexual assault. At the same time, Salazar pushes the limits of what is legal, ensuring his male athletes--most notably Galen Rupp and Mo Farah--excel in the sport. It's clear that both Goucher and co-author Pilon, have to tread a fine line, as neither Rupp nor Farah has ever had positive doping results, but they lay out evidence that shows both may have received performance-enhancing drugs that were covered up by Salazar and his medical and coaching team. The control that Nike and Salazar had over Goucher's career is staggering, including limiting her pay while pregnant and on maternity leave, even as she was one of the most requested Nike athletes.
I think Goucher and Pilon do a compelling job explaining how both Gouchers could have remained clean, while others in the project were not. I ultimately believe her and she works to atone for the silence that she engaged in when Salazar turned his sights on other members of the Oregon Project.
Overall, the book left me even more impressed with Goucher as an athlete and a person. Coming forward to report Salazar is no easy feat, and she did it while facing down the uber-powerful Nike, who basically owns American running at this point (the fact that she has to wear Nike while doing her job at NBC Sports made my stomach turn).
emmaphf's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Car accident and Violence
perugininicole's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Devastating and informative… I cried for all the things that happened behind the scenes while I naively worshipped Kara. All the things she went through while none of us knew.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
juliaclark's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
5.0