“I think because of the way I started running, with my Grandpa, it wasn’t about performance, it was about time with him…running was this whole thing built around friendships...I think I’ve always been able to go back to that place, that’s what gotten me through some of those rough points.”
Kara Goucher is a two-time Olympian and is known as one of the most decorated athletes in American distance running history. She currently works as an Athlete Advisor at Oiselle and is part of Team Altra. Kara was a three-time NCAA Champion and a seven-time All-American during her time as a University of Colorado Buff. Prior to representing the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the 5k/10k and the 2012 London Games in the marathon, she was a 10,000m Silver Medalist at the 2007 World Championships. Outside of competition, Kara is known for her strong voice and advocacy. She was an early whistleblower on doping violations within the Oregon Project (her former team/training program) which led to the coach’s ban from the sport and public conversations around clean sport within the running community. Kara is now one of the hosts and creators of the Clean Sport Collective Podcast. In this conversation, I learn more about Kara’s relationship to place, specifically Boulder, CO, and her transition from professional running to race commentating. We also talk about her recent return to running and re-discovering the joy and connectivity of the sport through her son’s eyes.
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Music by Jacob Shije (Santa Clara Pueblo, NM).
This podcast was made possible through the Tracksmith Fellowship Program.
