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

In this unvarnished and affecting memoir, 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. 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. Told with stunning honesty, The Longest Race is an unforgettable story and a 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. Kara’s memoir reveals how she broke through the fear of losing everything, bucked powerful forces to take control of her life and career, and reclaimed her love of running. "Kara Goucher grew up with Olympic dreams. She excelled at running from a young age, and though she was confronted with serious challenges including the death of her father and struggles with disordered eating, her prospects were bright. She won high school cross country championships in Minnesota, NCAA track and field championships at the University of Colorado, and when she graduated from college, Nike offered her a sponsorship deal. Alberto Salazar was a legend of American distance running. He ran at the University of Oregon, made two Olympic teams, and won the New York and Boston marathons in the 1980s. In the early 2000s he was hired by Nike as a coach to build a team that would reestablish the United States as a distance running powerhouse. Dubbed the Nike Oregon Project, it would be based at the company's spectacular headquarters near Portland. In 2004, Kara and her Olympian-runner husband, Adam, were invited by Alberto to move to Oregon and join the elite team. It seemed the opportunity of a lifetime and the start of her dreams coming true. But behind the scenes, Salazar was hiding dark secrets beneath his charming persona. Narcissistic and power hungry, he demanded complete control over his runners, pushing and then crossing the limits of anti-doping rules and even promoting a culture of abuse. Told with stunning honesty, The Longest Race is an unforgettable story and a call to action. Overcoming the powerful forces compelling her to remain silent, Kara became a key witness helping to get Salazar banned for life from professional coaching, as well as a crusader for female athletes. Ultimately, she reveals how she broke through the fear of losing everything she ever worked for, took back control of her life and career, and reclaimed her love of the sport of running"-- Provided by publisher 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.