IAAF World Champs Berlin August 09

T&FN Exclusive: Goucher To Run World Champs Marathon

Kara Goucher is throwing her hat in the ring for the World Championships marathon in Berlin on August 23.

"We just decided it was what I needed for my professional career," Goucher told T&FN in a telephone interview, "so I submitted my name to USATF and I have been selected so I'm doing it. I'm going to run the marathon in Berlin." [continues after photo]


Kara Goucher bided her time at Boston and then attacked around
mile 19. She was outkicked by Kenyan Salina Kosgei and Ethiopia's
defending champ Dire Tune. Now she wants another shot.
(photo: Victor Sailer/PhotoRun.net)

Goucher, whose 2:25:53 race to 3rd place at last fall's New York City Marathon was the fastest-ever debut by a U.S. woman, had planned after her followup 3rd-place run in Boston last month to take a break from marathoning for a time and possibly start a family with husband Adam. But finishing within 9 seconds of the win in the tactical Boston race after leading for most of the closing stages left her hungry for more.

"You know I finished Boston and at first I was really angry and disappointed in myself and I just wanted another shot," Goucher said. "I desperately wanted to do London [the Sunday after the Monday, April 20, Boston race] and after discussing it that night, again Tuesday and then again Wednesday when I was in New York City with [coach Alberto Salazar] and Nike and the rest of my team--especially my husband--we just decided London was not smart for my overall development and my overall career. I kind of had to let that thought go.

"I can be crazy sometimes," said Goucher, whose idea of lining up in London hadn't sat well with Salazar even though she recovered quickly in the days after Boston, "but in the discussion for London the World Championships came up and I just felt like I wanted before I took a break I just wanted to give it one more crack.

"Waiting until the fall didn't really interest me because by then I would definitely like to be moving on to things in my personal life. The World Championships just seemed like a great fit. It was just delaying things that Adam and I had discussed for three or four months more, that's it."

Goucher's entry greatly enhances Team USA marathon prospects for Berlin. Top athletes often pass on the World Championships 26-miler to run a big-money fall race instead.

" Usually there's a spring marathon and a fall marathon, and that's where you make your money," Goucher said, "but this for me is a personal decision about having another shot and just getting a little bit more experience. I just really want this chance and I don't want to miss it. I just feel like it's the perfect opportunity to have one more shot at a marathon before I do take a break.

"After that I mean I'll have to take a break. That will be three marathons in 10 months so my body will need a rest from that. But it just fell in perfectly with the timing of everything and I am really, really excited about it."

The World Championships marathons for both men and women will be run on what is said to be a flat, fast criterium course that covers a 10km loop in the heart of the German capital. /Sieg Lindstrom, Track & Field News/