From the outside, it seemed that American long-distance runner Kara Goucher was on top of the world. After medaling at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, securing her place on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, and finishing top three at the New York City Marathon, Goucher was at her career peak.
She was part of the Oregon Project, an elite, Nike-sponsored professional training team coached by running legend Alberto Salazar. Her image appeared on billboards, in malls, and on the sides of buses all over the United States.
Behind the scenes, though, Goucher was suffering emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of Salazar, which left her isolated and afraid. She was also witnessing the questionable if not outright illegal use of medications and other substances by certain teammates, directed by Salazar and other Oregon Project staff.
When she and her husband (also a former Oregon Project athlete) decided to start a family, she was assured by Nike executives that her contract would be secure during her pregnancy as long as she stayed “relevant” by participating in media interviews, photo shoots, and other events. Yet Nike suspended her pay due to what they termed her “medical condition” that kept her from competing.
It would take years for Goucher to summon the courage to speak out about her own abuse and the doping she observed. Her testimonies against Salazar and Nike between 2018 and 2021 — first to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and then to the U.S. Center for SafeSport, regarding sexual and emotional misconduct — contributed to Salazar’s lifetime ban from coaching USA Track and Field athletics. She tells her story in a 2023 memoir, The Longest Race.
Now 46, Goucher is retired from racing but serves on the board of the USADA and as a commentator for distance running for NBC Sports. She also hosts the Nobody Asked Us podcast with fellow runner Des Linden, on which the duo discuss “all things running.”
We caught up with Goucher to learn more about her journey from elite competitor to advocate for women athletes and clean sport.
Q&A With Kara Goucher
Experience Life | In your book, you describe struggles with self-confidence going back to high school — and how that left you vulnerable as a young athlete at the Oregon Project.
Kara Goucher| From a young age, I was really driven and a bit of a perfectionist, but I never was the best at anything. The term “imposter syndrome” wasn’t something we talked about then, but that was me to a T. I’d line up on the start line and think, I’m fooling everyone that I belong here.
The Oregon Project was a men’s team, and at first I thought I should just be grateful to be there. We had unlimited resources from Nike, and it was intoxicating to be part of that group, to have that exclusivity.
Because my dad died when I was very young, I was always looking for some sort of male guidance in my life, and I turned to Alberto. I also had the ability to push away things that hurt me, whether physically or emotionally. All of this set me up to be taken advantage of.
EL | Yet you overcame your fears to tell your story on a very public stage. How did you build up the courage to do this?
KG | It was a slow burn, finally deciding to testify against Alberto for USADA’s investigation and then for SafeSport. What drove me to write the book, though, was that there were high-profile people writing about me who spoke with authority against me but who had never met me. I was never quoted. I was never asked.
I got so frustrated that the story being told about me wasn’t real. I wanted to tell my story where nobody could cut me off. I wanted it in my own words so I could move on and have peace.
EL | Your family wasn’t aware of the abuse until you decided to blow the whistle. As you look back, what did you learn from this experience?
KG | My family loved me before I ran, and they love me just as much now, when I don’t run [competitively]. I think I wanted to protect them from what was happening because I knew how much they just wanted me to be happy.
I’ve learned that when you’re all in on something, whether it’s your job, sport, music, or whatever, sometimes you lose track of who you are. When you’re lying on your deathbed, you’re no longer a runner or a musician — that’s just something you pursued and worked at. You’re all the moments in between with your family, all the memories with your friends who showed up for you and who you showed up for. That’s who you truly are.
EL | You have written and spoken about the role of therapy in your life. How has therapy helped you heal?
KG | It’s so important to be able to be vulnerable enough to talk about things. My husband and I have been in marriage counseling, not because we want a divorce but because so many things happened to us, and it’s helpful to talk about them with a neutral party. There’s so much power in releasing things that feel like secrets, that you’re ashamed of, that you feel embarrassed about. Releasing these in safe spaces gets rid of the power they have on you, and you start to regain your own power.
EL | In 2022, you were diagnosed with focal dystonia [a neurological movement disorder that causes involuntary muscle reactions] in your lower left leg. How are you doing?
KG | I have repetitive movement dystonia, which means my brain wires sometimes get tripped up. When I do a motion I’ve done repeatedly, like running, instead of just contracting the muscles I need to do that motion, every muscle from my knee down contracts.
It’s been hard because running has been my release. Sometimes I even have problems walking, and I have to use a cane on days when it’s really bad. I get Botox treatments four times a year, which helps. Today was a good day: I met a friend to run three miles, and we ended up running seven. When I have days that are good, I take advantage of them.
EL | Over your career, you have put yourself out there as an elite athlete, an author, a commentator, a podcaster, and an advocate for clean sport. How do you see yourself now?
KG | I never saw myself as a leader, but I think there is a kind of quiet leadership that comes with being comfortable with who you are, with taking risks, and with doing something outside the structure you’ve always been in. I think that’s where I am in my life now — I’m exploring things I like, and I’m not trying to be perfect. Some things have been great, and some things haven’t been. I just want to be who I am, and it’s a really nice place to be in my life.
This article originally appeared as “Running Strong” in the July/August 2025 issue of Experience Life. Photographer: Andy Anderson.
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