The longest race Inside the secret world of abuse, doping, and deception on Nike's elite running team
Book - 2023
"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"--
- Subjects
- Genres
- Autobiographies
Biographies - Published
-
New York :
Gallery Books
[2023]
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Other Authors
- Edition
- First Gallery Books hardcover edition
- Physical Description
- xv, 263 pages ; 24 cm
- ISBN
- 9781982179144
- Introduction
- Author's Note
- Preface
- Chapter 1. Patty and Mirko
- Chapter 2. Dreams of Jennings
- Chapter 3. Changes
- Chapter 4. Boulder
- Chapter 5. What Next
- Chapter 6. Love and Injuries
- Chapter 7. Valhalla
- Chapter 8. Welcome to "the Nike Family"
- Chapter 9. Pushing the Edge
- Chapter 10. Pros and Cons
- Chapter 11. Jetting
- Chapter 12. Rieti
- Chapter 13. Heart
- Chapter 14. Rules
- Chapter 15. Flip the Switch
- Chapter 16. Unstoppable
- Chapter 17. Great Expectations
- Chapter 18. Trials
- Chapter 19. Beijing
- Chapter 20. "Queens Girl"
- Chapter 21. Trapped
- Chapter 22. Heartbreak Hill
- Chapter 23. Multiple Attempts
- Chapter 24. Nine Months
- Chapter 25. Survival Mode
- Chapter 26. Muzzled
- Chapter 27. From the Sidelines
- Chapter 28. Proof
- Chapter 29. Confrontation
- Chapter 30. The Fight for Two Spots
- Chapter 31. The FBI, London, Rondos
- Chapter 32. Bombs
- Chapter 33. Return of the Buffaloes
- Chapter 34. Going Public
- Chapter 35. The Haunted Place
- Chapter 36. Under Oath
- Chapter 37. Just Keep Going
- Chapter 38. A Call for Change
- Resources
- A Note on Sources
- Acknowledgments
Review by Kirkus Book Review