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

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

• 
  Emily Isaacs

  Wow. Kara bares her soul in this book. And Alberto Salazar is an absolute piece of trash.
• 
  Theresa Hammond

  I could not put this book down. Kara’s story is equally inspiring and horrifying. A must-read for any running fans.
• 
  Natalie Kalin

  On the one hand, I tore through this book. As a once competitive runner myself (nothing of course near Kara's level), I was intrigued by the elite world of running. The highs and lows of the salaries and contracts, the incredible facilities Nike offered, the constant string of injuries and surgeries both Kara and her husband endure. I was baffled by some of this information, and it kept me engaged.
  
  That said, I found the writing simple and the transitions often times awkward. But the writing was obviously not the core of this book. Alberto Salazar is a pig of a man, and I'm glad he got what was coming to him.
  
  BUT, that said, I can't help but feeling like Kara's handling of the situation she was in was extremely disappointing and difficult for me to read. I read this book shortly after completing "What is a Girl Worth?" by Rachel Denhollander, an expose on Larry Nassar. In Denhollander's book, she is only 15 years old when Nassar first sexually assaults her. That is already an extremely confusing and difficult age without adding on a doctor sexually abusing you. It's understandable how someone that young would be confused about what was happening.
  
  Now, I'm not saying a woman EVER deserves to be sexually assaulted, but I found it astounding that Kara, as a grown-ass woman, did not immediately tell Alberto to stop when he first sexually assaulted her. WHY she would continue to be coached by this man, and not tell her husband, was so juvenile to me. She KNEW what he did was wrong. How could she not stand up for what was right, for her own body?
  
  And THEN she didn't save other women from that same fate. When Mary Cain joined the Oregon Project, how was it not Kara's first instinct to do whatever was possible to stop Mary from joining?
  
  Also, I found her handling of her pregnancy and the Nike project contract somewhat astounding. She had a written contract stating that if she didn't compete for 120 days, her contract would be void. She was surprised when they upheld that contract due to her pregnancy. Your job is to be an elite runner. If you had wanted something in that contract for your pregnancy, you need to write it in there. Contracts are not just null and void because you decided that's the case. I'm not saying Nike was completely in the right either, but contracts are there for a reason.
  
  And, at the very end, Kara encourages readers to "think twice" before buying Nike apparel, while she continues to wear the swoosh for her new job at NBC.
  
  Bottom line, Kara continues to talk throughout this book about morals, but I didn't see a single morale from her. She would do anything to keep that paycheck coming in the door.
• 
  Ana

  I never want to wear Nike again 🤢
• 
  Sam

  there was a point when i was gonna give this book 3 stars on the grounds of mediocre storytelling, but then i remembered how much sleep i lost last night and the um slightly long "lunch break" i took today to finish the book, told myself to stfu, and came to my senses
• 
  CatReader

  Conflicted feelings on this memoir. Kara Goucher is a well-known elite runner so it's definitely a choice that her first memoir is explicitly branded as a tell-all about her involvement with Nike's Alberto Salazar-led Oregon Project, rather than about her journey as an athlete (though the memoir covers both topics extensively).
  
  I could not get behind Kara's notion that she was a clean runner as she describes how she took medical advice and drugs from people who were involved in Nike's dirty games for years. Ignorance might be an excuse for one time, but not for years. Kara was definitely complicit, a part of the dirty game she tries so hard to distance herself from in this memoir.
  
  I'd recommend reading Win at All Costs: Inside Nike Running and Its Culture of Deception by Matt Hart for a different, more objective perspective on the Nike scandal.
• 
  Liz Cymanski

  wow. I know I say this about every running memoir, but everyone should read this ... and then never buy anything from Nike again
• 
  Leah Lorz

  3.5 - 5 stars for the story, major hit for the writing and narration. First of all, the book is worth reading. Kara exposes the shady side of elite running. The amount of cheating, sexism, and lack of integrity in non franchised sports seems to be rampant. I’m sure Nike is not alone is many ways in being a shit company, especially towards women. Kara told a story that needed told, pointing out bad behavior is the only way to stop it from continuing. That being said, the writing was clunky and the narration by Kara compounded the problematic writing. Wish it had a better flow.
• 
  Bridget Kruszka

  I met Kara Goucher at the Oiselle store in Seattle with Lauren Fleshman. And I remember thinking how lucky I was to be able to meet such a strong and medaled athlete.
  
  To know all of the things she was going through at the time, all the gray clouds hidden in her eyes, is heartbreaking.
  
  I followed Kara Goucher and all these stories in real time. It is so much worse than what the public knew.
  
  And in conclusion, I still won't buy Nike and the patriarchy still sucks.
• 
  Courtney Fortenberry

  I neglected my entire life to read this book in almost one sitting. Kara’s story is intense but also so important when we think about the sport of running. Also, I can’t buy Nike ever again.
• 
  Wendy

  I needed a couple days to process this one. While I knew a lot of what Goucher shares in her book, there were some revelations that made it hard for me to process. As the only woman on Nike's Oregon Project at the time, Goucher was subjected to a sexist, misogynistic culture. Her coach verbally and sexually abused her. Nike made her come back to work 2 weeks after she gave birth to begin training for races. Goucher tells the story in an objective, unemotional manner that allows to reader to draw their own conclusions. I couldn't put this book down. I'm just so glad she was able to leave and once again reclaim the joy that running can bring.
  
  There are plenty of companies that treat women well. Nike is not one of them. Spend your money wisely.
• 
  Scott Kummer

  This was fantastic. Very eye opening about Nike, Coaching and the life of Kara. A must read memoir for people in the running space. I learned a lot and really enjoyed reading it. Really well written too!!!
• 
  Jill

  I think this was more compelling as a talk I heard from her last year than as a book (more emotionally resonant and cohesive as a talk) but still love Kara! Recaps about her different races were fun to read. Love that Reputation album gets a random shoutout towards the end.
• 
  Lindsey Hein

  I loved Kara’s book and am grateful for her honesty and openness in talking about some very difficult situations she has lived through. This book was a quick read and very well done. Thank you Kara!
• 
  Hannah Stevens

  UM ok I could not stop listening to this. Kara’s story gripped me - from her childhood in Duluth (her grandpa is my favorite), to the ups and downs of her running career as the “golden girl” of the Nike Oregon Project, to the fallout with Nike and Alberto Salazar and her incredible bravery in finally speaking out and shedding light on the systemic issues professional female athletes face.
  
  "[Running] has taught me how to move and how to be in my body. It has nearly killed me. It has saved my life. It's made me who I am. It's made me happy. I'm still in love with it. I always will be."
• 
  Surbhi Jain

  Ugh. I’m disappointed with how much Nike I own now. It’s sickening how they treat all athletes but especially female athletes. Once again, a story of a strong woman trailblazing the way for others coming behind her. I’m glad she’s told this story so we can try to consciously choose brands with better morals.
  
  On a different note - the content of this book was excellent. The actual writing left something to be desired.
• 
  Mara Branoff-Wargo

  I LOVED hearing about athletes I admired growing up and more insider information of the Nike Oregon Project. However, like much coming to light, I am extremely disheartened for female athletes and the way they still feel the inability to speak up to defend themselves and others. On one hand, I understand why she didn’t speak sooner. And I agree that the birth of a child shakes your thinking. On the other, I hope for a better future for my daughter and wish Kara was able to speak up sooner. Also- no thanks to Nike…. 🤮
• 
  Gayle

  I’ve long admired Kara Goucher as she became a top world-level marathoner at the same time I was putting in my miles, building lifelong running friendships, traveling the country (and world) racing my own marathons, and following the women’s elite. Just three years apart, we are contemporaries (in age, not running talent!). I’ve been anticipating the release of her book, « The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team ». My takeaways: 1. Kara is a force to be reckoned with who truly loves the sport; 2. Her husband Adam (also an accomplished pro runner) is as supportive as can be and an example for men everywhere; 3. The patriarchy and cover up at Nike runs deep — they give lip service to inclusivity while marketing and exploiting their female athletes and actively not supporting them. Just ask Kara, Allyson Felix, Mary Cain, and many others. Nike has a record of withholding pay (without notice) to pregnant athletes who continued to train and work for the brand during pregnancy (only recently have they reluctantly changed the terms of contracts with female athletes to prevent this, thanks to women like Allyson Felix). Nike knowingly and tacitly allowed illegal doping in their coaching programs, and provided cover for known sexual abusers. As consumers, we should think about supporting fitness apparel companies built by women that support women, two that come to mind: @oiselle @athleta
  
  From the book:
  
  However, Nike has allegedly spent millions of dollars defending Alberto [Salazar] across the various cases. The largest seller of athletic footwear and apparel in the world, spending all that money to keep my abuser active in the sport. Remember that the next time you see a Nike ad or consider buying shoes or clothing with a swoosh on it.
• 
  hrrasmussen

  wow. just, wow. what a toxic environment to endure, among a toxic system as a whole. i never knew quite the extent of Nike’s scandals (not even touching on their historical labor practices!) and it certainly has me grappling with the ways in which i support them. How can you parse the good from the bad with companies so large? Is that allowed? Capitalism enables and rewards bad behavior so long as it is good for the bottom line, and at the end of the day, protest becomes pretty fruitless because companies like this are essentially too big to fail.
• 
  Christy

  Wow! This book paints a clear picture of the beast that is Nike. It also tells the story of how difficult it is to be an elite female athlete in a world run by men. The abuse and trauma is appalling.
  
  I still don’t know how anyone can be a marathoner and/or a runner at all. But runners probably think that about swimmers too.
  
  I will NOT be buying Nike in the future and wish that they weren’t the outfitters of the USA Olympic team.
• 
  Kara Krebs

  Great book, definitely a heavy one. I remember hearing about the Oregon Project when I was a young cross country athlete, the rumors that they too used to run around the hills of Portland, and if you just kept an eye out you might see them.
  
  Unbelievable what was going on behind the scenes, and it takes an impressive amount of courage to come forward with a story like this. Hope the author is happy and doing well, because she deserves to be.
• 
  Lindsey Paulson

  While Kara’s story is undoubtedly important to tell, it was difficult to read just a timeline of events and I felt like it painted her as morally grey. I would have loved more about her family life, childhood and college running.
• 
  Jenna

  As I’ve described in other reviews, I normally don’t really rate my experience of reading a memoir based on the content of the memoir. I definitely believe there are some important stories that need to be told more than others, and some stories that are more difficult to tell than others, but I don’t think either of those entirely lets an author off the hook in terms of the telling of the story if the author is making the (albeit brave) decision to write and publish the story. It’s not like everything needs to be Shakespeare, but there needs to be some art or style or voice or at least intention to the storytelling.
  
  Well - I’m kind of breaking this rule in my review and rating of this book.
  
  I read (listened to) this back to back with Lauren Fleshman’s Good For a Girl. To be honest, both books were disappointing to me, possibly because I do think the topics covered are so incredibly important (pioneering professional women athletes in the patriarchal and corrupt sports and corporate worlds, among other things), and so I had high hopes and expectations. And these are both super high-achieving women, so it makes sense I thought these books would really … cross the finish line strong? (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
  
  However, in the case of this book specifically - I regretfully confess my impression was that the writing was rather lackluster, to the point of distraction. I think someone in another review stated it was like reading a kid’s “What I Did For Summer Vacation” essay. I think this is kind of an insult to how entertaining kids’ random writing can (if inadvertently) be, but I totally get what they mean. If marathoning boiled down to its most basic and boring essence is just putting one foot in front of the other repeatedly to get from A to Z - then that describes the prose here as well. And although I usually appreciate authors reading their own audiobooks, especially their memoirs, I also felt similarly about the narration here. I really want to be more gracious, but this was my perception.
  
  The other challenge I faced with this book, as well as with Fleshman’s, is that both were mostly just chronological, straightforward autobiographies - details of training (which I found surprisingly dull to read about, in the case of professional running, which honestly sounds like the most boring job ever), career highs and lows, marriage, motherhood. That’s all totally fine, but I had the impression that both books (especially Fleshman’s) would take on more Bigger Picture Title IX-type stuff and be more universal and transferable and contextualized within women’s athletic and running history. Fleshman’s book attempts this a bit more, but this book is just focused tightly in on Goucher’s personal life story.
  
  Of course - her story does include abusive treatment within the very cultlike and exploitative environment of running for Nike, and multiple types of abuse (including SA) by coach Alberto Salazar, and I recognize it is challenging and often literally unsafe for (especially women) survivors and whistleblowers to tell their story. There will be victim-blaming and doubting galore, among other things, because people don’t seem to be able to grasp that victims are not responsible for what happened to them AND not responsible or accountable in any way for the behavior of the abuser. The abuser alone is responsible and accountable for the choice to act abusively. (I can’t believe I have to say this in 2024 still.) Yet victims are usually damned if they do, damned if they don’t, when it comes to disclosing these stories - you said too much, too little, too soon, too late, etc.; there is no “correct” way to do it - and this has definitely happened in Goucher’s case.
  
  So, in recognition of the bravery and importance of the author’s coming forward, I opted to give this book a 3-star rating (solid rating for me, nothing to be ashamed of) even though, as described earlier, this doesn’t quite reflect my overall personal experience of reading it, and I think there were some missed opportunities in the writing/editing and scope. I also imagine/hope it may be of more interest to other hardcore runners? My own running days are behind me save stints on the tready, and after reading this, never have I been more grateful!