Photo above: It's rad. Another precious medal for American long distance. Kara and Adam Goucher hug in celebration on Osaka's track.

Photo below: A world class field of female 10,000m competitors begin the race to glory. The Americans are on the right, with Kara Goucher (blue uniform) in front.

Alberto Salazar's Pep Talk, Kara Goucher's Bronze Leap
USATF press release from Osaka, Japan: 29-year-old Kara Goucher (Portland, OR) made history by winning the first American world championship medal ever in the women's 10,000 meters on Saturday, August 25. Her race was a stunning achievement for a first-time appearance at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships. She had qualified for a place on the American team roster two months earlier after finishing second (32:33.80) at the AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Indianapolis, IN. Kara Goucher, the 2000 NCAA Outdoor champion (Colorado '01) in 3000m and 5000m (15:54.30), was emotional after the June 21 race; walking off the track on a very warm and humid evening, she appeared to be shedding tears of joy at her return to top form after disappointing years (2002-2004) in her running career. She had moved up in distance from the 5000m at the urging of her coach, Alberto Salazar; she has raced 10,000m on the track fewer than five times with a personal best of 31:17.72 (2006, Helsinki).

Kara travelled to Osaka, Japan for the Women's 10,000m with the ninth fastest personal best in the field, but she used racing savvy and closing speed to earn a World bronze medal (32:02.05, season best time. Her third place in an international championship race equalled Hall of Famer Lynn Jennings' third place finish (31:19.89) in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Women's 10,000m. Defending 10,000m and 5,000m world champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia won the race (31:55.41) and Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey secured silver (31:59.40).

The race at ten o'clock in the evening was a tactician's dream as the entire pack stayed tightly bunched through 5000m, passed in a conservative pace of 16:29.24 as runners took their measure of each other as well as the heat in Osaka. The crowded track resulted in shoving and women falling down, including eventual winner DIbaba who had to chase down the leaders.

Shortly after half way, the pack slowly began to string out, but quickly bunched up again 19 minutes into the race. The pack eventually began to thin slightly as Goucher stayed near the front, Olympic marathon bronze medalist and 2007 USA 10,000m champion Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, CA) was in the middle and 2005 USA Champion Katie McGregor (St. Louis Park, MN) was near the back of the pack.

Goucher moved into second place with seven laps to go but fell to as low as fourth with 800m remaining. She remained in fourth with one lap to go; when she caught a glimpse of her position on the stadium jumbotron, she decided to challenge for third and surged ahead of Joanna Pavey of Great Britain and Kimberley Smith of New Zealand, whom she had been dueling all race long. Entering the final straight, Goucher was well clear of Pavey, who finished fourth in 32:03.81. Among Americans, Kastor was sixth in 32:24.44, and McGregor was 13th in 32:44.76. A jubilant Goucher then toured the stadium track on a victory lap, carrying the American flag. Her husband and teammate, Adam (Men's 5000m), joined her on the track for a kiss and a hug.

Photo below: Kara Goucher leading the three women in contention for the bronze medal, Kim Smith and Joanne Pavey. Kara's positive focus throughout the race put her in position for a final sprint for third place.

Women's 10,000m Final Results

25 august 2007  21:50	
Place	Bib	Athlete		Country	Time	
1	412	Tirunesh Dibaba	ETH	31:55.41 (SB)
2	904	Elvan Abeylegesse TUR	31:59.40 	
3	967	Kara Goucher	USA	32:02.05 (SB)
4	479	Joanne Pavey	GBR	32:03.81 	
5	725	Kimberley Smith	NZL	32:06.89 	
6	977	Deena Kastor	USA	32:24.58 	
7	411	Ejegayehu DibabaETH	32:30.44 	
8	647	Philes Ongori	KEN	32:30.74 	
9	638	Emily Chebet	KEN	32:31.21 (SB)
10	602	Kayoko Fukushi	JPN	32:32.85 	
11	245	Nathalie De Vos	BEL	32:38.60 	
12	791	Inga Abitova	RUS	32:40.39 	
13	983	Katie McGregor	USA	32:44.76 	
14	617	Megumi Kinukawa	JPN	32:45.19 	
15	624	Akane Wakita 	JPN	32:48.68 	
16	671	Asmae Leghzaoui	MAR	32:51.30 	
17	219	Benita Johnson	AUS	32:55.94 (SB)
18	414	Aheza Kiros	ETH	33:06.60 	
19	645	Evelyne Nganga	KEN	33:17.12 	

Profit from Experience: Learn from the Best
By Drew Woodrich: There is a fine line between pushing the envelope and exceeding the limits of a body's ability to handle hard work. Coming back from an injury calls for a kinder, gentler touch from a knowledgeable coach; it needs to be a gradual process that allows plentiful recovery time. It requires patience to avoid a rushed attempt at returning to previous performance levels; passion that fuels enthusiasm for a heavy work load has to be constructively channelled. The Gouchers have travelled a long journey to reach the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan; coach Alberto Salazar has instilled belief in them. Adam has raced in several world championships; Kara is new to international championship racing.

Photo below by Drew: Alberto Salazar, coach, with Adam Goucher after his 5000m race, June 2007, AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Adam Goucher spoke via a New York Road Runners teleconference on March 2, 2005 about the Goucher's change of course. He characterized his 2004 racing season as a 'punch in the gut' that took the 'wind out of [his] sails.' He had worked hard daily but one thing after another went wrong. At the 2004 Olympic Trials (O.T.) in Sacramento, CA he placed 19th in the Men's 5000m (13:58.55); he had won (13:27.06) the same event at the 2000 O.T. and placed 13th in the Sydney Olympic 5000m (13:43.20). Kara had placed 8th (15:34.47) in the 2000 O.T. Women's 5000m final, and fallen to a last place finish (16:30.35) in her 2004 O.T. 5000m first round heat.

He spoke about the struggles both he and his wife, Kara, had dealt with due to injuries. They felt stale and burned out after the July, 2004 races in Sacramento, in need of something new. After discussions with a few coaches, they chose to move from Boulder, CO to Portland, OR in November, 2004, to become part of the Nike sponsored "Oregon Project" coached by Alberto Salazar. They enjoyed training and needed less recovery time for workouts at sea level in Oregon compared to higher altitude training in Colorado. In early 2004, they did some high altitude training (7200' feet) in New Mexico with the Salazar group.

Alberto Salazar spoke in that 2005 teleconference about his approach as a coach, saying that he had the athletes training on soft surfaces and increased the volume of speed work--the group was doing up to 7 miles of repeats (versus 3-4 miles of repeats that the Gouchers did in Colorado), using 1000-1200m intervals. Salazar also worked to strengthen their core strength.

Husband Adam commented on the group setting with Alberto Salazar, compared to training alone in Colorado, "There is incredible synergy, we are all good friends and that helps one stay motivated; we're like a team. Boulder has great athletes but they train solo." And then Adam added that training with younger guys was like a new beginning; he had needed something inspiring and refreshing, like running with [then-high schooler] Galen Rupp.

Fans can follow the Gouchers' progress on a blog hosted by their sponsor Nike

Kara Goucher ends her blog, written with a women's 10,000m bronze medal performance fresh in her thoughts, ". . . I feel so blessed that I have Adam (fellow athlete and husband, in photo) in my life, that Alberto has guided me to this moment and was there to enjoy it with me and that I have such an amazing support network of family and friends. . . Dream big, have faith, and believe that anything is possible."

Follow the Running Network's coverage of the 2007 IAAF World Championships