麻豆影院

When Kara Grgas-Wheeler Goucher (Psych鈥�01) crossed the finish line of the New York City Marathon last fall, she wept.

It was her first 26.2 mile race, but she finished in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 53 seconds, the fastest debut marathon by an American woman ever. Her joy was overshadowed only by the tragic loss of her father who was killed by a drunk driver near the course when she was 4.

And there was something else. After 18 years of running, mostly at an elite level, Goucher, 30, felt she鈥檇 chanced upon her true distance. She placed third, the best finish by an American woman in 14 years. Just four months earlier, she had placed ninth and 10th in the 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer races during the Beijing Olympics.

鈥淭o win a marathon takes extreme dedication,鈥� Goucher says.聽 鈥淭he most rewarding aspect of it all for me is seeing what I can get my body to do.聽 I train so hard and ask so much of myself.聽 The result of finishing the marathon and running a good race is just so rewarding.聽 It feels amazing to test your body at such extreme limits.鈥�

At the 2009 Boston Marathon in April she proved herself again, placing third after leading the race going into the final mile.

But 17 years ago, crossing a finish line was just a means to another end for the talented runner. As a seventh grader in Duluth, Minn., the outdoorsy college town where she and her family moved after her father died, a spindly Goucher stumbled across the sport of cross country.

鈥淚 wanted to win a 鈥楾riple A鈥� award 鈥� for arts, athletics and academics 鈥� and my school only had cross country and volleyball,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 went to volleyball tryouts and I thought it looked like bumping the ball on your wrists hurt. 聽Also, I didn鈥檛 want to be told that I wasn鈥檛 good enough. I left and went to join the cross country team.鈥�

Goucher stuck with the sport because it was fun and she was good at it. Meanwhile, other runners across the state were already taking notice of their new competitor.

鈥淗ad it not been for that [Triple A] award, I don鈥檛 know if I would have done it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was already in dance and soccer. So I feel really lucky.鈥�

When she started running with the high school track team, she developed a passion for the sport 鈥� despite the exhaustion from running several miles per workout. In high school, she met her future husband, Adam Goucher (Comm鈥�98), at a national cross country meet.

The two hooked up again at CU where she ultimately established herself as one of the top collegiate cross country runners. Adam Goucher, arguably the best runner to wear CU鈥檚 black and gold as an NCAA track and cross country champion, graduated and started helping out with the women鈥檚 team in 1999. He recognized a talent and a kindred spirit in her: the two fell in love in a matter of months.

鈥淓ven before her breakthrough, I remember watching her race as a freshman and noticing she was just naturally gifted,鈥� says the 2000 Olympic competitor. 鈥淲hen she struggled, I tried to remind her that the 鈥渟tudliness鈥� was still in her.鈥�

At first, those struggles seemed endless: injuries, broken bones, surgeries, illness, severe anemia, a body that wouldn鈥檛 heal and loss of faith.

鈥淐olorado was my first real taste of running on a bigger stage,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 learned from all of the challenges. And sitting out (while injured) made me realize how much I really loved the sport.鈥�

Then came her collegiate breakthrough: She was undefeated for the entire 1999 cross country season until the NCAA Championships, where she finished ninth. She returned in 2000 to win both the 3,000 and 5,000m at the NCAA Championships. The following fall, she won the cross country championship.

Three years after she graduated, Goucher stumbled upon the second critical piece to her career: meeting coach Alberto Salazar, who won the New York City Marathon three consecutive years in the early 1980s and in 2006 received media attention for helping Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong run the New York City race. Salazar works as coach for the Nike Oregon Project running club for developing American elite runners.

The first time Salazar remembers seeing her, she was bawling after a disappointing finish. But there haven鈥檛 been many disappointing finishes since the Gouchers teamed up with Cuban-born Salazar in Portland, Ore.

鈥淗e has changed my life dramatically,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e has helped me to see all of the positive aspects of life and to embrace them. My personal life and my career have blossomed since he came into my life. I trust him completely.鈥�

That trust helps her manage a rigorous training regimen. She asks Salazar what she needs to do and does it. But Salazar downplays his role in her successes.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think a coach or a sports psychologist makes someone tough,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou know how Michelangelo said he just frees a sculpture? Athletes have that, too. You can鈥檛 teach toughness 鈥� you help them to find it.鈥�

The marathon, Salazar continues, requires acute mental toughness. It was Goucher鈥檚 keen sense of it 鈥� and her ability to bounce back after tough workouts and to surpass expectations based on her training 鈥� that led him to think the distance might suit her.

鈥淵ou have to be willing to make a lot of sacrifices and be extremely disciplined,鈥� Goucher says.聽 鈥淚n a way, training for the marathon is like saving money for your future retirement.聽 You have to take a long-term approach to it all.聽There are no quick fixes, no quick results.聽You must have patience.鈥�

Looking to the future, Goucher plans on taking a short detour. She and her husband are hoping to start a family. If all goes as planned, she鈥檒l come back from the birth of a child stronger and in 鈥減lenty of time to get in some marathons before the [2012 London] Olympics.鈥�

Sheila Mulrooney Eldred, a Minneapolis-based freelancer and amateur runner, remembers racing against Kara Grgas-Wheeler Goucher (Psych鈥�01) in high school.