Not everyone can say they’re the second fastest woman in American history. The Northern native sprinkles her speech with a distinctly Midwestern accent when she speaks honestly and earnestly about her… + See More +
Not everyone can say they’re the second fastest woman in American history. The Northern native sprinkles her speech with a distinctly Midwestern accent when she speaks honestly and earnestly about her… + See More
- See Less - Not everyone can say they’re the second fastest woman in American history.
The Northern native sprinkles her speech with a distinctly Midwestern accent when she speaks honestly and earnestly about her collegiate struggles with eating problems. Upon sustaining multiple injuries and surmounting her eating problem, Goucher graduated from the University of Colorado in 2001, leaving a legacy of becoming the NCAA Outdoor Champion in the 3000m and 5000m, the NCAA Cross Country Champion and a 5000m Olympic Finalist, placing eighth.
Her mighty comeback continued as she finished second in the 5K at the USATF Outdoor Championships in 2006. She set personal records on the international level and ran the World “A” Standard in the 1500m, 5000m and 1000m. Her third place finish in the 3000m at the 2006 IAFF World Cup and her 10k time ranks her the second fastest American woman of all time.
Goucher continued setting records as she reigned over the Great North Run with a time of 1:06.57, a record that earned her the title of the fastest woman’s half-marathoner of the year and set a new American best time.
The record-setting, obstacle-dominating success story moved to Oregon with her husband – American runner Adam Goucher – and continues to be coached by Alberto Salazar.
#84
Pete G. May 21 at 12:05pm
Scott, nobody gives a s$#t about your pr either. With your logic, Kara could never say anything or make any comment about the marathon in the presence of Paula because Paula has a faste pr. Is that about right? How fast someone is or isn't doesn't have anything to do with their comment. Can Ron Warhurst beat his runners? NO, but he can coach them based off his experience of what works and what doesn't. Translation for ya Scott: there are smart people on this site and dumb ones who know nothing. I've broken 2:30 and I don't give a rat's a$$ what you think. I'm new here and I can't believe the arrogance of posts like Scott's. Once again scott, does Kara have the right to comment on Dune, since she's faster? Get a clue bloke!
I'm guessing 99.9998% of the people that posted a comment here could never run the time Kara did in Boston. It was her 2ND marathon people. I agree with post #69. Has everyone forgotten what running is about? Posting what your PR is or personal best or saying you ran sub 2:30 is a cheese move, nobody gives a s$#t, keep that to yourself...
Joey J. Col. Connection said: “Um.........yes she did. You need to read and listen. She said it clear as day and it WASN'T sarcasm. We all hope you've learned from your mistake. Research it dude. She absolutely wanted to run London. What an embarrassing post you've made.
Um.........yes she did. You need to read and listen. She said it clear as day and it WASN'T sarcasm. We all hope you've learned from your mistake. Research it dude. She absolutely wanted to run London. What an embarrassing post you've made.
hey have you ever heard of sarcam? she was never going to race London get real. As for the race yeah she did run for the win, and she didn't that's just how it is so what're up here b!*#$^*g for? And i'm pretty sure she said that she did what she thought was the right choice in the race. so save your crap for some where else!
Personally, I do think you gotta admit the following: Kara Goucher was talking about running London right after finishing Boston, right?. Even though I think she was foolish for even saying that, what's the point? If Mrs. Goucher is complaining that the pace was too slow and the wind wasn't really that bad, then why didn't she simply run faster when the pace was slow? She did have a choice but for some reason she chose to run slow and then complain after the race. Face it people, she made that choice. If she felt she could wait and win with a sprint, she was wrong. So now Mrs. Goucher thinks she can just go to London and run fast because the course is easier. That makes no sense and thank God Mr. Salazar, her coach, said no. Please don't say she was running for first place and not time, because that arguement doesn't fly either. I think if she had it to do over, she would have run a steady pace through the halfway point to at least be on sub 2:30 pace. That's my take. I agree with post #43 and #73. The voices of reason.
people are silly said: “STOP! Don't waste your time reading all these posts. Here's the summary:
Go Kara!
Kara sucks!
Youre sucky!
I think you meant "you're" sucky!
Kara should've..
You shouldve..
She's stupid for crying..
She's awesome for crying.
Trust me... that's all you want to know from the 8pgs of comments ;)”
That was even more insightful. NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a forum and with that comes an array of different opinions, including yours which is NO better than anyone elses. If you don't like it, don't read it and don't waste your time posting because then we all have to waste our time reading your post.
STOP! Don't waste your time reading all these posts. Here's the summary:
Go Kara!
Kara sucks!
Youre sucky!
I think you meant "you're" sucky!
Kara should've..
You shouldve..
She's stupid for crying..
She's awesome for crying.
Trust me... that's all you want to know from the 8pgs of comments ;)
karafan01 said: “honestly, please explain to me what the fk you are talking about. what the hell do you know about kara goucher?
how about her 20m 5:25 pace workout prior to the marathon? are you able to compete with that? i didn't think so. saying kara has got some work to do is outrageous. her 110 mile weeks, 20+ mile workouts, longruns, half marathons, etc is close to the maximum amount of work she could have done to prepare for this.
how about her massage therapists, sports psychiatrists, and even her COMPRESSION CHAMBER BEDROOM? and you say she has some work to do!? PLEASE.
Kara Goucher not courageous? seriously? give me a break. how could you ever expect to win a marathon, the BOSTON MARATHON, breaking the wind for the rest of the pack? wasting 10-20% of her energy on breaking the wind for the rest of the pack through the rolling hills course. sitting behind was the smart thing to do. not controlling the pace early on was the smart thing to do. look what happened with the men. As they go out in sub record pace, the defending champion and other predicted winners fail and finish about 1 minute + behind the leader.
Ryan Hall did run a gutsy race, as did Kara Goucher. Please tell me what "excuses" Kara has made in regards to her finish place. What? Her taking control too soon? I wouldnt consider that to be an excuse, just a simple fact. it is true that there are no "woulda, shoulda coulda's" in running but she did take control of the race early, possibly allowing Tune and the winner to coast more comfortably.
What would be the benefit of not taking control of the race at all? Absolutely nothing. Kara knew there was going to be consequences when she took control, she knew she would be breaking the wind for the rest of the pack but she pushed along anyways. Gutsy? I think so. The rest of the women were simply not gutsy enough to take control of the pack themselves. Singling out Kara Goucher is outrageously unfair.”
Obviously you are a big fan of hers, but know nothing about running, not to mention your anger problems. I'm not the original poster, but I'll take a stab at it. Personally, I've broken 2:30, I can tell you that for sure. If I can run sub 5:43 pace for 26.2 miles, then I must know something.
When people are talking about excuses, they are saying she should've ran her race from the start instead of talking about it after the race. You know, actually doing it. Kara had no chance to outkick either of the Africans. Can she sprint, yes. Does she have decent turnover for an elite woman marathoner, yes. But can she turn really turn it over at the end of a marathon with compeition, no. We saw that yesterday. Both ladies in front were hurting just as badly as she was (did ya know that?), but they ended up finishing about 10 seconds in front of her. Why? If you can't figure that out, then I don't know how else to explain it. Maybe one of the other posters on here can jump in and give it a shot.
Your talk about breaking the wind is baloney! Her own coach, Alberto ran the 1982 NY Marathon and lead for the majority of the race (I have it on tape if you want a copy). He did this with the majority of the race into the wind. He was not a great sprinter, period. But with 800 to go he dropped Rodolfo Gomez of Mexico and beat him by 4-6 seconds. He did this by pounding hard mile after hard mile from about 20 till the finish and BEAT THE SPRINT OUT OF HIM. Although Rodolfo stayed with Alberto when he threw in a 4:25 mile, it took a major toll on Rodolfo and he didn't have the kick that he would have if the pace had been slower. Does that help ya karafan01? I am really trying hard to get you to understand how it all works. This is what Kara's only chance is against other top women. Yes, I agree with you that the headwind played a role, but it wasn't 25 mph winds constantly in their faces. Kara could have won the Boston Marathon and she wouldn't have had to break the wind the whole way. She could have pulled over for water and bam!, there is a lead change. If the pace gets too slow, she goes to the front again. If you have never seen this happen in windy races, then you don't race very much. I have broken the wind before and changed the lead with whoever is with me at the time.
Sorry, she "never" really took control of the race until 5 miles to go where she finally upped the ante. Friend, that was a bit too late with the competition that she was facing. Kara did not lead from start to finish at a slow pace with her competition all sitting behind her like a flock of geese in formation. She, along with others were spread out, and there's a big difference. Heck, Colleen was in front for quite some time, so was she controlling the race? Fact is, nobody wanted to go faster, so nobody picked it up. But you believe what you'd like.
As far as training goes, she has to get stronger and faster, believe it or not. If she actually ran 5:25 as a training run for 20 miles, then why not do that in a race? I agree with many others, there are no excuses and she is way better than what she showed yesterday. I believed she was going to run at least 5:30 pace and finish around 2:24. With the wind, maybe 2:26 at most. Her place, that I could never predict because who knows who is going to run what.
Gutsy, I don't think so. Kara never had "control of the pack". Are you for real? I taped it and I don't know what you're talking about. They were 3-5 abreast for the majority of the race. What race were you watching?
I took the time to explain this in hopes of getting you to understand. But with a name like karafan01, you are obviously too biased to see the truth. If you picked up a pointer or two, great. If not, oh well. I tried to help you pal.
Take Care,
Rob
Holy crap people! She is responding to questions that people are asking her. She is answering them honestly and she had a damn great race. 9 seconds off the winning time at Boston! She's not making excuses, she's answering questions honestly. It was her SECOND marathon ever! She will get more experience and learn how to run these races more effectively. One of the best efforts in the marathon by a American woman in a long time!
Hey, face it, she ran decent for sure, but as the letsrun crowd is saying, she talks too much and needs to just run. She said she ran a "controlled" 1:08 plus half marathon, strongly implying that it wasn't very hard and she was ready for Boston. Too much talk Kara. The first half was at 2:36 pace if I read right. She should have been at least 1:14 at halfway, it's mostly downhill. As has already been said here, no excuses. Please Kara, just run your next one and actually run the fast time that you claim you're capable of and stop the "overly" pre-race rhetoric. Please! She talks more than Paula and Paula has to be at least 8 or 9 minutes faster (I'm not a stat guy, so please forgive the approximation).
Told Ya So! said: “To Come On......a decent civil post on your part also. Thank you!
But, sorry to say Ryan did run a more gutsy race and with more courage. Kara is an excuse maker. She had no business running that slow of a pace, but she chose to, no one made her. She trained to run faster, but didn't do it when it counted, during the actual race. That is not courageous friend, far from it. You have the right to your opinion, as do I. I don't think she ran courageous and think she blew it by going through the first half at 2:36 pace, a pace over 10 minutes slower than NY. She's got some work to do.
John K.”
honestly, please explain to me what the fk you are talking about. what the hell do you know about kara goucher?
how about her 20m 5:25 pace workout prior to the marathon? are you able to compete with that? i didn't think so. saying kara has got some work to do is outrageous. her 110 mile weeks, 20+ mile workouts, longruns, half marathons, etc is close to the maximum amount of work she could have done to prepare for this.
how about her massage therapists, sports psychiatrists, and even her COMPRESSION CHAMBER BEDROOM? and you say she has some work to do!? PLEASE.
Kara Goucher not courageous? seriously? give me a break. how could you ever expect to win a marathon, the BOSTON MARATHON, breaking the wind for the rest of the pack? wasting 10-20% of her energy on breaking the wind for the rest of the pack through the rolling hills course. sitting behind was the smart thing to do. not controlling the pace early on was the smart thing to do. look what happened with the men. As they go out in sub record pace, the defending champion and other predicted winners fail and finish about 1 minute + behind the leader.
Ryan Hall did run a gutsy race, as did Kara Goucher. Please tell me what "excuses" Kara has made in regards to her finish place. What? Her taking control too soon? I wouldnt consider that to be an excuse, just a simple fact. it is true that there are no "woulda, shoulda coulda's" in running but she did take control of the race early, possibly allowing Tune and the winner to coast more comfortably.
What would be the benefit of not taking control of the race at all? Absolutely nothing. Kara knew there was going to be consequences when she took control, she knew she would be breaking the wind for the rest of the pack but she pushed along anyways. Gutsy? I think so. The rest of the women were simply not gutsy enough to take control of the pack themselves. Singling out Kara Goucher is outrageously unfair.
Anonymous Coward said: “Kara did say in the interview, and several times that it was like a training pace, slow pace etc. She could have pushed the pace and maybe the results would have been different. Who knows.
But she shouldn't be criticized for showing emotion, she is not blaming anyone. But I agree that this is only her second marathon and she wasn't a marathoner 1 year ago and maybe she shouldn't expect supreme success in such a short time.
If she really wants it she has to continue to work, hard. As that announcer said during the race you have to make your dreams.”
There are no coulda, woulda, or shoulda's in running. She didn't push the pace and therefore you can't say what would have been different. Anyone can say that. If Kosgei and Dire had taken off at halfway, they might have dropped everyone and won by 1-2 minutes, .............who knows? See what I mean. Kara can say whatever she wants AFTER the race, but it's just talk unless you actually do it. Give some credit to the top 2 finishers also, not to mention Colleen D. who is a master runner and did great for her age.
We old folks have been asking for many years "why can't the Americans be up there with the rest of the world at the front of the marathon pack?" You answered it for us - THEY CAN. Guess what, YOU DID IT. My kids and I were standing 150 meters from the finish. You were there, neck and neck, with the best in the world, right to the finish. When you went by us, I thought, great, she did it. She can go and have a baby now. Then come back and do it again.
Why can't we all just acknowledge a great race when it happens. When you exert so much into one thing you have the right to cry after the race. I do think that she did put to much pressure on herself. But she has my support. Great race Kara!!!
To Told Ya So! said: “Ever consider taking an anger management class?
”
Anger management class, hardly. It's called realism. You may need to go back to school. If you can tell the tone of someone's post from typed words on a running board, then you can predict the future, which I doubt is true. Kara talks too much and predicts too much with little to back it up. You've got your opinion as do I have mine as do many, many others on this board. What makes you right? That's what I thought.
When a lawyer loses a case, something he/she has been working on for a long time ,emotions will fly. When a professional FB player is within 3 pts of the opposing team with 2 seconds to go and within 35 yards, and miss a field goal to lose the superbowl, they will mostly cry along with supportive fans. A professional runner is training hard, thinking day and night about a 26.2 mile course, competing in one of the most prestigious races in the world and dreams about crossing the finish line first. This is it, this is her career, her fans, her team is rooting for her to win. It's right there, those lucid eyes coming down the homestretch, watching someone else take the blue ribbon.
If anyone is not of her caliber, drive, status and has the chance to win the Boston marathon and calls her out on crying and becoming emotional over losing this battle, then you are not an athlete or a career driven person. You are a weekend warrior.
Why don't you put yourself in position to win this race, have the weight of the american people on your shoulders,and then lose? Let's see how you will come out. Congrats on your run today, although not victorious, it was not in vain.
Wow. I'm speechless. This is why I run and why I love running. Kara put everything she had into that race. Her emotions at the end and at the press conference...powerful. Kara - You may be disappointed now, but kudos on an excellent race. You will be extremely successful in the future. And, thanks for providing a wealth of motivation for me to stick with the sport!
I think that Kara has learned the hard way of the importance of a faster pace. Third place is phenominal but Kara expected much more... Shake it off Kara... train harder.... and go get em!
Congrats Kara. You did an awesome job. Everyone who competes in sports wants to win the top prize and trains as hard as they can to achieve the goals they have set. As we all know, sometimes the outcome is not the one we hoped for. All these women are great athletes and placing 3rd is a truly great accomplishment and I know that you are proud of your effort and even though you may question your decision to kick up the pace to early, you gave the best you had and that is all that can ever be expected from any athlete in any sport. Best of luck to you and your husband on trying to have a child. Hope you run New York so that we can see you run again soon. You are a great example to all runners, expert and novice. Your love for running is what it is all about.
someone below said that our sport (running) has more critics than fans. that point seems to ring true here in these comments, but i hope it's not an insurmountable obstacle for running as a whole. kara and ryan wanted to perform their best on american soil as a tribute to our great running community, and in the hopes of growing that community. they both talked of winning the race for this goal, but in the end, they both earned 3rd place finishes. while kara gave a great effort, i think it's a true testament to her tenacity and dreams that she is not fully satisfied.
she might be tearing up today, but she'll be feeling better tomorrow. i don't understand why it is such big deal to some of the commenters below that she is crying. people seem to be finding fault with her simply for having aspirational goals and being emotional about not achieving them. it seems to me this is part of being an athlete. as every televised sporting event will attest, crying and emotions are part of the game. maybe it's tempting to single kara goucher out for this, but it hardly seems fair to her or our wonderful sport to do so.
I think Kara did awesome and I can totally understand why she is so emotional! Finishing third is amazing but knowing that you were only 9 seconds away from winning would drive me crazy. KARA IS A GREAT RUNNER AND I'M A HUGE FAN! :) And seriously #43 I think its totally fine for Kara to focus on winning...isn't that the main point of racing?
Amazing job KARA! Strange race, such a thrill standing in Kenmore square and seeing you leading!!!
Emotion is fine.... when you put your heart and soul into training, it happens.
All of these critics on here.... are you Olympians? Top 3 at NYC & Boston. NO! So quit your complaining.
We are greatful for Kara, she WILL win one of these major marathons soon!
First off,
She's hardly crying. Second, I believe she is doing her best at maintaining her composure and holding in the emotions. Third, she just ran A MARATHON faster than AT LEAST 90% of all of us on this site MAYBE she doesn't have the energy to hold back the tears of disappointment, or of relief or of happiness. Maybe she just wants to go home and relax, and eat some food... but instead she is going to press conferences so that people like us can hear about her process and so she can be closer to her fans.
SHOW SOME RESPECT! She doesn't go to the press conferences for herself, she goes for us... and not with the intention of being called a baby. She's tougher and stronger than most of you can even dream of... Maybe it's silly to be emotional, but did you ever think that MAYBE... just MAYBE... 26.2 miles can make a person tired... how many of us can honestly say that we don't get emotional when we are tired.
I'm going running
KARA YOU ARE AMAZING!
I think Kara ran a great race. I wish she had won. I am glad that she wanted to win enough that she cried when she lost. Perhaps some of you saw the NCAA 2nd place Men's and Women's basketball teams crying after they lost. 3rd is Wonderful, but. . . it isn't first.
Kara did a great job today. Considering that this is her 2nd marathon, there should be no need to be crying. It takes time to progress. Paula Radcliffe didn't just shoot to the top. Kara needs to come to the realization that Africans ALL have a great kick. Time to get faster.
Kara is a great competitor, so she'll use this to motivate her.
Great job going with your instincts, being bold, and taking risks. Playing it safe can be incredibly risky (oddly enough).
In running and many other endeavors there are good bets, bad bets, winning bets, and losing bets. The average person sitting on a throne of hindsight seems to think that a losing bet was a bad bet, but that is dead wrong.
Congrats on a great race.
Her focus seems to be too much on, "I want to win, I want to win, I want to WIN!" I think she should shift her focus more toward, "I want to run a good race, and hopefully that will be good enough to win." When you start broadcasting how badly you want to win, then you are putting too much pressure on yourself. I love the competitive spirit and how motivated she is, but at times you have to tone it down a bit....just be patient.
I recall running my first Boston Marathon: I was whimpering like a puppy through the hills and full fledged sobbing when I crossed the line. That course is an SOB! Great to see all the emotion exhibited by these elite athletes - shows you they are indeed human.
Have you ever done a race before?
I'm a "guy's guy" but I cry like a baby after marathons, 1/2 ironmans, and full iron triathlons. You can't help it. You pour so much into the race, that when it's over, your emotions go crazy. Uncontrollable, you can't help it.
Bravo to Kara for an unreal race. Next year.
Ryan Hall has ran a 2:06 and has face stiffer competition for men than Kara has for women. If you actually can't figure that out, well, shame on you. Trying to compare what place she got versus Ryan's place, that is pathetic.
Even though it wasn't my post, I'll bite. El G. crying after winning the gold is like comparing apples to oranges. El G. was being a baby, they call those tears, tears of joy. Did ya know that?
Kara is whining because things didn't go her way. Excuses, excuses, etc...
When Kara comes within 2:18 seconds of Paula's world record, then you've got something to compare. But placing 3rd in NY and Boston with weaker fields than Ryan faced is not right friend. Believe what you will, but please don't compare Ryan versus Kara. They are in completely different classes as runners. Kara has a long way to go.
John K.
Congratulations to all those who ran the Boston marathon today.
To all the haters out there, here is a quote from Teddy Roosevelt, "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood..."
Kara did say in the interview, and several times that it was like a training pace, slow pace etc. She could have pushed the pace and maybe the results would have been different. Who knows.
But she shouldn't be criticized for showing emotion, she is not blaming anyone. But I agree that this is only her second marathon and she wasn't a marathoner 1 year ago and maybe she shouldn't expect supreme success in such a short time.
If she really wants it she has to continue to work, hard. As that announcer said during the race you have to make your dreams.
To Come On......a decent civil post on your part also. Thank you!
But, sorry to say Ryan did run a more gutsy race and with more courage. Kara is an excuse maker. She had no business running that slow of a pace, but she chose to, no one made her. She trained to run faster, but didn't do it when it counted, during the actual race. That is not courageous friend, far from it. You have the right to your opinion, as do I. I don't think she ran courageous and think she blew it by going through the first half at 2:36 pace, a pace over 10 minutes slower than NY. She's got some work to do.
John K.
1. Ryan Hall has never gotten third at a major marathon with an international field, Kara has (NYC)
2. "Btw, this is her job, plain and simple. She chose to devote so much of her time to training and competing. If she's not willing to take the bad with the good, maybe she chose the wrong career path" - what kind of justification is this? teachers come home crying with all the BS they deal with in the school systems/parents. should they find a different job too? you could say that about any profession.....and it would still make no sense. El G cried after he WON the gold medal....is he a baby for that too?
i could care less who won today but you don't see ryan hall crying because he got 3rd place at the most pretigious marathon in the whole world. If she got like 25th place, then I can see why she would cry but she needs like 25 yrs. old, she's need to not look like a 12 year old after losing a soccer game.
Btw, this is her job, plain and simple. She chose to devote so much of her time to training and competing. If she's not willing to take the bad with the good, maybe she chose the wrong career path
i know what munchkin is saying. and i'm saying there's nothing wrong with having emotions. if you've ever worked your a** off for something, i would imagine you could relate to that??
maybe fan is the wrong word.....it seems that there are a lot more critics in our sport than fans
Kara, sometimes in order to win, everything has to be about you. Get rid of all the things that keep you from being number one, even if that means breaking hearts.
Wow, nice post 10k. Civil and all. My hats off to you, seriously.
Personally, I don't think she had any advantage based on the course because Dire had already run and won the marathon last April. As far as the weather goes, with all due respect, I'm sure the African runners were prepared for anything and had been here long before Monday.
John K.
munchkin said: “she needs to stop crying, u got 3rd at the boston marathon. no need to mope”
these athletes put so much time in to train for a marathon. its not like a 1500 that you can run every week. when you train so hard and have goals to win, 3rd is not what you want. why is it bad she is emotional?
thats a problem with our fans, they are so back and forth. if she's upset, she should be happy with third. if she's not upset then you'd probably say she isn't hungry enough to win a race like this. emotion is good, it means she has high expectations. without that how can you compete with the best??
Told ya so! said: “I picked her 3rd..............so I told ya so! Doesn't that bug ya when people say I told ya so?
Anonymous Coward, you were wrong again. She was not going to outkick Dire, as I said.
If its and buts were candy and nuts it would be Christmas everyday. Tune and Kosgei ran courageous too, don't they get any credit?
By the way I think you wanted to say you're awesome, not youre. Also it would be you're my idol, not youre my idol.
She showed lots of courage? She ran a marathon, she didn't split the atom. She didn't lead from start to finish, that's courage. Get real.
She made a choice from the beginning, the very beginning to not run at least 5:35 pace. No one stopped her from picking it up. She instead made the choice to run 5:50 pace. They were running 2:36 plus pace at halfway. That is pedestrian at best. Give me a break!
Ryan ran like a stud, Kara wimped out by leaving it too late and gambling on someone like Dire who is going to outkick her 9 out of 10 times. No excuses, she should have run harder from the gun. Going for the win versus time isn't very smart when you've got runners in the field who can outkick you so easily.
Now lets hear from all the Kara fans who know nothing about running attack me with their pathetic remarks! She didn't make it an honest race by picking it up with 5 to go. If she had done that at halfway, that would have been "more of an honest" race.
Maybe next time Kara! Sorry, but I picked you third for a reason.
John K.”
You are right John, they didn't give any credit to Tune and Kosgei, well its more like WE didn't give them any credit. I thought Kara had an advantage over the African runners since she did her long runes at the same course and the weather.
Wow, someone agrees with me! As I said, she should have been in front from the start, period. She made the choice then and afterwards has nothing but excuses. Thanks for the support LA! I was ready to be attacked because of all the Kara lovers on this site. Someone besides me has a brain, incredible!!!! amazing run.............she is nothing like Pre. Were you serious? I hope not or that gets the dumbest post of the year award.
Told Ya So, I think you're being a little harsh on Kara. Clearly you were right in your picks, but 3rd to those two runners is pretty damn good for her second marathon. She and Ryan made their decisions about the pace to set themselves up for a win. They both ran what they could, and left it out there. Racing a marathon is leagues harder than just running one, and she did show courage. She is a relative newbie to the marathon, obviously cares about winning a great deal, and hopefully will continue to get better. She isn't the best in the world, or even close, but I wish her the best of luck as she tries to get better. Ryan also ran with guts, and he shows promise too, but he wasn't any more gutsy or more of a stud than Kara, or vice versa.
amazing run said: “There is no shame in running to win. Kara is a shining light for American distance running. She evokes memories of Pre when she talks about making it an honest race, not waiting for the kick, and weeding out the pretenders. Kara for gold in 2012”
I don't know about for Gold in 2012 man. We have to understand that we cant make up excuses like "honest race" for American distance runners. If she thought she had it she should be in the front from the start.
I picked her 3rd..............so I told ya so! Doesn't that bug ya when people say I told ya so?
Anonymous Coward, you were wrong again. She was not going to outkick Dire, as I said.
If its and buts were candy and nuts it would be Christmas everyday. Tune and Kosgei ran courageous too, don't they get any credit?
By the way I think you wanted to say you're awesome, not youre. Also it would be you're my idol, not youre my idol.
She showed lots of courage? She ran a marathon, she didn't split the atom. She didn't lead from start to finish, that's courage. Get real.
She made a choice from the beginning, the very beginning to not run at least 5:35 pace. No one stopped her from picking it up. She instead made the choice to run 5:50 pace. They were running 2:36 plus pace at halfway. That is pedestrian at best. Give me a break!
Ryan ran like a stud, Kara wimped out by leaving it too late and gambling on someone like Dire who is going to outkick her 9 out of 10 times. No excuses, she should have run harder from the gun. Going for the win versus time isn't very smart when you've got runners in the field who can outkick you so easily.
Now lets hear from all the Kara fans who know nothing about running attack me with their pathetic remarks! She didn't make it an honest race by picking it up with 5 to go. If she had done that at halfway, that would have been "more of an honest" race.
Maybe next time Kara! Sorry, but I picked you third for a reason.
John K.
There is no shame in running to win. Kara is a shining light for American distance running. She evokes memories of Pre when she talks about making it an honest race, not waiting for the kick, and weeding out the pretenders. Kara for gold in 2012
the fact that she is not happy with her race is refreshing. Kara ran a great race, but she want to be the best. she is great for american distance running.
When you think about it, last August she was not even a marathoner. So it's been about 8 months. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to realize dreams. She did fantastic but she's obviously still hungry.
two choices at five miles like she said. . make it a race and assure yourself the podium or leave it to chance. . .I'll always support the runner who makes a race even if they don't "win". Kudos to Kara for showing some guts and the tears after are amazing. . not content with third, inspiring to all.
she took the lead 5 miles before the finish, she should have waited and then use her track speed to her advantage. But no worries there will be plenty of other finish lines in the future to win.Great job kara!!!
aww she looks so disappointed! i think there was way too much pressure put on her to win.. she's such an awesome runner and her day to win is coming!! i love you kara!!
Kara Goucher 2009 Boston Martahon Post Race Press Conference
“Um.........yes she did. You need to read and listen. She said it clear as day and it WASN'T sarcasm. We all hope you've learned from your mistake. Research it dude. She absolutely wanted to run London. What an embarrassing post you've made.
J.J.”
J.J.
NICE JOB KARA!!!
“STOP! Don't waste your time reading all these posts. Here's the summary:
Go Kara!
Kara sucks!
Youre sucky!
I think you meant "you're" sucky!
Kara should've..
You shouldve..
She's stupid for crying..
She's awesome for crying.
Trust me... that's all you want to know from the 8pgs of comments ;)”
RB
Go Kara!
Kara sucks!
Youre sucky!
I think you meant "you're" sucky!
Kara should've..
You shouldve..
She's stupid for crying..
She's awesome for crying.
Trust me... that's all you want to know from the 8pgs of comments ;)
“Forget ALL this crappy analysis! GREAT job Kara - 2nd marathon? UNBELIEVABLY GOOD. You are a beautiful person, in many ways!”
“honestly, please explain to me what the fk you are talking about. what the hell do you know about kara goucher?
how about her 20m 5:25 pace workout prior to the marathon? are you able to compete with that? i didn't think so. saying kara has got some work to do is outrageous. her 110 mile weeks, 20+ mile workouts, longruns, half marathons, etc is close to the maximum amount of work she could have done to prepare for this.
how about her massage therapists, sports psychiatrists, and even her COMPRESSION CHAMBER BEDROOM? and you say she has some work to do!? PLEASE.
Kara Goucher not courageous? seriously? give me a break. how could you ever expect to win a marathon, the BOSTON MARATHON, breaking the wind for the rest of the pack? wasting 10-20% of her energy on breaking the wind for the rest of the pack through the rolling hills course. sitting behind was the smart thing to do. not controlling the pace early on was the smart thing to do. look what happened with the men. As they go out in sub record pace, the defending champion and other predicted winners fail and finish about 1 minute + behind the leader.
Ryan Hall did run a gutsy race, as did Kara Goucher. Please tell me what "excuses" Kara has made in regards to her finish place. What? Her taking control too soon? I wouldnt consider that to be an excuse, just a simple fact. it is true that there are no "woulda, shoulda coulda's" in running but she did take control of the race early, possibly allowing Tune and the winner to coast more comfortably.
What would be the benefit of not taking control of the race at all? Absolutely nothing. Kara knew there was going to be consequences when she took control, she knew she would be breaking the wind for the rest of the pack but she pushed along anyways. Gutsy? I think so. The rest of the women were simply not gutsy enough to take control of the pack themselves. Singling out Kara Goucher is outrageously unfair.”
When people are talking about excuses, they are saying she should've ran her race from the start instead of talking about it after the race. You know, actually doing it. Kara had no chance to outkick either of the Africans. Can she sprint, yes. Does she have decent turnover for an elite woman marathoner, yes. But can she turn really turn it over at the end of a marathon with compeition, no. We saw that yesterday. Both ladies in front were hurting just as badly as she was (did ya know that?), but they ended up finishing about 10 seconds in front of her. Why? If you can't figure that out, then I don't know how else to explain it. Maybe one of the other posters on here can jump in and give it a shot.
Your talk about breaking the wind is baloney! Her own coach, Alberto ran the 1982 NY Marathon and lead for the majority of the race (I have it on tape if you want a copy). He did this with the majority of the race into the wind. He was not a great sprinter, period. But with 800 to go he dropped Rodolfo Gomez of Mexico and beat him by 4-6 seconds. He did this by pounding hard mile after hard mile from about 20 till the finish and BEAT THE SPRINT OUT OF HIM. Although Rodolfo stayed with Alberto when he threw in a 4:25 mile, it took a major toll on Rodolfo and he didn't have the kick that he would have if the pace had been slower. Does that help ya karafan01? I am really trying hard to get you to understand how it all works. This is what Kara's only chance is against other top women. Yes, I agree with you that the headwind played a role, but it wasn't 25 mph winds constantly in their faces. Kara could have won the Boston Marathon and she wouldn't have had to break the wind the whole way. She could have pulled over for water and bam!, there is a lead change. If the pace gets too slow, she goes to the front again. If you have never seen this happen in windy races, then you don't race very much. I have broken the wind before and changed the lead with whoever is with me at the time.
Sorry, she "never" really took control of the race until 5 miles to go where she finally upped the ante. Friend, that was a bit too late with the competition that she was facing. Kara did not lead from start to finish at a slow pace with her competition all sitting behind her like a flock of geese in formation. She, along with others were spread out, and there's a big difference. Heck, Colleen was in front for quite some time, so was she controlling the race? Fact is, nobody wanted to go faster, so nobody picked it up. But you believe what you'd like.
As far as training goes, she has to get stronger and faster, believe it or not. If she actually ran 5:25 as a training run for 20 miles, then why not do that in a race? I agree with many others, there are no excuses and she is way better than what she showed yesterday. I believed she was going to run at least 5:30 pace and finish around 2:24. With the wind, maybe 2:26 at most. Her place, that I could never predict because who knows who is going to run what.
Gutsy, I don't think so. Kara never had "control of the pack". Are you for real? I taped it and I don't know what you're talking about. They were 3-5 abreast for the majority of the race. What race were you watching?
I took the time to explain this in hopes of getting you to understand. But with a name like karafan01, you are obviously too biased to see the truth. If you picked up a pointer or two, great. If not, oh well. I tried to help you pal.
Take Care,
Rob
“To Come On......a decent civil post on your part also. Thank you!
But, sorry to say Ryan did run a more gutsy race and with more courage. Kara is an excuse maker. She had no business running that slow of a pace, but she chose to, no one made her. She trained to run faster, but didn't do it when it counted, during the actual race. That is not courageous friend, far from it. You have the right to your opinion, as do I. I don't think she ran courageous and think she blew it by going through the first half at 2:36 pace, a pace over 10 minutes slower than NY. She's got some work to do.
John K.”
how about her 20m 5:25 pace workout prior to the marathon? are you able to compete with that? i didn't think so. saying kara has got some work to do is outrageous. her 110 mile weeks, 20+ mile workouts, longruns, half marathons, etc is close to the maximum amount of work she could have done to prepare for this.
how about her massage therapists, sports psychiatrists, and even her COMPRESSION CHAMBER BEDROOM? and you say she has some work to do!? PLEASE.
Kara Goucher not courageous? seriously? give me a break. how could you ever expect to win a marathon, the BOSTON MARATHON, breaking the wind for the rest of the pack? wasting 10-20% of her energy on breaking the wind for the rest of the pack through the rolling hills course. sitting behind was the smart thing to do. not controlling the pace early on was the smart thing to do. look what happened with the men. As they go out in sub record pace, the defending champion and other predicted winners fail and finish about 1 minute + behind the leader.
Ryan Hall did run a gutsy race, as did Kara Goucher. Please tell me what "excuses" Kara has made in regards to her finish place. What? Her taking control too soon? I wouldnt consider that to be an excuse, just a simple fact. it is true that there are no "woulda, shoulda coulda's" in running but she did take control of the race early, possibly allowing Tune and the winner to coast more comfortably.
What would be the benefit of not taking control of the race at all? Absolutely nothing. Kara knew there was going to be consequences when she took control, she knew she would be breaking the wind for the rest of the pack but she pushed along anyways. Gutsy? I think so. The rest of the women were simply not gutsy enough to take control of the pack themselves. Singling out Kara Goucher is outrageously unfair.
“Kara did say in the interview, and several times that it was like a training pace, slow pace etc. She could have pushed the pace and maybe the results would have been different. Who knows.
But she shouldn't be criticized for showing emotion, she is not blaming anyone. But I agree that this is only her second marathon and she wasn't a marathoner 1 year ago and maybe she shouldn't expect supreme success in such a short time.
If she really wants it she has to continue to work, hard. As that announcer said during the race you have to make your dreams.”
“By the way, I think you wanted to say let's hear from all the Kara fans, not lets.”
Race finishes!
“
By the way I think you wanted to say you're awesome, not youre. Also it would be you're my idol, not youre my idol.
”
On a bike..
“Ever consider taking an anger management class?
”
If anyone is not of her caliber, drive, status and has the chance to win the Boston marathon and calls her out on crying and becoming emotional over losing this battle, then you are not an athlete or a career driven person. You are a weekend warrior.
Why don't you put yourself in position to win this race, have the weight of the american people on your shoulders,and then lose? Let's see how you will come out. Congrats on your run today, although not victorious, it was not in vain.
she might be tearing up today, but she'll be feeling better tomorrow. i don't understand why it is such big deal to some of the commenters below that she is crying. people seem to be finding fault with her simply for having aspirational goals and being emotional about not achieving them. it seems to me this is part of being an athlete. as every televised sporting event will attest, crying and emotions are part of the game. maybe it's tempting to single kara goucher out for this, but it hardly seems fair to her or our wonderful sport to do so.
Emotion is fine.... when you put your heart and soul into training, it happens.
All of these critics on here.... are you Olympians? Top 3 at NYC & Boston. NO! So quit your complaining.
We are greatful for Kara, she WILL win one of these major marathons soon!
She's hardly crying. Second, I believe she is doing her best at maintaining her composure and holding in the emotions. Third, she just ran A MARATHON faster than AT LEAST 90% of all of us on this site MAYBE she doesn't have the energy to hold back the tears of disappointment, or of relief or of happiness. Maybe she just wants to go home and relax, and eat some food... but instead she is going to press conferences so that people like us can hear about her process and so she can be closer to her fans.
SHOW SOME RESPECT! She doesn't go to the press conferences for herself, she goes for us... and not with the intention of being called a baby. She's tougher and stronger than most of you can even dream of... Maybe it's silly to be emotional, but did you ever think that MAYBE... just MAYBE... 26.2 miles can make a person tired... how many of us can honestly say that we don't get emotional when we are tired.
I'm going running
KARA YOU ARE AMAZING!
Kara is a great competitor, so she'll use this to motivate her.
In running and many other endeavors there are good bets, bad bets, winning bets, and losing bets. The average person sitting on a throne of hindsight seems to think that a losing bet was a bad bet, but that is dead wrong.
Congrats on a great race.
Have you ever done a race before?
I'm a "guy's guy" but I cry like a baby after marathons, 1/2 ironmans, and full iron triathlons. You can't help it. You pour so much into the race, that when it's over, your emotions go crazy. Uncontrollable, you can't help it.
Bravo to Kara for an unreal race. Next year.
Ryan Hall has ran a 2:06 and has face stiffer competition for men than Kara has for women. If you actually can't figure that out, well, shame on you. Trying to compare what place she got versus Ryan's place, that is pathetic.
Even though it wasn't my post, I'll bite. El G. crying after winning the gold is like comparing apples to oranges. El G. was being a baby, they call those tears, tears of joy. Did ya know that?
Kara is whining because things didn't go her way. Excuses, excuses, etc...
When Kara comes within 2:18 seconds of Paula's world record, then you've got something to compare. But placing 3rd in NY and Boston with weaker fields than Ryan faced is not right friend. Believe what you will, but please don't compare Ryan versus Kara. They are in completely different classes as runners. Kara has a long way to go.
John K.
To all the haters out there, here is a quote from Teddy Roosevelt, "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood..."
But she shouldn't be criticized for showing emotion, she is not blaming anyone. But I agree that this is only her second marathon and she wasn't a marathoner 1 year ago and maybe she shouldn't expect supreme success in such a short time.
If she really wants it she has to continue to work, hard. As that announcer said during the race you have to make your dreams.
But, sorry to say Ryan did run a more gutsy race and with more courage. Kara is an excuse maker. She had no business running that slow of a pace, but she chose to, no one made her. She trained to run faster, but didn't do it when it counted, during the actual race. That is not courageous friend, far from it. You have the right to your opinion, as do I. I don't think she ran courageous and think she blew it by going through the first half at 2:36 pace, a pace over 10 minutes slower than NY. She's got some work to do.
John K.
2. "Btw, this is her job, plain and simple. She chose to devote so much of her time to training and competing. If she's not willing to take the bad with the good, maybe she chose the wrong career path" - what kind of justification is this? teachers come home crying with all the BS they deal with in the school systems/parents. should they find a different job too? you could say that about any profession.....and it would still make no sense. El G cried after he WON the gold medal....is he a baby for that too?
Btw, this is her job, plain and simple. She chose to devote so much of her time to training and competing. If she's not willing to take the bad with the good, maybe she chose the wrong career path
maybe fan is the wrong word.....it seems that there are a lot more critics in our sport than fans
Personally, I don't think she had any advantage based on the course because Dire had already run and won the marathon last April. As far as the weather goes, with all due respect, I'm sure the African runners were prepared for anything and had been here long before Monday.
John K.
Have you done sports?
John K.
“she needs to stop crying, u got 3rd at the boston marathon. no need to mope”
thats a problem with our fans, they are so back and forth. if she's upset, she should be happy with third. if she's not upset then you'd probably say she isn't hungry enough to win a race like this. emotion is good, it means she has high expectations. without that how can you compete with the best??
“I picked her 3rd..............so I told ya so! Doesn't that bug ya when people say I told ya so?
Anonymous Coward, you were wrong again. She was not going to outkick Dire, as I said.
If its and buts were candy and nuts it would be Christmas everyday. Tune and Kosgei ran courageous too, don't they get any credit?
By the way I think you wanted to say you're awesome, not youre. Also it would be you're my idol, not youre my idol.
She showed lots of courage? She ran a marathon, she didn't split the atom. She didn't lead from start to finish, that's courage. Get real.
She made a choice from the beginning, the very beginning to not run at least 5:35 pace. No one stopped her from picking it up. She instead made the choice to run 5:50 pace. They were running 2:36 plus pace at halfway. That is pedestrian at best. Give me a break!
Ryan ran like a stud, Kara wimped out by leaving it too late and gambling on someone like Dire who is going to outkick her 9 out of 10 times. No excuses, she should have run harder from the gun. Going for the win versus time isn't very smart when you've got runners in the field who can outkick you so easily.
Now lets hear from all the Kara fans who know nothing about running attack me with their pathetic remarks! She didn't make it an honest race by picking it up with 5 to go. If she had done that at halfway, that would have been "more of an honest" race.
Maybe next time Kara! Sorry, but I picked you third for a reason.
John K.”
John K.
“There is no shame in running to win. Kara is a shining light for American distance running. She evokes memories of Pre when she talks about making it an honest race, not waiting for the kick, and weeding out the pretenders. Kara for gold in 2012”
Anonymous Coward, you were wrong again. She was not going to outkick Dire, as I said.
If its and buts were candy and nuts it would be Christmas everyday. Tune and Kosgei ran courageous too, don't they get any credit?
By the way I think you wanted to say you're awesome, not youre. Also it would be you're my idol, not youre my idol.
She showed lots of courage? She ran a marathon, she didn't split the atom. She didn't lead from start to finish, that's courage. Get real.
She made a choice from the beginning, the very beginning to not run at least 5:35 pace. No one stopped her from picking it up. She instead made the choice to run 5:50 pace. They were running 2:36 plus pace at halfway. That is pedestrian at best. Give me a break!
Ryan ran like a stud, Kara wimped out by leaving it too late and gambling on someone like Dire who is going to outkick her 9 out of 10 times. No excuses, she should have run harder from the gun. Going for the win versus time isn't very smart when you've got runners in the field who can outkick you so easily.
Now lets hear from all the Kara fans who know nothing about running attack me with their pathetic remarks! She didn't make it an honest race by picking it up with 5 to go. If she had done that at halfway, that would have been "more of an honest" race.
Maybe next time Kara! Sorry, but I picked you third for a reason.
John K.