The Longest Race

Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike's Elite Running Team

By: Kara Goucher, Mary Pilon

Narrated by: Kara Goucher, Mary Pilon

Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In “one of the most important athlete memoirs of its generation” (Kate Fagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Olympian Kara Goucher reveals her experience of living through and speaking out about one of the biggest scandals in running.

Kara Goucher grew up with Olympic dreams. She excelled at running from a young age and was offered a Nike sponsorship deal when she graduated from college. Then in 2004, she was invited to join a secretive, lavishly funded new team, dubbed the Nike Oregon Project. Coached by distance running legend Alberto Salazar, it seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime.

Kara was soon winning a World Championship medal, going to the Olympics, and standing on the podium at the New York and Boston marathons, just like her coach had done. But behind the scenes, Salazar was hiding dark secrets. He pushed the limits of anti-doping rules and created what Kara experienced as a culture of abuse, the extent of which she reveals in her book for the first time. Meanwhile, Nike stood by Alberto for years and proved itself capable of shockingly misogynistic corporate practices.

The Longest Race is an unforgettable story that is “as interesting as it is important” (Molly Huddle, two-time Olympian) and also a crucial call to action. Kara became a crusader for female athletes and a key witness helping to get Salazar banned from coaching at the Olympic level. The Longest Race will leave you “motivated, empowered, and ready to take on the world” (Allyson Felix, Olympic gold medalist) as it reveals how Kara broke through the fear of losing everything, bucked powerful forces to take control of her life and career, and reclaimed her love of running.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Kara Goucher and Mary Pilon. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"At first, Goucher’s voice is joyful as recounts how she came to be a top runner and was chosen to participate in the Oregon Project. Then you hear her angst and frustration as it all goes wrong. Goucher audibly works through her horror as Salazar assaulted her on a plane and during a massage, her disbelief as she attempted to explain it all away, and, finally, her reckoning with the abuse she was experiencing. It’s a plainspoken, authentic performance of an important sports exposé." (AudioFile Magazine)

Gutsy

The book rings true and I think it was a hard story to tell. Kara does not inflate herself and even gives Alberto credit for his strengths despite the abuse. It shows how complicated relationships get with abuse because often the abuser has good qualities too. I am amazed she was able to perform so well with the stress. I never realized just how challenging physically and mentally being a female athlete could be.

Thank you Kara

Thank you Kara for sharing your difficult but powerful story. All men in positions of power need to hear your story.

Thank you Kara. We needed to know this.

Followed your career forever. Thank you for doing the right thing and being brave enough to share the experience. The story needed to be told.

Excellent story that everyone should hear

While being somewhat familiar with the issues from the Oregon Project, I wasn’t familiar with Kara before this book. Her story and experiences with Nike and their team are important and should be widely known. The book itself was easy to listen to; I finished it in 3 days. Highly recommend.

Excellent

Overall well written good story — nice to see behind the scenes of Nike and their corruption. Certainly going to think twice before I buy Nike.

Must read

As a recreational runner and lover of the sport this is an excellent story that is important to be heard. It’s especially great narration. Great listen!

Powerful Expose and Memoir

I loved hearing the story in Kara's own voice. What a powerful story of courage, love and strength. So many women runners, including myself can relate to the events of Kara's book.

Incredible, Brave and Eye-Opening

The bravery exhibited to go up against a brand like Nike and to then tell her traumatic and heart wrenching story is a testament to the type of person and competitor Kara is. Proud of my fellow Minnesotan and thankful for role models like this for my daughters.

Finally We get to hear the Truth!

From start to finish, this was a great book. For those that follow running news, we've known bits & pieces of information regarding Salazar, the OP athletes, & the Gouchers. But now we know the truth, and it's so sad to know how much stress & anxiety Kara & other athletes went through while training in the OP. It's great to know that in the end she won, and her & her family has moved on while Salazar is disgraced & banned for life from Safesport.

This is a great listen because we can hear the passion, love, & sometimes sadness in Kara's voice as she shares such intimate and personal details about her life. This book is a must listen!

Gripping Story

I was familiar with some details of Kara’s story prior to listening to this audiobook. Hearing the full story in her words and voice was a powerful and disturbing experience. Disturbing because of what all she shared about what went on at The Oregon Project and with Salazar. It’s horrifying … I listened to this book as quickly as possible because it was so very gripping, and I wold recommend it to anyone who follows running, is a runner, or wants to know what goes on behind the scenes at some powerful corporations. I’m glad Kara (and others) stepped forward to make their harrowing stories known.