POWER PLAYERS 008 - Kara Goucher

“What’s the alternative, I quit? … I can’t let them break me. No way.” - Kara Goucher World Championship (now) silver medal winner and 2x Olympic distance runner Kara Goucher and Danielle discuss ethics at the highest level of sport.  Against the background of ESPN’s newest 30 for 30: “Lance”, Kara shares her experience at the now infamous Nike Oregon Project. She defines, for the listening audience, popular doping practices (EPO, AndroGel, IV treatments) and their effects on the body and individual competition. She describes the institutional grooming process that athletes (including herself) are subjected to, and the David and Goliath lawsuit she is still fighting, against her former Nike Oregon Project head coach and father figure Alberto Salazaar. Kara exposes a dark side of Nike: these testosterone experiments were performed on the Nike campus, in their labs, and CEO Mark Parker know about them.  For the baseball fan, we extrapolated her experiences in running to determine the psychology behind and monetary/popularity windfall following the HR chase between dirty Mark McGuire and dirty Sammy Sosa. Didn’t the dirty Nike Oregon Project achieve that same goal for USA running? What is the difference between 'banned' and 'unethical'? Kara also opens up about how her former teammate and brother-in-law secretly developed a Nike shoe that single-handedly kept her from competing in her 3rd Olympic Games.  We'll also tackle: 2020 NYC Marathon: will it still happen? What changes, from a runner’s perspective would she like to see implemented? What about a virtual marathon? Kara's tips for the avid runner... and the "Quarantine Runner", like myself The ramifications she felt (and still feels) about bringing the situation to light... and how she still feels 'unsafe' during a race. How, for her, a 3rd place finish turned into a silver medal after 12 years following a positive banned substance test A solution: who, ultimately, is in control of stopping the unethical behavior and doping: the corporations, the athletes, a governing body? Listener questions from: Erin in Palisades Park, NJ: What is your favorite workout? Vanessa, a track and field coach from Florida: Kara's mentorship of younger women in the sport, in particular- Mary Cain