Adam Goucher to be Celebrity Guest Star at FLR 13

Aug 19, 2012

Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano... Coaches, Bring The Team!

His NCAA running dominance during the 1998 season at the University of Colorado has been forever immortalized in the pages of the famed book Running with the Buffaloes. That year Adam Goucher pulled off quite the trifecta, winning the indoor 3K, the outdoor 5K, and the 10K in cross country.

If you have never read the book, aspire to do so in the next month… because guess who’s coming to dinner?!?! It is my pleasure to announce that American distance running icon Adam Goucher will be our Olympian celebrity guest at this year’s 13^th Annual FLRUNNERS.COM INVITATIONAL in Titusville.

Yesterday we made the plans official with Adam and Tim Catalano, the co-authors of the lauded training and inspirational book Running the Edge. The duo is also pretty well known for their weekly podcast series, “Run the Edge,” that they produced last year. They are energetic, fun, talented, and passionate. So it is with a great amount of satisfaction that we are able to bring them in to meet you all next month.

Tim and Adam will be hanging out at the meet, shaking hands, kissing babies, signing autographs, and selling copies of their book (whose second edition is being released September 1st). On Friday night they are going to host a special FREE speaking engagement just for you!

The presentation--which will feature running videos, music, and slides--will pack a real punch and will be both educational and inspirational for you and your runners. This will NOT be at the course this year. Instead we will break after the Friday evening awards, give you a chance to do dinner and check in to the hotel, and then reconvene with those guys around 8:00 or 8:30pm at a location (TBD) close to the hotels. We’ll wrap the session around 9:30 to get the kids to bed if you want to ensure an early curfew! On Saturday the boys will be back hanging out at the meet. Adam will shoot off the gun in the Race of Champions and help out with the awards and other festivities.

These guys are a wealth of knowledge and, among other things, will teach you and your kids about “Closing the Gap” to their goals and the thin line between “Tough and Stupid” training!

About Adam Goucher

If you were somehow living under a rock from 1998-2008 (or just not following the sport nearly close enough!), let me tell you a little bit more about our guest star, 2000 Olympian, Adam Goucher.

After a stellar career, Adam retired from professional running in 2011 after laying down a 1:04:52 half marathon, finally being forced out by knee surgery. He is married to universally loved, two-time Olympian Kara Goucher, who competed in the 5K and 10K in the Beijing Games and recently finished 11^th in the marathon in the 2012 London Olympics.

The couple, along with now almost two-year-old son Colt Goucher, is somewhat the Royal Family of distance running in the United States. Kara and Adam met during their time running for the University of Colorado. So to knock out the #1 FAQ question: No, Kara and Colt will not be there!

During his high school career, Adam qualified for three Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals competitions from 1991-1993. He won the national championship his senior year over Meb Keflezighi with a time of 14:41 on the very difficult and hilly course at Balboa Park in San Diego—historically one of the fastest times ever there.

In college he trained under famed Coach Mark Wetmore for the University of Colorado Buffaloes. During his NCAA career he won four individual national championships: two indoor, one outdoor, and one in cross country. The must-read running classic, Running with the Buffaloes by Chris Lear, documents the training and tribulations of Colorado’s 1998 cross country team. Goucher, senior and top runner on the team, plays a leading role in the book.

After graduating from Colorado in 1998, he turned pro in 1999. That year he ran a 3:54.17 for the full mile, a 7:43.31 3000, and a 13:11.25 5K. That cross country season he ran the short course (4K) and the long course (12K) races on consecutive days—and won them both!

The following year, he won the Olympic Trials in the 5,000 meters. Goucher finished in 13^th place in the Sydney Games, despite serious back troubles. Injuries plagued much of his career, but despite the problems he was continually ranked one of the foremost Americans throughout the last decade at distances between 1,500 and 10,000 meters.

After a few tough years of battling injuries, he changed coaches and training hubs after the 2004 season. The relocation from Wetmore and Colorado to Alberto Salazar and Oregon proved successful, resulting in new personal bests in 2005. He then won another US Cross Country Short Course (4K) Championship in 2006, and at the World Cross Championships in Japan he finished just eight seconds behind 5K/10K world record holder Kenenisa Burke from Ethiopia. His sixth place there was the highest placing by an American in 20 years. That same year, Goucher ran an 8:12.7 two mile at the Prefontaine Classic—the third fastest ever two mile run by an American. He also ran a 27:59.41 in a 10K in Belgium that season.

Personal Bests

1,500 meters – 3:36.64 (2001)
One Mile – 3:54.17 (1999)
3,000 meters – 7:34.96 (2001)
Two Miles – 8:12.73 (2006)
5,000 Meters – 13:10.00 (2006)
10,000 Meters – 27:59.31 (2008)

More Information

Can't Get Enough? More Stories

"Keeping up with the Gouchers" YouTube Video Series

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4