Adam Goucher

Last updated
Adam Goucher
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1975-02-18) February 18, 1975 (age 49)
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Sport
Sport Track
Event(s) 1500 meters, 3000 meters, 5000 meters, 10,000 meters
College team Colorado
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 1500 meters : 3:36.64 [1]
Mile : 3:54.17 [1]
3000 meters : 7:34.96 [1]
5000 meters : 13:10.00 [1]
10,000 meters : 27:59.31 [1]

Adam Goucher (born February 18, 1975) is a retired American cross-country and track and field athlete. He ran for the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the men's 5000 meters. Goucher primarily competed in distance events and is featured in Running With The Buffaloes , a book revolving around the 1998 season of the University of Colorado cross country team.

Contents

Running career

High school

Goucher attended Doherty High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado and graduated in 1994. Before he ran competitively in high school, he played basketball. [2] He won the Foot Locker National High School Cross Country Championship in 1993, as well as having personal bests of 1:53 at 800 m, 4:18 at 1600 m, and 8:55 at 3200 m. Goucher's coach in high school was Judy Fellhauer, who was an Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon. [2]

Collegiate

While attending the University of Colorado, Goucher won two NCAA indoor track titles in the 3,000 meter race (1997 & 1998) and an outdoor NCAA track title in 5,000 meters in 1998. After three top ten finishes, he finally won the NCAA Division I cross country title his senior year in 1998. It is during this season in which Running With The Buffaloes is written. He also competed in the United States Olympic Trials in 1996 and placed 14th in the 5000 m.

Professional

After graduating, Goucher continued to compete with a contract from Fila, running the fastest time for an American in 1999 in the mile (3:54.17), the sixth fastest for 3,000 meters (7:43.31), and third fastest for 5,000 meters (13:11.25). On consecutive days in February 2000 he won both the short (4K) and long course (12K) races at the USATF National Cross Country Championships under cold, muddy conditions in North Carolina. During 2000, he also made his first Olympic team, placing first in the Olympic Trials in the 5000 m. He was 13th in the 5000 m at the Sydney Olympic Games, despite serious battles with back troubles.

Goucher's career has been plagued with injury. Despite having continually been ranked as one of the foremost American competitors at distances between 1500 m and 5000 m, he was prevented from performing optimally at the 2004 Olympic Trials by an Achilles heel problem and thus did not qualify for the Olympic team. The Olympic Trials were a culmination of a very rough period for him and soon thereafter he left Mark Wetmore, his longtime coach and friend, to train with Alberto Salazar in Oregon.

The move proved beneficial for Goucher. Goucher's 2005 season saw him improve his 5000 m time to 13:10.19 and take 2nd place at the USA Cross Country 4 km Championships.

In 2006, Goucher ran a 10:50 at the USA Cross Country Championships to win first place in the short course (4 km). He went on to finish 6th in the short course race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, the highest finish by an American since Pat Porter placed 6th in the 1986 World Cross (12K) Championships. He finished only 8 seconds behind the winner, world-renowned Ethiopian champion Kenenisa Bekele, the 5k and 10k world record holder. At the 2006 Prefontaine Classic, Goucher finished third in the 2 mile with a time of 8:12.7, the third fastest 2 mile ever run by an American.

Goucher's performance at the World Cross Country meet and his 2 mile at the Prefontaine Classic were the highlights of a year that also saw him dipping under 28 minutes for the 10,000 meters with a 27:59.41 at the Van Damme Memorial Meet in Brussels, Belgium.

In 2008, he took part in the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon with hopes of qualifying in the 5k and 10k. His time of 13:56.25 in the semifinal of the 5k was enough to advance to the finals, but after holding the lead for several laps, he dropped out of the race with two laps remaining. He withdrew from the race because he was at a point that he would not be able to run the Olympic A standard if he were to continue with the race. This was done to conserve energy for the 10k. He finished seventh in the 10k final, failing to qualify for the Olympics, but besting his previous 10k personal record by less than a second with a 27:59.31.[ citation needed ]

Goucher currently resides in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife, Kara Goucher, also a professional runner. They have one son, Colton Mirko. Goucher is co-founder of Run The Edge, a virtual fitness challenge company.

Personal bests (outdoor)

DistanceMarkDateLocation
800 meters 1:50.03May 11, 2002 Modesto, CA
1500 metres 3:36.64July 17, 2001 Stockholm
Mile 3:54.17May 30, 1999 Eugene, OR
3000 metres 7:34.96July 20, 2001 Monaco
2 miles 8:12.73May 28, 2006 Eugene, OR
5000 metres 13:10.00July 22, 2006 Heusden-Zolder
10000 meters 27:59.31July 4, 2008 Eugene, OR

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Prefontaine</span> American long-distance runner (1951–1975)

Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an US-American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and was preparing for the 1976 Olympics with the Oregon Track Club at the time of his death in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerry Lindgren</span> American long-distance runner

Gerald "Gerry" Paul Lindgren is an American track and field runner who set many long-standing high school and national records in the United States. In 1965, Lindgren and Billy Mills both broke the world record for the six-mile run when they finished in an extremely rare tie at the AAU National Championships, both running exactly 27:11.6. Lindgren went on to win a record 11 NCAA collegiate championships with Washington State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Culpepper</span> American long-distance runner

Alan Lawrence Culpepper is an American distance runner and two time United States Olympian. Along with competing on four World Championship teams, his accomplishments include finishing fourth in the Boston Marathon in 2005, winning the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon and finishing 12th at the 2004 Olympic marathon in Athens. His 2:09:41 at the 2002 Chicago Marathon tied him with Alberto Salazar for the fastest ever debut marathon by an American, and remains his fastest marathon. Culpepper has won three U.S. Cross Country titles and three track titles. His personal bests include 3:55.1 for the mile, 13:25 for 5k and 27:33 in the 10k.

Robert Owen Kennedy Jr. is an American distance runner. Now retired, In 1996 he was ranked 4th in the world at the 5000 meters. He once held the American record in the 3000 meters (7:30.84), 2 miles (8:11.59) and the 5000 meters (12:58.21).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dathan Ritzenhein</span> American long-distance runner

Dathan James Ritzenhein is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC). He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009 to 2010, until it was broken by Bernard Lagat. He is a three-time national cross country champion with wins at the USA Cross Country Championships in 2005, 2008 and 2010. Formerly a Nike athlete for the majority of his professional career, Dathan joined the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project team in 2017. In early May 2020, he announced his retirement from competition. He signed with the Swiss shoe brand On shortly thereafter in June 2020 and currently acts as the coach for the OAC in Boulder, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galen Rupp</span> American long-distance runner

Galen Rupp is an American long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo. He won the silver medal in the men's 10,000 meters in London and the bronze medal in the men's marathon in Rio de Janeiro. Rupp competed for the University of Oregon and trained under Alberto Salazar as a member of the Nike Oregon Project. He won the 2017 Chicago Marathon, becoming the first American to do so since Khalid Khannouchi in 2002. Rupp won the marathon at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta with a time of 2:09:20, and qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where he finished eighth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kara Goucher</span> American long-distance runner

Kara Goucher is an American long-distance runner. She was the 10,000 meters silver medalist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and represented the USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. She made her marathon debut in 2008 and finished third the following year at the Boston Marathon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Tegenkamp</span> American long distance runner

Matthew "Teg" Tegenkamp is a retired professional runner from Lee's Summit, Missouri who specialized in various long-distance events. Tegenkamp represented the United States at two Summer Olympics, in 2008 and 2012. He trained with other members of the KIMbia Athletics group and was sponsored by Nike during his professional career. Tegenkamp set an American record in the outdoor two mile[PRs] and also achieved other performances that were near record breaking during his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hassan Mead</span> Somali-American long-distance runner

Hassan Mead is a Somali-American long-distance runner. He was a cross country and track athlete for the University of Minnesota. An eight-time All-American in his Minnesota career, four in cross country and five in track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Simpson</span> American runner (born 1986)

Jennifer Simpson is an American middle- and long-distance runner, formerly a steeplechaser. She won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2011 World Championships, silvers at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships, and a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Huddle</span> American long-distance runner

Molly Huddle is an American long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She held the American record in the 5000 meters set in 2014 in Monaco (14:42.64), which has since been lowered by Shannon Rowbury and Shelby Houlihan. Huddle held also the American record in the 10,000 meters set at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a time of 30:13.17, which has since been lowered by Alicia Monson.

Sara Elizabeth Slattery is an American middle- and long-distance runner who mainly competes in track races. Slattery has represented the United States at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships at both junior and senior level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diego Estrada (runner)</span> Mexican-American long-distance runner

Juan Diego Estrada Constantino is a Mexican-American long-distance runner. He competed in the 10,000 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London for Mexico. After some confusion about his eligibility after becoming a U.S. citizen, he was excluded from the U.S. Olympic trials even though it was later known that Estrada was misinformed on his eligibility possibilities. Estrada resides in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Jorge Torres is an American long-distance and cross-country runner. He is a three-time runner-up at the U.S. Cross-Country Championships, a 2002 NCAA Cross Country Champion, and a 2006 U.S. Outdoor Champion for the 10,000 meters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben True</span> American runner

Benjamin True is an American track and field and cross-country athlete, who competed for Dartmouth College and currently trains in Hanover, New Hampshire, while competing for Saucony and In the Arena. True was the top American at both the 2011 and 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, as well as the 2011 USATF Road Running Circuit Champion, winning the 5 km and 10 km Road Championships along the way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Webb (runner)</span> American middle distance runner

Alan Webb is an American former track and field athlete and former triathlete. He held the American national record in the mile, with a time of 3 minutes 46.91 seconds, from July 2007 to September 2023. Webb represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's 1500-meters race. He competed professionally for Nike until the end of 2013. He retired after the 2014 Millrose Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbey Cooper</span> American runner

Abbey Cooper is an American middle- and long-distance runner. Cooper is the most decorated Ivy League athlete in track and field and cross country running. She is the first Dartmouth female distance runner to win an NCAA title. She won a total of seven NCAA titles in her career. In 2014, she became a professional runner for New Balance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Infeld</span> American long-distance runner

Emily Infeld is an American long-distance runner. She regularly competes in the 5000 m and 10,000 m distances during her professional career; in her college career she regularly competed in the 4 × 800 meter relay and 1500 m on up to 5000 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Klecker</span> American distance runner

Joe Klecker is an American long-distance runner. After a successful collegiate career with the Colorado Buffaloes he turned professional in 2020 joining the On Athletics Club coached by Dathan Ritzenhein. Klecker holds personal bests of 3:37.00 for 1500m, 7:34.14 for 3000m, 12:54.99 for 5000m, and 27:07.57 for 10000m, all set as a part of the On Athletics Club

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berihu Aregawi</span> Ethiopian athlete

Berihu Aregawi is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He placed fourth in the 10,000 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Aregawi won the silver medal for the men's race at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships. He is the world record holder for the 5 kilometres road race, set on 31 December 2021 in Barcelona.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 All-Athletics. "Profile of Adam Goucher".
  2. 1 2 Chris Lear (May 1, 2001). "Running Times: Learning to Fly".

Audio interviews

Video interviews