We’re bursting at our capri seams to announce our second week dedicated to an elite—and incredibly inspiring—#motherrunner: Kara Goucher. 

During this week, we’ll have an excerpt of Strong: A Runner’s Guide to Boosting Confidence and Becoming the Best Version of You and, of course, we’ve got a giveaway of some of her favorite Oiselle + other running gear—and a few copies of her book—queued up. We’ll bookend the week with a live podcast with Sarah, Dimity + Kara, which we’re recording tonight in Longmont, Colorado.

To kick off Kara Goucher week, though, we wanted to share ten reasons why we love her:

One: She’s spent her formative years in Minnesota. (And yes, this reason solely belongs to Dimity.)

Two: She’s a fan of pen on paper, as she told Competitor recently: “People have asked me if Strong is going to be an e-book, and I’m like no, this is a thing you have to work through,” Goucher says. “You need to put your hand to the page with a writing utensil and take the time and reflect; it should only take five or 10 minutes a day.”

Three: Her cheering skills rival her running skills.


Four: She isn’t afraid to be human.

Five: She’s succeeded on the track, on the road, and now is thinking about the trail and going really long. “I definitely want to try an ultra, and it’ll either come next year or the year after depending on how this marathon goes in the fall,” Goucher said in the Duluth News Tribune. “That’s the cool thing about running — there are so many different adventures and things to try.”

Six: Did we mention we get to do a live podcast with her tonight? (Might be time for a photo redo, not in front of an emergency exit door!)

Seven: She gets weepy on the first day of school (join the crowd!); and her son’s favorite color is pink.

Eight: She got pregnant just before Run Like a Mother came out–and while Sarah was still focused on freelance writing. The scoop of her career? Announcing Kara’s pregnancy in her beloved New York Times.

Nine: Like many of us around her at AMR, she also believes that good enough > perfect. (From Strong)

Ten: Her confidence wavers just as much as your’s or mine—and she’s not afraid to admit it. “Everyone here is better than me. I’m not ready for this. My knee hurts. Something is off,” she writes in Strong. We’re excited to dive deeper into this—and plenty of other topics—on the podcast tonight.

Have any questions you’d like us to ask Kara about confidence, vulnerability, her future? Let us know in the comments!