Husband of Bronze Medalist Kara Goucher Proud to Rake Leaves off Track, Perform Other Degrading Tasks at Nike Campus
Adam Goucher: "I'm Just Happy to Be Here"
As Kara Goucher, 2007 World Championship bronze medalist in the 10,000m, warmed up for a workout last Tuesday afternoon, her husband Adam was already halfway through his own workout. Groaning and sweating with exertion, Adam struggled to complete the task at hand: raking all the fallen leaves from the lanes 1 and 2 of the track on Nike’s campus.
“For me, it’s always been about the love of sport,” Adam explained afterwards, in between desperate gasps for oxygen. “Whether that means accompanying Kara on her cool-down, or preparing a delicious post-workout PB&J, I’m happy to do it.”
It’s easy to see how success came so easily to Kara: her smooth, languid stride and intimidating competitive streak combine to make a world-class runner. This reporter, however, was hard-pressed to identify similar traits in Adam. He is pale, balding and soft, resembling a vanilla ice cream cone dropped in a Greek barbershop. In his prime, however, Adam was considered by many to be one of the premier distance runners in the U.S. Lately, his performance has plummeted, and Coach Alberto Salazar has assigned him some “very special” workouts to keep him motivated. “I basically told Adam, ‘Look, you are a disgrace. Your wife continues to mop the floor with you day in and day out. Now grab a rake and get going.’”, says Salazar. “What’s been fascinating to me is the pure gusto with which Adam undertakes these degrading, menial chores. It’s truly bizarre.”
The routine is simple: On Mondays, Adam arrives at Salazar’s office around noon to go over the week’s workouts. Salazar writes the demeaning chores on a white board and forces Adam to commit them to memory before leaving the office. To many, this process would appear humiliating. According to Mr. Goucher, however, this is the key to success. Says Adam: “Coach has got me doing doubles lately. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have to get up early to mix the Gatorade. The next thing I do is make sure it’s adequately chilled, Kara can’t stand room temperature drinks. I really have to hustle to carry the cooler out to the track by 3PM. It’s a tough work, but I know this will really pay dividends by outdoors.”
Asked about her husband’s new support role, Kara was enthusiastic, if a bit confused. “It’s heartwarming to watch Adam prepare an ice bath for me after a long run, but I don’t think he understands that I am top billing now. He’s sort of deluding himself that driving me to races and carrying my warm-ups to the finish line is making him a better runner. That’s just not the case.”
And this new situation is not without friction. Just last month, Salazar tore into Adam for “overtraining.” According to Salazar, Adam was found raking the leaves off the outer lanes of the track, when it’s clear to “just about everybody,” that Kara never works out on the outer lanes. “There’s a difference between training hard and training smart. When I screamed at Adam, it’s because I want to see him succeed at being Kara’s husband. It wasn’t personal,” Salazar explained.
Many track fans question the fairness of keeping Mr. Goucher on Nike’s payroll when numerous runners are struggling to stay afloat. Salazar defends this decision, saying, “Look, are there perks? Yes. Does Adam work hard for his contract? You betcha.” This reporter obtained Mr. Goucher’s contract through a Freedom of Information request and found numerous “perks”, including: unlimited use of Nike campus golf cart; custom license plate for said golf cart, “ADAMZ WHEELZ”; off-peak hours gym access; unlimited salad and bread sticks at the Olive Garden.
If there are critics out there – reportedly some of the other Nike athletes have begun to refer to Adam as Mrs. Alberto Salazar – Goucher does not hear them. “Look, I’m just trying to be the best runner I can be. If I need to do a few more months of Coach Salazar’s cross-training to get me ready to break 13 in the 5000, then I will do it. Plus, with the recession, I am just happy to still be gainfully employed.”