GOUCHER'S GOAL: WIN THE BOSTON MARATHON
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

Already in Boston for Saturday's Reebok Boston Indoor Games where she'll run the 3000m, Kara Goucher has been using her time there wisely to help her prepare for her first appearance at the 113th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20.  Although it will only be Goucher's second marathon, she told reporters today that she was running to win.

"My goal for the year is to win the Boston Marathon," said Goucher, her words recorded and posted by TrackShark.com.  "So, everything I'm doing in preparation is to prepare myself for that.  That really is my goal for the year."

Goucher, who set a USA debut record of 2:25:53 at the ING New York City Marathon last November where she finished third, has been practicing on the Boston Marathon course, and has covered quite a bit of it already.

"I did the first 18 miles (29 km) of the course on Sunday, and I ran the last 10-K Monday," Goucher explained.  "I'm going to run some this afternoon, as well." 

She said Boston's famously hilly course suits her.  "I really like the course.  I had never seen the course at all, and I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I like it.  It has a really, really great feel.  It's a very intimate course, I think, and it's really rolling and there's a lot of turns.  So, I think it will be a great place to get into a good rhythm.  I'm really excited about it."

The last American woman to win the Boston Marathon was Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach in 1985, winning by eight minutes.  Larsen-Weidenback was 23 at the time (Goucher is 30), and had been the alternate for the USA marathon team for the Los Angeles Olympics the year before.

Goucher plans to run the last 20 miles (32 km) of the course on Sunday morning after her track race.  In that event, she's hoping to shatter her 8:57.53 indoor personal best (she's run 8:34.99 outdoors), but doesn't have a firm time goal.

"I don't really have a goal time in mind; I just want to run competitively," she summarized.  "I'd like a faster pace.  I'd love to run sub-8:40, but who knows if that's going to happen."

ENDS