Kara Goucher en route to her third place finish in Boston in 2009 (© Victah Sailer)
Top Americans Kara Goucher and Desiree Davila will be among the headliners at the 115th Running of the Boston Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on 18 April 2011.
The match up should prove an exciting one on the domestic stage as both women seek positioning for the 2012 Olympic Marathon. Goucher, who trains under former Boston champion Alberto Salazar, is third fastest among Americans all-time with a 2:25:53 best. Davila, who trains with the Hansons-Brooks team, is fourth with a 2:26:20 best. Only Deena Kastor and Joan Benoit-Samuelson have run faster.
In head-to-head competition the two women raced on the U.S. team at the 2009 World Championships Marathon in Berlin with Goucher finishing 10th and Davila five seconds back in 11th.
Choosing Boston as her first Marathon after the birth in September of her son, Colt, Goucher said, “My return to running has gone very well and I can’t think of a better place than Boston to pickup where I left off.”
Goucher finished third in Boston in 2009. Her front running against 2008 champion Dire Tune and eventual winner Salina Kosgei made for a thrilling race as only nine seconds separated the three women at the finish.
“I’m excited to be invited back on the John Hancock elite team,” said Goucher. “The 2009 Boston Marathon stands as the highlight of my career. I wished that I could have won, but I did the best I could and Boston embraced me for that. The support in Boston was nothing that I had ever experienced before. It was a thrill of a lifetime to have people cheering my name for the full 26.2-mile race.”
In her 2008 Marathon debut in New York City, Goucher finished third and set a number of American women’s Marathon records: the fastest debut ever, the fastest time ever run on the course, and the fastest time of 2008. She also was a 2008 Olympian in the 5000m and 10,000m, and a 2007 World Championship bronze medallist in the 10,000m.
Davila brings significant credentials to the start line having run the fastest Marathon time by an American in 2010, with her fourth place finish in Chicago.
“The biggest thing I was able to take away from Chicago and the World Championships is confidence,” said Davila. “Everything we are doing at Hansons is about progression. I’ve learned how to prepare for the Marathon; how to race the distance. I’ve gotten faster and more competitive up front each time out.”
The pair will be targeting the first American victory in the women's race since 1985 when Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach took top honors.
Organisers for the IAAF
The match up should prove an exciting one on the domestic stage as both women seek positioning for the 2012 Olympic Marathon. Goucher, who trains under former Boston champion Alberto Salazar, is third fastest among Americans all-time with a 2:25:53 best. Davila, who trains with the Hansons-Brooks team, is fourth with a 2:26:20 best. Only Deena Kastor and Joan Benoit-Samuelson have run faster.
In head-to-head competition the two women raced on the U.S. team at the 2009 World Championships Marathon in Berlin with Goucher finishing 10th and Davila five seconds back in 11th.
Choosing Boston as her first Marathon after the birth in September of her son, Colt, Goucher said, “My return to running has gone very well and I can’t think of a better place than Boston to pickup where I left off.”
Goucher finished third in Boston in 2009. Her front running against 2008 champion Dire Tune and eventual winner Salina Kosgei made for a thrilling race as only nine seconds separated the three women at the finish.
“I’m excited to be invited back on the John Hancock elite team,” said Goucher. “The 2009 Boston Marathon stands as the highlight of my career. I wished that I could have won, but I did the best I could and Boston embraced me for that. The support in Boston was nothing that I had ever experienced before. It was a thrill of a lifetime to have people cheering my name for the full 26.2-mile race.”
In her 2008 Marathon debut in New York City, Goucher finished third and set a number of American women’s Marathon records: the fastest debut ever, the fastest time ever run on the course, and the fastest time of 2008. She also was a 2008 Olympian in the 5000m and 10,000m, and a 2007 World Championship bronze medallist in the 10,000m.
Davila brings significant credentials to the start line having run the fastest Marathon time by an American in 2010, with her fourth place finish in Chicago.
“The biggest thing I was able to take away from Chicago and the World Championships is confidence,” said Davila. “Everything we are doing at Hansons is about progression. I’ve learned how to prepare for the Marathon; how to race the distance. I’ve gotten faster and more competitive up front each time out.”
The pair will be targeting the first American victory in the women's race since 1985 when Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach took top honors.
Organisers for the IAAF
