U.S. enjoys resurgence in women's marathon

BERLIN -- As she made her way through Brandenburg Gate after the first 10 kilometers of the race, Kara Goucher looked good and felt better.

Athletes always describe themselves as being “in the zone.”

This is what Goucher’s zone felt like.

“I can’t tell you what happened in the first 90 minutes of the race because I was just completely zoned out,” she said. “I couldn’t believe how good I felt. I was running in like a dream state.”

But Goucher’s dream of winning a medal in the marathon on the final day of the 2009 World Championships quickly ran out of steam. Unable to hold down her fluids from fairly early in the race, Goucher began to cramp, then tire.

By the final loop of the race, she was in no condition physically to keep pace with the race leaders, who piled on a punishing pace despite increasing temperatures over the second half.

Xue Bai of China won in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 15 seconds. Yoshimi Ozaki of Japan was second in 2:25:25 and Aselefech Mergia of Ethiopia was third in 2:25:32. Goucher faded some two and half minutes back and crossed 10th overall and first among Americans in 2:27:48.

“My legs felt great and I felt really relaxed,” Goucher said. “The loop course felt like a hard practice, very comfortable. But I had a lot of problems keeping my fluids down. When (the leaders) started to surge, it just wasn’t there. I just wasn’t good enough today.”

Goucher stayed with the main pack through the first two loops of the course and did not appear to be in any distress early on. After the first loop, she was in 21st place within a tightly-bunched lead pack and only two seconds from the front. On the second pass through, she moved up seven spots to 14th and remained two seconds off the lead.

“After the second personal-fluid station, I started throwing up what I took in, Goucher said. “I just kept trying to take it and a mile later I would throw it back up. I probably threw up six times. I didn’t even take anything from the last water station. I started to cramp with about 13K to go. When the women made that break, my body just wouldn’t go.”

The effects of dehydration began to set in over the second half of the race. As the pace picked up near the 30-kilometer mark, Goucher was unable to keep up. At the start of the third loop she had fallen six seconds back and was in 13th place. Over the ensuing five kilometers, her deficit grew to 45 seconds.

“I was still like, ‘You know what? I’m dying, but so is everyone else is too,’” Goucher said, of her thoughts at 35K. “That’s the thing about the marathon, everyone has their breaking point. I still thought that I could still maybe pick a couple people off. But I kept cramping worse and worse and slowing down more and more. I tried to stay positive the whole time but I knew I definitely wasn’t going to medal. I still thought I could get up there and get a respectable place but the body was just shutting down.”

Goucher’s late fade here was reminiscent of what happened to her last November, when she made her debut at the distance at the ING New York City Marathon. Her inability to keep fluids down prevented her from keeping pace with Paula Radcliffe, who won the race easily. Goucher placed third.

In her second marathon, this April in Boston, Goucher had no hydration issues on her way to another third-place finish. She said her training sessions before this race indicated no such problems.

“I had a lot of problems in New York, but in Boston I was fine,” Goucher said. “So I really don’t know. I haven’t had any problems taking fluids through this training block at all. It’s frustrating. If I really think I’m going to be one of the best runners in the world, I’m going to have to figure it out because this has cost me twice now.”

Equally confounded was Goucher’s coach, Alberto Salazar. He said this isn’t a matter of Goucher being inexperienced and in need of training her body to accept fluids. Salazar said that in her next race, Goucher may have to change what she puts in her bottle.

Salazar said Goucher was drinking a diluted solution of Powerade mixed with a half packet of GU, an energy gel commonly used in competition and training by endurance athletes, on Sunday.

“It may be, with her, a matter of just drinking plain water and give up on the carbohydrate replenishment,” Salazar said. “It doesn’t do you any good to have carbohydrates in the water if they’re going to make you throw up and now you don’t have any fluid either. Maybe we’re going to have to go with just plain water.”

This was the last race in the foreseeable future for Goucher, who said she is sticking to her plan to take time off to start a family with her husband Adam, a 2000 U.S. Olympian in the 5000m.

Adam acknowledged that this was not how his wife wanted to go into that time away.

“Honestly, it’s a little bit sad,” he said. “I know how hard she has been working and I know what she expected, and what I expected, and Alberto, and everybody expected and thought she could do. Today wasn’t her day I guess. Unfortunately, that sucks. But she’s young. This was her third one. I really think she’s going to learn a lot from this. She’ll be upset. It’ll take a little bit of time to get over it. But she’ll move on.”

Goucher vowed as much, saying she hopes to be back competing in time for the next World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, as she readies for the 2012 Olympics.

“It all depends on how things in my personal life go but I’d like to be back running by 2011,” Goucher said. As soon as little Goucher is born and I lose the weight, I’ll be back. I love the marathon. I’m really disappointed today. This wasn’t my best race but it’s another step toward London.