Strong: A Runner's Guide to Boosting Confidence and Becoming the Best Version of You Spiral-Bound | August 14, 2018

Kara Goucher, Blue Star Press (Producer)

★★★☆☆+ from 501 to 1,000 ratings

$21.87 - Free Shipping
The New York Times bestselling author of The Longest Race shares her secrets to conquering self-doubt and improving performance in this empowering self-confidence guide

Selected as an all-time favorite running book by the readers of Women's Running magazine.

Mental conditioning is an important part of any athlete’s training regimen. In Strong: A Runner’s Guide to Boosting Confidence and Becoming the Best Version of You, two-time Olympian and New York Times bestselling author Kara Goucher opens up about her personal struggles with confidence and offers readers her best techniques for overcoming self-doubt so you can stay focused on your daily training routine and better mentally prepare for a race or your whatever you’re hoping to accomplish.

This comprehensive guide to developing confidence includes:
Stories from Kara’s career and glimpses inside her personal confidence journal
Confidence Techniques and Guided Activities to incorporate into your own training, including: Positive Self Talk, Mantra, Setting Goals, Enclothed Cognition, Power Pose, Visualization Techniques, Power Words, and Social Connections.
Insights from inspiring women in the field of running and other Olympic athletes
Tools to start your own Kara-style confidence journal, with over 25 prompts to get you going

In addition to Goucher’s best tips and techniques, Strong also shares the real-life experiences of fellow athletes, including Olympians Emma Coburn and Molly Huddle ,and New York Times best-selling author Robin Arzón. The book also provides perspective from two experts in the field of sport psychology, including Kara's own sport psychologist, Dr. Stephen Walker.

"Strong is the ultimate guide to dreaming big and reaching your goals whether that's qualifying for the Boston Marathon or scoring the big promotion at work."
—Liz Plosser Editor-in-Chief, Women's Health
Publisher: Blue Star Press
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 208 pages
ISBN-10: 1944515593
Item Weight: 0.9 lbs
Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.6 x 7.5 inches
Customer Reviews: 3 out of 5 stars 501 to 1,000 ratings
"With Strong, Kara Goucher elevates the athlete memoir, providing readers with more than just compelling anecdotes, but techniques we can apply to our own lives. In doing so, she becomes our coach, our champion—someone not just to admire, but to emulate. I love, love, love this book. It's intimate yet emboldening, aspirational yet useful. Strong is the perfect training companion. Thank you, Kara, for sharing these lessons with us."
-- Sheila Monaghan, Editor-In-Chief, Furthermore from Equinox

"High-achieving women in any field can find themselves drained as they try to outrace self-doubt. Kara Goucher offers techniques and tools for sustainability over the long haul, whether itʼs distance running or a different kind of professional goal."
-- Bonnie D. Ford, Senior Writer, ESPN.com

"Equal parts inspiration and tactical advice that you can put into place immediately, Strong is the ultimate guide to dreaming big and reaching your goals—whether thatʼs qualifying for the Boston Marathon or scoring the big promotion at work. Iʼve admired Karaʼs luminous energy, grace, grit and many running accomplishments from afar for many years. Coach and author are natural roles for her: There is no better person to encourage you to power onwards and upwards with confidence."
-- Liz Plosser, Editor-in-Chief Womenʼs Health

"Kara Goucher is someone Iʼve looked up to and admired for many years, not just because of her extraordinary running prowess and athleticism, but because of the difficulties sheʼs overcome and the grace in which sheʼs conducted her life. The principles Kara outlines in Strong are universal and can help anyone improve and get better, regardless of age or ability. Strong has both helped and inspired me, and Iʼm sure it will do the same for you."
-- Dean Karnazes, ultramarathoner and New York Times bestselling author

"Itʼs easy to assume that a two-time Olympian like Kara Goucher was just born confident, but itʼs reassuring to learn that itʼs taken years of discipline to achieve the kind of mental strength that has led her to the highest levels of sport, as well as extraordinary success outside of competition. Through lively anecdotes, Kara gives tangible techniques that all of us can implement in our personal quests for improved confidence—in running and in our daily lives, too. Strong is inspirational, motivational, and most importantly, itʼs a practical guide for stoking our self-belief."
-- Erin Strout, journalist and author, regular contributor to Runner ʼs World

Goucher isnʼt just one of the most recognizable runners in America; she may be the best at cultivating a fan base.
-- Runner ʼs World

"Ms. Goucher has helped ignite a recent resurgence in American womenʼs distance running."
-- The Wall Street Journal

"I believe that most runners--both amateur and professional--can struggle with self-confidence. It's really interesting to learn about the power of our minds and to think how mental strength and well-being can impact performance. Kara's book has inspired me to work with my mind more often, and I will continue to come back to these words by Kara and her collaborators. This is truly an amazing book that will make you stronger not only as a runner but also as a person." 
-- Emelie Forsberg, professional ultramarathoner and author of Sky Runner
Kara Goucher is a professional runner, inspirational mentor, proud mother, and loving wife. A three-time Division I NCAA track champion, a two-time Olympian, an American record holder, World Championships silver medalist, and one of the most accomplished female distance runners of all time, Kara is an inspiration to people everywhere, and an advocate for clean sport and women’s rights.