Olympian and New York Times bestselling author to speak at 33rd Sister Cleophas Costello Lecture

Loyola University Maryland will welcome long-distance runner Kara Goucher—a three-time NCAA champion, two-time Olympian, and New York Times best-selling author—for the 33rd Sister Cleophas Costello Lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. in McGuire Hall on the Evergreen campus. The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is encouraged at Loyola.edu/Cleophas. A book signing will follow the lecture.

Goucher is the author of The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike's Elite Running Team. Her book contains many stunning revelations and explores the challenges elite female athletes face as they navigate a complex sports industry, including pay inequity, verbal and sexual abuse, misrepresentation in the media, and pressure to use performance-enhancing substances.

Published in 2023, The Longest Race has been lauded as "one of the most important athlete memoirs of its generation" by No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Kate Fagan, with Women’s Running stating that Goucher’s “transparency about so much of her career is what elevates this memoir as perhaps the most important contribution she'll ever make to women's sports."

Since retiring from professional running, Goucher has served as a broadcast announcer at many races, including as a track and field analyst for NBC Sports at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She hosts the running commentary podcast Nobody Asked Us and has become a crusader for female athletes. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, fellow runner Adam Goucher, and their son, Colt.

About the Sister Cleophas Costello Lecture Series  
Founded in the late 1970s and named in honor of the late Sister Mary Cleophas Costello, RSM, former president of Mount Saint Agnes College from 1953-1968, the lecture series features prominent women who embody the ideals of scholarship, leadership, and artistic ability.