Kara and Oiselle: My Thoughts

I remember where I was when I read the news. I was on Spring Break with my family, standing in the line for "Radiator Springs Racers" at Disneyland (which had, of course, broken down). The kids were busy making friends with the people in front of us, so I pulled out my phone to catch up on my twitter feed. I was scrolling through when I saw the Runner's World post - BREAKING: Kara Goucher Signs With Oiselle." My first thought was "HOLY. COW." I'm pretty sure I thought it out loud. My second thought was "I'm so happy and proud for Kara and Sally and Oiselle and runners everywhere and... and..." And then I read Kara's story (you can read it here)... and it made me even more proud - as a woman, as a fan, and as a runner.

Think about the majority of athletes today. They can say "it's not about the money," but let's be honest, it almost always is. They want to go to the team who is going to pay them the most money or the sponsor who is going to give them the most exposure. In Kara's case, she chose to go where her heart led her. That says a lot about her and it says a lot about Sally Bergeson as a person and Oiselle as a company. She was willing to work with Kara and had the patience to wait while Kara made a final decision. Most of us will never have to make this decision, and it's hard to say what we would do if we did, but I like to think we'd do the same thing.

Back in February, I saw a picture posted of Sally with Kara and Lauren Fleshman (also a Oiselle-sponsored athlete) and thought "Wow. Would this not be an incredible trio?" (I also thought, wow, I'd sure like to have a copy of that picture!) I had read that Kara's contract was up with Nike and thought how cool it would be if she came to Oiselle. Little did I know at the time that all of this was happening (which is exactly as it should be).

I don't work for Oiselle and I'm not a runner on the Oiselle Team (although I'd love to be at some point down the road). I just happen to be a big fan of their clothes and the down-to-earth women who run the company. Where else can you find a CEO who actually communicates personally with us "regular" people? The funny thing is, had Kara signed with a larger company, it would have been news but probably wouldn't have made quite as much of a splash. Because Kara is a high-profile runner and Oiselle is a smaller company, both are getting more press than probably anyone ever imagined. I, for one, couldn't be happier - I hope Oiselle gains a whole new "flock" of fans because of this. Well done, Kara, Sally, and Oiselle - well done.