Brett GotcherHome: La Selva Beach, California, USABib: #20 Pronunciation: Brett Got-cher Birthdate: 1 September 1984 Personal Best: 2:10:36 (Houston, 2010) |
| 04April13 | ABN-AMRO Rotterdam Marathon | DNF | |
| 14Jan12 | Houston U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials | 5th | 2:11:06 |
| 30Jan11 | Chevron Houston Marathon | 6th | 2:19:30 |
| 17Jan10 | Chevron Houston Marathon | 7th | 2:10:36 |
Brett Gotcher is making his Boston Marathon debut this year. He was top American at the 2013 Wharf-to-Wharf race, is a past national champion in the 20K, and has competed for the U.S. on World Cross Country and Half Marathon teams. At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, Gotcher finished fifth in 2:11:06. As a junior runner, Gotcher won the gold medal at the 2003 Junior Pan American Games 10,000m.
Gotcher says his proudest moment was his marathon debut in Houston in 2010. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I had trained the hardest I've ever trained in my life and my coach had given me confidence throughout the buildup that I could put up a good time. It all came together on race day and I ended up running the fourth fastest debut marathon for an American.”
Gotcher started running in 8th grade to get in shape for basketball season. But he says, “Luckily, I had success early on because it turns out I wasn't going to end up a 6'6" shooting guard in the NBA. I also had some amazing coaches along the way that really helped me develop a love for running and taught me to appreciate what I was able to do with it.” Gotcher earned All American status at Stanford University, where he graduated from in 2007 with a Bachelors degree in psychology. He recently got engaged to his girlfriend Valerie and he says they are looking forward to starting a family together. Gotcher likes to surf, is taking harmonica lessons and says, “I can grow a pretty solid beard.”
“It's always been a dream of mine to run the Boston Marathon,” says Brett Gotcher. “Ever since I started running as a teenager, I understood the significance of the Boston Marathon to the running world and hoped someday I'd be good enough to toe the line with the best runners in the world. Boston will be even more significant this year after the horrific events that took place last year, and I hope to add whatever I can to make it a very positive experience for everyone.”
“Ever since I started running as a teenager, I understood the significance of the Boston Marathon to the running world and hoped someday I'd be good enough to toe the line with the best runners in the world.”