Yet another Kara Goucher post--she wants in on Berlin World Championships marathon!

In looking at the stats for the mighty paulmerca.blogspot.com, one of the most popular searches within the site is for Kara Goucher (left, leading Canada's Megan Metcalfe at the 2006 World Cup in Athens/photo by Paul Merca).

We can add another post to keep the Kara Goucher fans happy, as Sieg Lindstrom of Track & Field News reports on their site that the Portland resident has thrown her name into the hat to run the marathon at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, which will happen on August 23rd, the final day of the meet.

Lindstrom writes, "Goucher, whose 2:25:53 race to 3rd place at last fall's New York City Marathon was the fastest-ever debut by a U.S. woman, had planned after her followup 3rd-place run in Boston last month to take a break from marathoning for a time and possibly start a family with husband Adam. But finishing within 9 seconds of the win in the tactical Boston race after leading for most of the closing stages left her hungry for more.

"You know I finished Boston and at first I was really angry and disappointed in myself and I just wanted another shot," Goucher said. "I desperately wanted to do London [the Sunday after the Monday, April 20, Boston race] and after discussing it that night, again Tuesday and then again Wednesday when I was in New York City with [coach Alberto Salazar] and Nike and the rest of my team--especially my husband--we just decided London was not smart for my overall development and my overall career. I kind of had to let that thought go.

"I can be crazy sometimes," said Goucher, whose idea of lining up in London hadn't sat well with Salazar even though she recovered quickly in the days after Boston, "but in the discussion for London the World Championships came up and I just felt like I wanted before I took a break I just wanted to give it one more crack."

Should Goucher follow through with her intent to run the marathon in Berlin, she would potentially face Great Britain's Paula Radcliffe, who defeated her in New York last fall.

Here's an interview with Radcliffe where she talks about her ambition of winning a second world championship to go with the one she won in Helsinki four years ago.

To read the full story, please click here.