She competed collegiately for the University of Colorado and was a three-time NCAA champion (twice in track and once in cross country).

When she was four years old her family moved to Duluth, Minnesota, after her father was killed by a drunk driver on the Harlem River Drive.

In 2021, Goucher was diagnosed with repetitive exercise dystonia after noticing lack of sensation in her legs and difficulty running.

She won the Honda Sports Award as the best female collegiate cross country runner in the nation in 2001.

At the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan she won the silver medal in the women's 10,000 m event.

In September 2007, she won the Great North Run in 1:06:57, the fastest woman's half marathon time of the year, setting a new American best time[10] at the distance and beating marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe, on the latter's comeback from pregnancy and injury.

At the 2008 Prefontaine Classic track meet in Eugene, Oregon, USA, Goucher ran the 5000 m, the same race as the World Record attempt by Meseret Defar.

Goucher already had the Olympic A Standard, but achieved it again, recording 31:37.72 at 10,000 m, finishing second behind American record-holder Shalane Flanagan's 31:34.81.

[16] Following the birth of her child, she returned to competition at the Arizona Half Marathon in January 2011, and finished as the runner-up behind Madaí Pérez.

The event was subject to a terrorist attack, with a pair of consecutive explosions near the finish line killing three spectators and injuring over 180 others.

[34] In January 2023, Goucher began a podcast called "Nobody Asked Us" with fellow runner Des Linden.

On March 14, 2023, Goucher released her book, "The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping and Deception on Nike's Elite Running Team", co-written with Mary Pilon.