Doping problem comes to Ultramarathons

amateurRD wrote:

DopingLol1 wrote:

...

I just don't see it man...

There's just no rewards in this sport, even for epic performances.

Probably 2-3 guys make $100K a year and the rest are barely scraping by - or in best case scenario they're getting free shoes and free travel (say $5-10K per year).

It's completely illogical to suggest that people would dope in order to get essentially minimal financial rewards.

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(I omitted the original quote and a trailing nasty ad hominem attack.)

Maybe you haven't seen enough; maybe you haven't volunteered or directed enough.

People cheat who aren't even near the front of the race, and cheat and don't even get age group awards. It's sad, and silly (to me), but yes, people cheat to accomplish feats that don't get them money or acclaim.

No doubt. Believing that financial reward is the only driver of cheating is a severe lack of understanding of human nature. If you go through life believing that people primarily make decisions based on money you will fail to understand many things people do.

YMMV wrote:

Testosterone use for men over 40 went from 0.8% in 2001 to 3% in 2012; with this rate it is likely over 5% today. 25% didn't even have their T levels tested before being prescribed. Basically, doctors are handing this scrip out to guys over 40 that just complain about being "tired" etc..

https://www.livescience.com/37101-testosterone-therapy-prescription-increase.html

Considering the athletic benefits of testosterone, it seems reasonable to conclude that use among masters athletes might be considerably higher than 5%, especially among podium contenders.

TRT is a very lucrative business. Here where I live a retired football player from a SB winning team does promos for a local "Low-T center."

I know numerous middle-aged cats at the gym where I work out at, some who are competitive cyclists & runners, who are on TRT. In fact, a few have approached me providing business cards of the Low-T center they use.

I don't pass judgement on these cats - they're getting their T at a licensed clinic with an Rx and all. Some have reported phenomenal results in strength improvement, recovery & energy. Others I've talked with have said not so good with unwanted weight gain & increased aggressiveness & irritability. So, there's probably a lot of individual variability and certainly one size-does-not-fit-all. One thing is for certain though; get use to it because it is the wave of the future. Aging baby boomers want to stay competitive & active in sports for as long as they can.

Surprisingly, USADA has a little known Recreational Competitor TUE (RCTUE) for anabolic steroids & T policy that was quietly added in June 2015. Apparently if you don't win or become too good you can use the juice: ?

since there is not much testing in ultramarathons we could presume runners could load up on the T without a TUE

Sadly even more prevalent on the streets than in races. Cheaters incentive, also sadly, may only be to feed their own sick narcissism or brag to anyone who will listen.

jesseriley wrote:

Sadly even more prevalent on the streets than in races. Cheaters incentive, also sadly, may only be to feed their own sick narcissism or brag to anyone who will listen.

Seriously, if they're not winning money and competing for an OTQ, who cares..

It's their body and their consequences to endure if they want to turn their body into a science experiment. I could honestly care less.

Dude, a good percentage of the big guys in any gym are on roids for no reason other than vanity. Every competitive bodybuilder is doping, and there's hardly any money for most of them. People dope in racewalking, high school football, masters track, etc. for minimal monetary return.

Do you really think it's outlandish for people to be doing EPO because they like being good? ESPECIALLY when you're looking at top guys, who seem to race a ton and always be in shape.

jesseriley wrote:

Yes, Trans Am! Still trying to figure it all out.

Lewisburg to South Vienna with Rob Fry, 1993-4.