75478 wrote:
Let's get clear that many hobby joggers who are NOT looking to improve performance and win awards are inadvertently technically doping just because many common rx and over the counter drugs are on the banned list, and no casual hobby joggers are cross referencing the banned list because they aren't even aware of that.
Then you also have the anti-aging drugs where most who take them are NOT doing it for racing enhancement simply because most taking them aren't even running races, so the technical cheating is a side effect if they happen to walk a charity 5K.
A smaller group than the two above are the intentional cheaters which is what the OP is focused on, but I wanted to point out the sport's rules makes a large portion of people who enter races technical cheaters, just like everyone exceeds the speed limits by at least 1 mph at least momentarily once in a while.
Why wouldn't most aging masters runners be tempted to use TRT/HRT?
I read the other day that TRT is a multi-billion global industry.
In the city I live in, the sports radio talk show I listen to is constantly advertising popular "low-T" clinics in the metro area several times on the hour. And a popular former NFL SB winning player is marketing these same clinics.
And the cost for TRT has come down a lot. A lot of clinics have introductory specials where a patient receives several months of free therapy. And many patients will administer the weekly injections in the comfort of their home - no having to show up at the clinic every week.
If testing is so bad as some say, why wouldn't an aging masters athletes indulge in TRT? (USADA simply doesn't have the money to create a testing pool for masters athletes).
Masters athletes are no different than professional athletes -- many want to win at all costs.