Allie O Popped

I'm not so sure about this. It is understandable that she would want to go to a dermatologist instead of her general practitioner for a skin condition (although I'm sure a GP could have also seen her for acne related problems). Wait times can be long to see a new dermatologist, assuming she didn't already have one, so seeing an online dermatologist is not that crazy. What is crazy to me is that someone who has been running professionally for years, says she was tested 30 times in the last 2 years, and claims to have researched the potential performance benefits of the drug before taking it, wouldn't have also looked to see if it were banned.

Exactly my thoughts. Good post.

She had to have known or was acting so recklessly towards her future she was hoping to throw it away.

Kilian, founder of Nnormal and the Pro Trail Runners Association, seems to be pushing hard for clean sport in trail racing. They have a specific working group trying to get races like Sierre Zinal to ban people who have doped.

Allie has defied that. Even if western states was never her aim the chances of other big races diminished from this zit cream.

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Meet our Working Groups: Antidoping

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The different Working Groups on the subjects decided in the General Assembly have been set. Those projects are carried on by the Association in different working groups with trail runners and lead …

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In response to a few comments here saying "if everyone who's popped is guilty why are we giving Allie a pass"

--Personally, I'm not giving her a "pass". What she did (if it is to be believed) was careless and on her. It was a prescription. It is on her to know what's in it. I also think if she wanted to be honest, she could have done her little YouTube video when the ban was handed down, not when it was over. I also very much think masking agents should be on the banned list.

--I'm not as miffed about this one because she hasn't been in competition in a while and clearly had health struggles. Unlike Shelby who soared to great heights before getting caught she doesn't fit the profile of someone trying to cheat, and gain exponentially from that cheating. That's why I'm more or less inclined to believe that it was from acne medication.

--Which brings me to her story. Unlike Shelby's ridiculous burrito tale, Allie's story literally checks out. The drugs are in the medication. She has a likely story for why she needed the medication. She was honest about that. She knew where it came from and she disclosed. Again, careless on her part, and I guess it could be a lie but between a very believable story, and the fact that she hasn't been competitive, I don't think (unlike Shelby) she was cheating.

--Finally, if in her video at any time she blamed USADA and the "process" and the "system" for being unfair I would have been angry. She's an adult who knows the rules and it's on her. No more blaming the system when things go sour. But she didn't do those things. She took responsibility.

So again, she's no hero here. But I am just not going to believe she cheated maliciously because there isn't any evidence strong enough for me.

I’m inclined to believe her story, but if I’m playing devil’s advocate, she would have competed in one of the most prestigious trail races in the world this summer were it not for this suspension, right? So I don’t think “not competing” should lead one to believe this was an honest mistake because she’s only not competing because of this failed test.

I wonder how many athletes at Sierra Zinal are subjected to OOC testing, but that’s for a different thread and doesn’t negate Allie’s positive test.

The questions that I haven't seen answered is:

Who is this person?

And,

Why do all of you believe he/she/it/they is/are a professional runner?

My best guess: Allie turned 26 at the end of 2022 and may have gone uninsured for some time this year, if she was still on her parents' insurance before. Online dermatology platforms are often much less expensive than going to a doctor's office without insurance.

Yes, because it's allowable under the TUE definitions. Other people are taking this drug for the same valid reason and are competing. They just did their paperwork properly.

This is not hard to understand. There are a lot of pro athletes taking things that are banned under a therapeutic use exemption.

You are right. It is not hard to understand. In theory, anything is allowed with a TUE, but they aren’t always granted and the process by which they are granted/denied is opaque and often hard to understand.

I’m not sure what that has to do with what you quoted… I was pointing out the circular logic in saying “there’s nothing nefarious about this positive test because she isn’t even competing” but she isn’t competing because of the positive test. Unless I’m missing something, she would have otherwise raced Sierre Zinal, right? She was on the start list but this positive test rendered her ineligible per their new doping policy this year.

I think you're correct, although, I'd have to look at her youtube but I think she claimed an injury. Maybe she claimed that after the positive test to make an excuse or maybe she was injured. Either way, at some point she was going to run Sierre Zinal and the suspension made it so there wasn't a chance that could happen (injured or healthy).

I tried to get more clarification but she immediately deleted the comment. She's likely doing the same for all comments not on her side. Wow. Talk about creating your narrative.

The video looked like she paused and edited it multiple times and what she said seemed pretty rehearsed. Cheating in trail running seems dumb but as Sage has said it happens a lot and most get away with it. She might be feeling the pressure to perform with her new sponsor and focus on trails. Also Spencer is a total freeloader with no job prospects or hope of getting sponsored again so maybe she feels compelled to produce. I don't know for sure.

People will tell you this just shows how transparent she is

All those sympathizing for Allie, giving her the benefit of the doubt because she hasnt ran fast times or been competing hard... are you friggin serious? So someone is innocent just because they didnt get the results PEDs should theoretically give?

Interesting I did wonder why every single comment on her video is supportive.

which video was this?

That is Astro's logic. He has brainwashed everyone to think that doping is done by the fastest women.

It's more that this isn't a PED. The response would be different if we were talking about Nandrolone. Similarly, I don't think many of us cared when Sha'Carri was busted for pot.

Yeah, I suppose if one were really skeptical, she could have been taking something like nandrolone and then used the acne medication as a masking agent to flush it out of her system quicker. However, given that the masking agent was also a banned substance, it seems pretty foolish. Not out of the realm of possibility for sure, but unlikely to me.