10/15/2025 - This thread started well before anything was confirmed by Iowa State.
A volunteer moderator deleted several threads on this topic. That's not the way this should work. We believe in free expression and have reinstated them and merged them into this one thread.
As we wrote at the time, "If there is no truth to these rumors, please contact us at letsrun@letsrun.com or give us a call at 844-538-7786 and we will be happy to delete them and issue a statement."
It ends up appearing that the rumors had some teeth to them. Earlier today LetsRun.com co-founder Robert Johnson emailed head coach Jeremy Sudbury to let him know about this thread and asked if there was any truth to it.
At 3:31 pm ET, coach Sudbury emailed me the following:
Hello Robert, Thank you for reaching out directly. There were team rule violations. I have worked with our administration, and the involved athletes have been suspended and will not compete the remainder of this season. Have a nice rest of your weekend. Jeremy
I do find it baffling when coaches claim they had no idea. Coaching running is your livelihood, you're supposed to have an intricate knowledge of training and your athletes. If someone has an incredible jump beyond reasonable expectations, do you just pat yourself on the back and say that you're doing a helluva job with coaching and not question it?
I used to think the same as you. I remember talking to Steve Magness before the NOP stuff was public. Early in 2012. He had photos of Rupp being on testosterone medication in HS and lots of doubts but no proof it was violations. But I was like, "Don't you know? Wouldn't it be obvious? How do they look in practice"
And I remember saying, "You know how this ends if you don't prove it? With 2 Olympic medals around their neck."
But the thing I hadn't thought about is this. What if they've always been on drugs? If some Iowa State kids shows up on drugs, there is no jump in performance. If Rupp has always been getting testosterone from Salazar somehow - via massage - or the legal supplement they claim it was etc. There would be no big jump in performance.
While we don't know what happened at Iowa State, but I'll say thig I'm not willing to criticize the coaching staff yet. It's possible they should be praised for turning in rules violations.
I will say this - I think they need to be way more transparent moving forward. If this is doping and they called it a violation of team rules, that's a joke.
If they have reason to believe doping is going on the team, they need to contact WADA immediately. I believe the WADA code requires that. But then again, with the two other EPO NCAA cases I'm aware of, I don't think that ever happened.
But I think fans in the year 2025 have had enough. If there is a doping violation or suspected doping violation, I think they are obligated to call WADA.
You need to worry about the University of Florida coach Will Palmer and his team. His past history with EPO is not good
I used to think the same as you. I remember talking to Steve Magness before the NOP stuff was public. Early in 2012. He had photos of Rupp being on testosterone medication in HS and lots of doubts but no proof it was violations. But I was like, "Don't you know? Wouldn't it be obvious? How do they look in practice"
And I remember saying, "You know how this ends if you don't prove it? With 2 Olympic medals around their neck."
But the thing I hadn't thought about is this. What if they've always been on drugs? If some Iowa State kids shows up on drugs, there is no jump in performance. If Rupp has always been getting testosterone from Salazar somehow - via massage - or the legal supplement they claim it was etc. There would be no big jump in performance.
While we don't know what happened at Iowa State, but I'll say thig I'm not willing to criticize the coaching staff yet. It's possible they should be praised for turning in rules violations.
I will say this - I think they need to be way more transparent moving forward. If this is doping and they called it a violation of team rules, that's a joke.
If they have reason to believe doping is going on the team, they need to contact WADA immediately. I believe the WADA code requires that. But then again, with the two other EPO NCAA cases I'm aware of, I don't think that ever happened.
But I think fans in the year 2025 have had enough. If there is a doping violation or suspected doping violation, I think they are obligated to call WADA.
You need to worry about the University of Florida coach Will Palmer and his team. His past history with EPO is not good
Meh, Khan isn’t enough to sway me that Palmer was behind it.
But I think fans in the year 2025 have had enough. If there is a doping violation or suspected doping violation, I think they are obligated to call WADA.
The NCAA is not a signatory to the WADA Code. "They" have zero obligation to report anything to WADA unless they are also USATF members.
I promise you all of these Iowa State Kenyan recruits are cheating. A random kid from New Jersey gets to be the scapegoat for an entire system that incentivizes and does nothing to stop cheaters.
Amazing. The names being mentioned are American runners yet you can "promise" its the Kenyans that are cheating. And the American is a scapegoat??
What a clown.
Let me see if I have this right: You think it's not merely unjust but absurd to surmise that Kenyans on the same roster as someone who has apparently been caught with PEDs, and is implicating multiple teammates as fellow users, just might be using PEDs themselves.
Kenyans.
Who's really wearing the red nose and floppy shoes here? Are you perhaps a DEI contributor?
If you're serious about any of that mess of a post, see a neurologist or maybe wait a month for whatever dope you've loaded your own body with to clear your system. Even if by some statistical miracle the only non-dopers on this apparently dirty college team prove to be its varsity athletes, it's not irrational to imagine otherwise.
I do find it baffling when coaches claim they had no idea. Coaching running is your livelihood, you're supposed to have an intricate knowledge of training and your athletes. If someone has an incredible jump beyond reasonable expectations, do you just pat yourself on the back and say that you're doing a helluva job with coaching and not question it?
I used to think the same as you. I remember talking to Steve Magness before the NOP stuff was public. Early in 2012. He had photos of Rupp being on testosterone medication in HS and lots of doubts but no proof it was violations. But I was like, "Don't you know? Wouldn't it be obvious? How do they look in practice"
And I remember saying, "You know how this ends if you don't prove it? With 2 Olympic medals around their neck."
But the thing I hadn't thought about is this. What if they've always been on drugs? If some Iowa State kids shows up on drugs, there is no jump in performance. If Rupp has always been getting testosterone from Salazar somehow - via massage - or the legal supplement they claim it was etc. There would be no big jump in performance.
While we don't know what happened at Iowa State, but I'll say thig I'm not willing to criticize the coaching staff yet. It's possible they should be praised for turning in rules violations.
I will say this - I think they need to be way more transparent moving forward. If this is doping and they called it a violation of team rules, that's a joke.
If they have reason to believe doping is going on the team, they need to contact WADA immediately. I believe the WADA code requires that. But then again, with the two other EPO NCAA cases I'm aware of, I don't think that ever happened.
But I think fans in the year 2025 have had enough. If there is a doping violation or suspected doping violation, I think they are obligated to call WADA.
other NCAA sports have coaches get a show cause penalty for a "lack of institutional control", which essentially means "you're the head coach, if you didn't know then you should have known".
Amazing. The names being mentioned are American runners yet you can "promise" its the Kenyans that are cheating. And the American is a scapegoat??
What a clown.
Let me see if I have this right: You think it's not merely unjust but absurd to surmise that Kenyans on the same roster as someone who has apparently been caught with PEDs, and is implicating multiple teammates as fellow users, just might be using PEDs themselves.
Kenyans.
Who's really wearing the red nose and floppy shoes here? Are you perhaps a DEI contributor?
If you're serious about any of that mess of a post, see a neurologist or maybe wait a month for whatever dope you've loaded your own body with to clear your system. Even if by some statistical miracle the only non-dopers on this apparently dirty college team prove to be its varsity athletes, it's not irrational to imagine otherwise.
And where would the Kenyans get PEDs in the states? I’d believe affluent white kids from middle/upper class New Jersey getting PEDs and taking them at altitude camp together in Flagstaff over Kenyans living in the US who don’t have daddy’s money to fall back on.
Sure, it’s no secret Kenya has a doping problem, and you can make the argument they doped when they were in Kenya, but explain to me how these guys would be able to get PEDs in the states to begin with.
Reminds me of the OSU/Shea Foster case from a few years back when he was pulled out of NCAA XC nationals the day before there home meet where they lost to NAU. It was cited as 'violating team rules'.
Some of the athletes on the team had found needles in his bag (he'd been taking EPO hence his massive jump in performance- one of the biggest I've seen). When they reported it to coach Smith he threatened to kick them all off the team if they said anything to anyone about it. He didn't want to report it so pulled Shea from the race the day before. Shae went and ripped a 10k time trial on the course on race morning. Time would've put him 45th in the race had he run.
Then last year he qualified for the Paralympics. Was making a huge song and dance about it on Instagram, received all the gear, did all the media shoots and then suddenly went quiet and didn't complete, never mentioned anything. I'm guessing they found out about his doping, (although that is a complete guess).
Oh sh*t, this explains why his series on New Gen's youtube channel suddenly stopped after four episodes.
I have no background of this story, but went down a rabbithole to research it. Shea apparently graduated HS in 2015 and went to Lamar. He's on the 2015 roster.
Shea Foster - High School????? Two-time district champion.??? Fourth at regional his junior season and second during his senior season.????? Leader of a four-time district
Things didn't work out, he seemed to not be in college, and he walked on at SE Louisana in 2019. He had major improvements during COVID and transfered to OK State for grad school in 2021.
He apparently was granted a medical redshirt to give him two years XC elgibility there (according to a LetsRun poster who claimed to know him). Before getting to Ok State, in June 2021, he was in a crash, in a coma for 48 hours, temporarily paralzyed, and had a fratcured spine.
Somehow, he goes on to be 27th at Nationals in November (Fall 2021). In Track, Spring 2022, he runs 28:25 at Stanford in the 10k and is 4th at Big 12s. Then he was scratched from regionals during the declaration period. (You can still find the file with the 's' by his name.) Usually this is due to injury, but I couldn't find out why. Then... that's it. He doesn't race at all in XC and his college career is over. He was technically on the roster submitted to the NCAA, but 13 guys were listed, and that's quite different than being "pulled off" the night before. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/
The Accident That Changed Everything In June 2021, just before joining Oklahoma State University as a graduate transfer for their cross-country team, Shea Foster’s life took a dramatic turn. …
As far as I can tell, the rumors started when Shea wasn't racing in XC and people on LetsRun said that Dave Smith said someone got suspended... so naturally people assumed that was Shea since he was a top returner and wasn't racing. However, I can't find confirmation Dave Smith actually said anyone was suspended. Later on, LetsRun posters added that teammates found needles in his bag and this story was repeated on LetsRun several times but I can't find any evidence of it outside these forums. Also, if Shea was suspended, then according to that rumor, he was suspended before the season even started. Again, far different than "pulled the night before". Additionally, if Shea was actually suspended before the season, why would Coach Smith have listed him on the NCAA Champs roster? The most likely scenario is that Shea got hurt sometime around Big 12's in Track. They did what they could to get him healthy and he got in solid shape by the very end of the season, but just not good enough to make the Championship squad. I also wonder when he was officially granted his medical redshirt. Was he even eligible?It's possible that they were trying to get him eligible for the Fall as it's somewhat common for people to be fighting for eligbility mid-season. Again, we're talking about 2022 and he graduated HS in 2015. Maybe Dave mentioned something about it and someone misintepreted it as 'suspension'. But again, the 'suspension' story doesn't fully make sense anyways.
According to Daniel Nickell's Strava, Shea ran 30 flat in the time trial which would have been 76th at NCAA's. Still soild of course, but it's pretty plausible he simply wasn't fit enough to be in the their Top 7 (even though Will seemed to have an off-day).
Later on, Shea was placed in the T38 category for ParaOlympics- which is for coordination impairment. He ran 4:16 for the 1500 in 2023 USA Champs and 3:58 for the 1500 in 2024 Trials before withdrawing from Paris Paraolympics for medical reasons. Some have speculated the withdrawal was related to drug use again... idk.. a former 28:25 runner now running 3:58 in the paraolympics was silently busted for PEDs (after having already arrived at Opening ceremonies). Doesn't seem the most probable scenario.
Anyways, it's a good reminder that sometimes rumors have truth to them... and sometimes they're completely false. Unfortantely, we all probably aren't as good as we think we are at discerning what's actually true or not.
Oh sh*t, this explains why his series on New Gen's youtube channel suddenly stopped after four episodes.
I have no background of this story, but went down a rabbithole to research it. Shea apparently graduated HS in 2015 and went to Lamar. He's on the 2015 roster.
Things didn't work out, he seemed to not be in college, and he walked on at SE Louisana in 2019. He had major improvements during COVID and transfered to OK State for grad school in 2021.
He apparently was granted a medical redshirt to give him two years XC elgibility there (according to a LetsRun poster who claimed to know him). Before getting to Ok State, in June 2021, he was in a crash, in a coma for 48 hours, temporarily paralzyed, and had a fratcured spine.
Somehow, he goes on to be 27th at Nationals in November (Fall 2021). In Track, Spring 2022, he runs 28:25 at Stanford in the 10k and is 4th at Big 12s. Then he was scratched from regionals during the declaration period. (You can still find the file with the 's' by his name.) Usually this is due to injury, but I couldn't find out why. Then... that's it. He doesn't race at all in XC and his college career is over. He was technically on the roster submitted to the NCAA, but 13 guys were listed, and that's quite different than being "pulled off" the night before. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/
As far as I can tell, the rumors started when Shea wasn't racing in XC and people on LetsRun said that Dave Smith said someone got suspended... so naturally people assumed that was Shea since he was a top returner and wasn't racing. However, I can't find confirmation Dave Smith actually said anyone was suspended. Later on, LetsRun posters added that teammates found needles in his bag and this story was repeated on LetsRun several times but I can't find any evidence of it outside these forums. Also, if Shea was suspended, then according to that rumor, he was suspended before the season even started. Again, far different than "pulled the night before". Additionally, if Shea was actually suspended before the season, why would Coach Smith have listed him on the NCAA Champs roster? The most likely scenario is that Shea got hurt sometime around Big 12's in Track. They did what they could to get him healthy and he got in solid shape by the very end of the season, but just not good enough to make the Championship squad. I also wonder when he was officially granted his medical redshirt. Was he even eligible?It's possible that they were trying to get him eligible for the Fall as it's somewhat common for people to be fighting for eligbility mid-season. Again, we're talking about 2022 and he graduated HS in 2015. Maybe Dave mentioned something about it and someone misintepreted it as 'suspension'. But again, the 'suspension' story doesn't fully make sense anyways.
According to Daniel Nickell's Strava, Shea ran 30 flat in the time trial which would have been 76th at NCAA's. Still soild of course, but it's pretty plausible he simply wasn't fit enough to be in the their Top 7 (even though Will seemed to have an off-day).
Later on, Shea was placed in the T38 category for ParaOlympics- which is for coordination impairment. He ran 4:16 for the 1500 in 2023 USA Champs and 3:58 for the 1500 in 2024 Trials before withdrawing from Paris Paraolympics for medical reasons. Some have speculated the withdrawal was related to drug use again... idk.. a former 28:25 runner now running 3:58 in the paraolympics was silently busted for PEDs (after having already arrived at Opening ceremonies). Doesn't seem the most probable scenario.
Anyways, it's a good reminder that sometimes rumors have truth to them... and sometimes they're completely false. Unfortantely, we all probably aren't as good as we think we are at discerning what's actually true or not.
Did you see photos of Shea during his time away of running between Lamar and SLU? Dude was roided up to the gills. Then proceeds to run 13:34 at nats
Iowa state cross-country training system under coach Jeremy Sudbury. It's a numbers game.
If you go to 4 minutes in the video when they're doing their work out on the grass I think leading the group is Seth Clevenger with the white baseball cap turned backwards. If that's not him, I stand corrected.
By the way I think the Kenyans at Iowa State are 100% clean and there's almost nowhere where they'd be able to get EPO and do it in a secret way. These kids all live together, eat together, travel together etc - it's like one big family.
Notice how disciplined everybody including the Kenyan runners are in that video when they're doing five times 2400 meters in around seven minutes 20 seconds
I like Sudbury's coaching style - he's open to negotiation and asks the runners themselves if they're up for another interval. He really gauges how they're feeling so he's not a dictator - he's more like a democratic leader very nice coaching style.
I'm 99% sure that Sudbury had nothing to do with any athlete crossing the line and he should not suffer the consequences of that fallout.
Jeremy Sudbury, Iowa State coach. Pretty decent runner himself back in 2010. 13:58/29:18 guy. Impressive running pedigree.
It's a plus, in my opinion, when a coach, himself, is a former runner. More empathy and understanding of what his runners are going through although that doesn't prevent other coaches with zero experience in distance running from being successful - I'd rather go with a coach who was a decent runner himself.
Once again the more I learn about Sudbury the less I believe that he was involved in any way with the unfortunate case which is happening at Iowa State University at the moment. Dude seems like a really nice guy and his coaching style is directive but democratic and everyone has their say. He's certainly not a drill sergeant type of coach.
