Masters star Kevin Castille - whom many LRCers thought was on drugs - is banned for testing positive for a steroid

oregon oldtimer wrote:

Any estimates on what kind of money they guy earned from his performances over the past 8-10 years? Did he have any endorsements? Sad!

I agree that I don’t want to see the guy destitute, but he deserves to be a pariah in the running community.

This wasn’t a lapse in judgment. He cheated others for years, and cost those people (me and regular poster Jewbacca among them) money or podium finishes.

He shouldn’t go to prison (for this transgression). He shouldn’t be some lambasted that he ends up going the Frank Meza route, but there’s no place for him in the running community.

There are other rumors about him that I suspect might make some of us feel like he should be destitute if they are true, but I don’t have a good enough basis to say they are true.

heywoodja wrote:

zxcvzcxv wrote:

He was long suspected in running such unlikely times. His interrupted career gave some possibility that he was just realizing unrealized potential like a lot of masters runners do who had a late start or injuries when they were younger. He, like all busted athletes, should have to pay it all back.

You mean like "He kept his 20 year old body on the shelf, while he got into drug dealing and hard living" then pulled it back out in his 40's and dusted it off. A long with everyone else?

I can point to any number of examples of runners who dropped the sport after high school or college and then ran pr's in their late 30s and 40s. I came back and ran pr's from my late 30s until I was 45, after which time the injuries took over. Castile was running times close to his best, but then Lagat came along and smashed a number of them.

Setting open PRs in your 40S is rightfully going to make people ask questions.

I am one of those “fresh body” guys. Didn’t run in high school, walked on in college, left the scene for the most part until just before 40.

I was able to come back and have a great masters career, but if you look at my best times In my primary race (5k), I was a minute slower in my 40s than in my early 20s. Those times lined up very well from an age grading perspective though.

So while open PRs or huge jumps in age grades performance for younger masters athletes aren’t absolute evidence of cheating, they should certainly make people take a closer look at the athlete.

oregon oldtimer wrote:

Any estimates on what kind of money they guy earned from his performances over the past 8-10 years? Did he have any endorsements? Sad!

according to arrs he netted $66,400 in prize money, but this site is typically far from complete and doesn't account for appearance fees (not sure if castille would have gotten any for road races, but it's possible, not to mention travel expenses):

i lost a little money to him over the years, but fortunately haven't lost any sleep about it. the way i look at these things is this: whether or not he goes to hell over this is above my pay grade. i do think you can be a nice guy, and even be a good person, AND be a cheat, but castille was never very social so i can't talk much about my impressions of his character. all that said, every race he's run is, at least in my mind, tainted and negated, and he cannot toe the line ever again and expect his competitors to respect him as a competitor, even if he had the wherewithal to pay back that $66,400 to every athlete he defrauded.

i've avoided having accusations cast my way publicly for the most part, but it comes with the territory if you've had any measure of success. i've never been tested as a masters runner despite a few national titles and one american record. for my own peace of mind i assume my competitors are clean, and my post-race beverages generally taste just as good win, lose or draw...

that's my story and i'm sticking to it,

cush

@socalcush I agree - Those caught and convicted of drug use should not be eligible to win prizes/award, etc. going forward. I've been fighting that battle with the race director of the biggest race in my area for years and getting nowhere, but Boston and others have instituted it, so there's hope.

I also hope he gets his life together. There are more important things in life than money and running fast.

This is sad. The few times we crossed path he seemed a nice guy and I wished he was clean.

strange that he was taking nandrolone,and not EPO.unless of course he was taking both.

Rtype wrote:

What’s the motivation for him to dope? Is it money? Was he making that much money? If not, then perhaps ego? If it is ego or status then we may have a much bigger problem in master’s running than previously thought. Daily we witness folks obsessing and fawning over Strava rankings and segment records. There is much grandiloquence over age grades. It begs the question: Have some masters runners become so callow as to dope to improve their status among their peers?

In addition to what's listed on ARRS, I'm sure he made more than that. When he was living in Lafayette he came to New Orleans pretty often for small local races with prize money (sometimes $1000 for a win). Unfortunately I'm not fast enough that he ever cheated me out of any prize money when I raced him.

Also, his results as a runner obviously helped him get coaching gigs. Right or wrong, a random ex-con probably isn't getting a job coaching high school. But a record-holding master's runner? Different story. After he left his job coaching at St. Thomas More HS (I think there were rumors about why he left posted here years ago), I saw him at a HS XC meet in Baton Rouge the next year and he was apparently working as a personal coach for a HS girl (who I think ended up running for a D1 school). And he spoke at running camps.

I don't know whether it was ego or money driving him, but it's a shame. He clearly had talent (ran well in HS with no training), and I can see why the time off from running in his 20s and 30s could be beneficial.

It seems reasonable to assume that there are other masters runners (or younger sub-elites) who dope to win prize money in local races. But those local races make their money from the average runner, not the guys at the front of pack. So why spend money on drug testing when you can spend it on finisher's medals for a 5K?

jeff tallon wrote:

strange that he was taking nandrolone,and not EPO.unless of course he was taking both.

I would think he was taking the nandrolone + epo "1-2 punch"

But then again he already proved he wasn't very good at cheating and got popped so who knows.

Seriously though it is mind boggling he got caught.

Found this priceless defense of KC in the other thread by lucKY2B:

the monk wrote:

A to do list for masters

runners

to prolong their running and hopefully still bang out good times

1: Drills and strides

2: Increase flexibility and mobility work

3: Strength training

4: Keep training hard but ensure extra recovery between hard workouts

5: Control your intake of alchohol

6: Stay away from junk food. Ensure diet is well balanced and full of nutrients.

7: Incorporate short hill sprints

8: Incorporate chiropratic treatment at least twice a month in order to keep your body running smoothly

9: Importance of threshold/tempo work at 15k/half marathon pace/marathon pace

10: Reduce amounts of junk mileage-every run should have a purpose

11: Consider reducing your weekly mileage

Example: 35 years old-100 miles a week=40 years old-70 miles a week

12: Try and stay off the roads as much as possible

13: Take inspiration from Kevin Castilles 10k

By considering these points you can maximise every opportunity to run amazing times into your 40s and 50s, instead of posting negative insinuations like most of the idiots who've taken over this thread.

Here, here! This is a great post! I attended a seminar last night by Kevin, and I can only say that he is the nicest, most sincere, humblest guy you'd ever want to meet. He's clearly more excited about his daughter, than he is about himself. You twits that pull out your knee-jerk PED accusations need to learn about a guy, their lives, and their history before you go spouting your inane, slanderous venom. I'm not going to go into great detail, except to acknowledge that I think he would agree with much of the above (he didn't touch on all the points above, so I can't say about the chiropractor, for example); in the case of 11. though, he's still a pretty high-mileage guy, and he does have the time to train properly. The one thing that I will tell you is that the biggest change that has happened for him in the last year is that in moving to Kentucky from Louisiana it has allowed him to do a lot more hill training, which he said has been key. I should note that Brian Pilcher, who also has been showing phenomenal success, also does a lot of hill running, living north of San Francisco.

So it's HILLS, not pills, that is the story here.

That's all I got to say; the doubters can now go back to hating on this really nice guy with their simpleton explanations.

Good day.

Gumshoe,

I want to say a few things:

(1) This is pathetic

(2) Not surprised

(3) You should stop stirring up the angry mob of runners here

Tisk tisk. The things people will do for a little notoriety and some cash.

"Castille’s ban is for four years, beginning on the date of his positive test, April 28, 2019. He will be 51 years old when it expires in 2023."

Sadly he would be able to race in the new category — setting new records? Hope not.

So no chance of getting Steve Moneghetti re-instated as the 45+ WR holder @ 10k?

Smoove wrote:

I agree that I don’t want to see the guy destitute, but he deserves to be a pariah in the running community.

This wasn’t a lapse in judgment. He cheated others for years, and cost those people (me and regular poster Jewbacca among them) money or podium finishes.

He shouldn’t go to prison (for this transgression). He shouldn’t be some lambasted that he ends up going the Frank Meza route, but there’s no place for him in the running community.

There are other rumors about him that I suspect might make some of us feel like he should be destitute if they are true, but I don’t have a good enough basis to say they are true.

Cost you money or podium finishes?????? What????????

Eddy H all over again.

Time wounds all heels.

Damnit Kevin. I really looked up to you. This is disheartening. Make it right. I know you are reading this thread. Apologize.

I have to wonder wrote:

casual obsever wrote:

Finally.

Also, more good news after the Stevens ban.

Drug cheats out!

Can Paula possibly be next?

LOL no. Not with her Nike-buddy Coe at the helm.