Mo Trafeh is in my Running Club

Remember - Mo Trafeh was busted for EPO but he claims he never actually took EPO - he was busted at the airport with EPO, but never took it, and this was confirmed by his lawyer. Unfortunately, Trafeh did not have the funds to fight the case against him, because his lawyer, in theory, could have shown that Trafeh never took EPO and this was an isolated incident.

In fact the plan to use EPO was merely for training purposes, as Mo had been injured, and needed a product to pump him up. He did not take EPO to gain an advantage over his fellow runners. So, if we are to believe him, which is plausible - his 4 year ban from the sport seems to be way over the top, because he did not actually test positive for EPO - correct this if I am wrong on that...he was caught with the product but did not use it. There are mitigating circumstances in this case as well.

Check this article, which details his case: These are Mo's own words, helped in the wording by his lawyer. This was following being caught with EPO at a U.S. airport. We should not jump to conclusions.

"As an elite runner, former U.S. Road Champion, and proud-USA representative, it is with great sadness that I announce my retirement. … Against my better judgment and after hours of discussions, I made an unwise decision to purchase EPO, a USOC banned substance, so that I could train in effort to return to my previous form. … I would like to publicly state that since 2008 I have been one of the most sought after targets in our sport and have never failed a drug test. I was stopped before I was able to use EPO, I never previously used EPO and if I had the financial resources to fight this case, I am confident that I would prevail."

He should coach Mike Rossi

Ghost, you pissed on Ryan McKenzie. One of the reasons he quit was because of all the druggies.

Were you on the track team at Windsor?

Heinenkleisner wrote:

He should coach Mike Rossi

+1

He told the drug testers on his whereabouts form that he was in Morocco at his sick mother's hospital when he was really in the U.S. shooting up and avoiding detection.

So he's not just a guy who made a mistake.

Ghost wrote:

A Muslim will always say 'My home is your home' if you come to visit.

Some, yes, but overall we know this to be false. Like at what they are doing to each other in the middle east. There are numerous terrorist groups trying to make life worse for everyone who doesn't share their points of view. Look at ISIS, who are committing genocide, not welcoming people to come visit places like Nineveh.

If a gay man were to visit a Muslim friend, then while visiting the Muslim found out from social media that he was homosexual, the Muslim would likely murder him. In certain parts of the world, afterwords his family would be slaughtered as well. In Iraq or Syria, the Muslims in renegade territories would likely enslave his adopted children.

Saudi Arabia is just as bad as ISIS to their own citizens.

In Morocco, my sister was nearly robbed while on vacation by two men coming out of a mosque. That sure is welcoming.

By refusing to act against these things countries like Morocco speak volumes about Islam.

There are bad Muslims, and the media is focusing on them. The vast majority of Muslims are peaceful people who place family, and their children above everything else.

The problem, in countries like France is that French men of Algerian/Moroccan/Tunisian origin (their parents or grandparents) have been marginalized by French society. Although they were born in France, and are full French citizens, the French society does not see it that way, and they face discrimination in French society - even though France does not admit to that.

France is not an egalitarian society, and this marginalization of French muslim youth is a factor in the youth's frustration and eventual hostility to French society in general. Think about it. A French muslim youth is born in France, but is made to feel that he is not a true French man. If he goes home to a Maghreb country, he will be made to feel 'foreign' as well, and this causes a type of cognitive dissonance which can ultimately lead to nefarious behavioral acts.

One has to look at the context in which these French muslims live, to understand where they are coming from.

This does not excuse them from nefarious acts, but if one looks at their living conditions, and the way French society has mostly sent them to live in huge tower block apartments far from city centers, one can understand the frustration.

If you look at England, Canada, Australia - those countries have done a much better job in integrating their muslim neighbors, and consequently there is very little trouble in those countries from muslims and they are generally very well integrated into society. In England - so many youths of Pakistani origin become accountants or doctors. In Canada - they are perfectly integrated into society. In Aussie - the Lebanese muslim community live alongside the Lebanese christian community in harmony and everyone does well.

The key is societal acceptance.

Ghost in China, apply today.

The thread is about runners taking EPO in order to beat clean runners, not religion.

Ghost, were you the distance runner who also ran on a 4 by 2 relay?

Thanks A. Anyone got Mo Trafeh stories from his U. of Arizona days?

Sure wish we could hear from Ghost in Syria.

Fred,

I am not the person you mention, but I did go to University of Windsor, 2001-2002 during the time that Ryan McKenzie was running there - almost at his peak - an amazing runner. Now, you mentioned that he quit because of drugged up runners, but I don't think that was the whole story. Maybe he just got tired of the training and racing. He was built like a Kenyan - skinny, but with a short torso and long legs....perfect build for a distance runner. I think he had a fair bit of speed - could run around 49 seconds for 400m, or possibly a bit faster.

Another runner who has quit, and who was with the Lancers (U.Windsor) is Andy Hahn who was a very good distance runner, and on the Canadian World cross team for juniors during the time that I was at Windsor for my B.Ed. teacher training. Hahn was one of the hardest workers I had ever seen. Hahn did not have the talent or genetics of McKenzie, but he was a tough runner, nevertheless. Last I heard, is that was teaching Science in Windsor and had put on quite a bit of weight.

I also have a famous namesake in Canada who is affiliated to Speed River Track club, but it is not me - it is pure coincidence, that we share the same name - both first and last names.....

Ghost in China, apply today

Ho Hum wrote:

I really don't think he should be involved in coaching at any level. All his experience of training himself was WHILE DOPING, so what d'you think he's going to recommend when he gets a good athlete?

I am a little late on this thread but I was performing open heart surgery.

I concur. Also, these cheats should be required to register in some type of a registry like any sex offender(Similar to Megan's Law); warning the running community that there is a cheat in their vicinity?

Would anyone want a registered sex offender to coach their kids... or Cheat...? of course not!

Dr. KVV

"paid his dues" ?

that's interesting, because m*********** hasn't sent me a check for a couple grand I lost to his cheating ass.

I agree, he should have to pay back the money he won while cheating. He knew exactly what he was doing and his "improvement" was off the charts. He was a very good but not great high school runner, couldn't hack it at the U of A and then starts running those crazy times on the roads and setting AR's? It was pretty obvious to me what was going on and I coined the nickname EPMo long before he was caught. Also, from the little I know and what I have read here he is a terrible person all around. Too bad Durate High school thinks he is a good role model for their students.

Most people are hybrids - they have good and bad in them, and Mo is no different. We should focus on the 'now' and not the past. He made some errors in judgement in the past, but he appears to be living a very commendable and honorable life these days coaching and helping people. His God given talent as a runner should not go to waste. In addition his compelling message to not cross the line is a salutary reminder to mere mortals that taking short cuts in life is not the way to go. This also transcends national and religious boundaries - Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and others. The notion of karma is ever present in everyone's life...and Mo is no stranger to that and has paid his dues....

Duarte High school must have done their due diligence about M.T and know where he is coming from. He is a good role model, because he can send the message to the kids "I erred on the wrong side, and paid for my sins, and I will never do that again" - this is a compelling message. In addition, M.T. has charisma and his message also transcends many national boundaries. He is an immigrant to America - he is Arab - a minority - so his message means a lot to American kids - many of whom are also immigrants and minorities.

Also- according to the reports - Mo was never tested for having taken EPO - he was caught with EPO at the airport - but he and his lawyer claim that he never had the chance to take it - so his phenomenal improvement may have been genuine. Unless they had taken blood samples from him, it will be difficult or impossible to know whether he actually had taken EPO or other products to aid his performance.

We should let this man get on with his life and cut him some slack. He has paid his dues with all the vilification and he is re inventing himself as a good coach and person, according to all the testimonies from neophyte runners, many of whom are unaware of his controversial past and that is the way it should be, because a person should not be judged on his past alone.

Ghost in China, apply today, great benefits.

Ghost wrote:

I am sorry - I was not aware of those tales about his mooching - and if they are true, then I would not support the guy so much.

I am puzzled by your assertion that he comes from a privileged background, because that is not what I had heard previously.

Most Moroccans who run come from under privileged backgrounds - Aouita, Mourhit, Laali, and others - and they ran, first of all, to get out of the poverty trap

So have you met Mo? Do you actually know anything about his background/story? Or were you just typing away with the assumption that your supposed gravitas and clout will enhance the validity of your [ill-informed] long-winded posts.

I've been on this site and Dyestat since 2002 (I know your good and bad posts). I followed Mo throughout that time and all the mud raking that's happened in this thread aligns with what's always been said about him.

I respect your call for grace and understanding; I think that's always appropriate. That said, no one "deserves" to be a pro runner, regardless of a clean or dirty past. Mo isn't owed anything from the running community because he betrayed it. There's a concept that cheaters like Mo, Gatlin, Chambers deserve to move past their past and make a living from the sport. They need to turn a page in life and find a new direction. I can't think of another industry that would let a participant commit the cardinal sin and come walking back in.

every once in a while I almost start believing Ghost is a ration being...err, not so much. gosh bro, what exactly DO you smoke? because I want some of it. 1) Mo has NEVER said "i'm sorry" or "I was wrong" or anything of the sort, so your comment about his "message" is complete and utter bull$hitis.2) He will have paid his dues when he pays back a crap ton of dollars that he stole, and has come completely clean about what he did, how he did it, and who helped him along the way. 3) I seriously doubt Duarte HS did their due diligence in hiring him. I will make a phone call to find out.4) you're right, we'll never know if he took epo or if he just "naturally" improved from a 30min/66min guy, to a 28flat/60:30 guy who was winning 75% of the US champs that he showed up to. we'll just never know.5) you're right again, a person shouldn't be judged soley on what they've done in the past. However, if a person is known to have stolen money, I'm for damn sure not hiring him for my grocery store and putting him on the register. it's a farfetched analogy (i hate it when ppl do this) but neither would I hire a child molester to work in my day care center. obviously what Mo did doesn't rise to the Chester-the-Molester level, but he's shady enough to be not that far from it.Ghost, thanks for helping me waste 5min of my night on your asinine remarks.love always, the ghost of maxwell king.

Sir Charles,

Rogue or not, I think Mo has had things said about him which may not be true. The first question: Was EPO ever detected in his system? If not, then - as Mo and his lawyer both claim -he may not have actually used EPO - the fact remains clear that he ordered EPO and was found with EPO in a U.S. airport, but did he use the product? No one has answered that question yet.

Mo Trafeh has been banned for 4 years from competitions, so that is already a supreme punishment. The fact that he is coaching should not raise red flags. He is passing on knowledge in an area (running) where he is an elite. His past should not be an impediment. If you look at the websites which advertise his running services - you will see very contented clients - a large majority females - so he knows how to relate to people. He is cosmopolitan, and he is also a polyglot - fluent Arabic, French, Berber, English - and he can also understand and communicate in Spanish (and is sometimes mistaken for a Latino in the L.A. area).

The sad thing about all of this is that in other sports, stars who have committed infractions on the doping codes have been welcomed back to their respective sports with open arms (think people like Virenque in cycling, and some of the FInnish cross country skiers) but in running, for some reason, runners are held to a higher moral standard, and many runners are tarnished with a permanent brush of shame, once the infraction has been publicized.

Ghost in China, apply today, great benefits, (http://www.study-in-china.org/SchoolSearch/SearchDetail.asp?ID=348)

If you want to meet him here's your chance. Too bad Mr. Ghost is so far away and can;t attend as he seems to be Mo's biggest fan. To the rest of us it's pretty obvious that you don't go from running a 66 minute half to a 60 minute half in a short period of time on pan y agua. Lance never tested positive either Mr. Ghost but we now know that he was on every PED under the sun.

I also want to state that I have nothing against Mo's religion or nationality. If Christian Hesch was marketing himself in this manner, with no mention of his transgressions, I would be equally perturbed.

Duarte HS Falcon Field

1600 Huntington Dr, Duarte, CA (map)

Call upon arrival [masked]

Price: $10.00 /per person

Refund policy

My name is Mo Trafeh, I am a USA long distance runner. I specialize on road races from 10km to Marathon. I have a 1h 00 39 half Marathon and 2:11 on my first marathon. I have 8 National Championship titles on the roads and set many records.

I would like to invite you to the Friday Track Night. We will work on improving speed, race pace, endurance, running form and race tactics etc…This meet up is for all runners with different levels from beginners to marathoners. We will start with an easy warm up, do some flexibility drills, stretch and proceed to a track session.

I will be happy to share my knowledge and experience with you. I will also answer any questions you might have from running technique, stretching, training program, etc...

Contact: [masked]

[masked]

Cheers!

Mo