59 yo - Second American at London. How about some love for Jenny Hitchings who ran 2:45:27?

Pics or shens

Why haven't you looked into what would cause high cortisol levels, known to affect sleep and testosterone.. instead of going straight to drugs? Many low t cases are easy lifestyle fixes

I agree OldGuy. And I don't want to be, but I am a little skeptical about this story. I ran in HS--1:56/4:27. Did not run again until 48. Then ran 2:18/5:15 at 50, 2:25/5:38 at 55, and 2:31/5:55 at 60. Each year I was a little bit slower, and each year a little more prone to injury. Same with all the other master runners I knew. If this lady is legit--and she could be, I suppose--then she's a real outsider!

Similar here. I couldn't match my times from my 30s in my mid 40s but the decline was gradual so it kept me motivated. But somewhere at around 52 it i fell off of a cliff. I tried to train like i did in my 40s and had to spend more time on a bike to not get hurt. I'm feeling good about where i am at in my late 50s but my only goal is to slow the cliff dive! I had to really modify my training and recovery just to not get hurt and no way in hell could i run times that i did in my mid 40s.

I'm skeptical. I can't see how this woman is not on something.

It's not about you washed up nobodies and your biomechanical issues, you pathetic whiners.

It's about her and her 26.2 miles of marathon glory.

Not completely. A couple of the posters upthread speculated that it's highly improbable for a runner to run similar times in their late 50s compared to mid-40s, that the drop-off is inevitable. However, a couple have indicated that they were able to do just that, while others said they can't. It's information that does add some insight to the discussion.

It is sad that there is suspicion of doping for every high-level performance in running. Excuse me for pointing out the obvious, but, essentially, and what is believed by a majority of the general public: the entire sport of competitive running has been tried, convicted, and sentenced to a lifetime ban from ever being trusted to be clean: That being said: no matter your age, if you are competing at a high level, a big chunk of people will suspect that you may cheat in some way. The entire sport is dirty. It is a stain that will never be washed away. And it is the reason competitive running in general will remain a fringe sport.

So, what do we do with that? If you are competing at a high level, please, please do not feign surprise that others think you dope. You are competing in a pigsty and pretending shock that some of it rubs off on you. On the positive side, you can put away all pretense of worry about WHETHER people think you dope. They already do, and there is absolutely nothing you can ever do to change their minds. So, get over it and enjoy the sport the best you can. This is why we can never again have nice things in competitive running.

But, all of this refers to competitive running. People bemoan the rise of the hobby jogger, the person who seeks to COMPLETE not COMPETE. I am not worried about running, per se, as a participatory sport. There are millions of hobby joggers that don’t give a damn about how fast you run, they just want to get out there and enjoy themselves, even if they have no idea what they are doing. There is a certain purity in that, don’t you think?

Well said.

Lance of course knew he was going to be tested and prepared accordingly. Her as 55 year-old age grouper at CIM in 2018 had a near zero chance of being tested, but was and passed. I don't know what to tell you, but are we suppose to believe your 'hunch' over a passed test?

Compare her performances with busted drug cheats, hellebuyck and castille. Gotta wonder ...

No. Not everyone competing at a high level is suspected of cheating.

Gary Martin, Connor Burns and the other sub 4 high schoolers of late are completely believable. So was Alan Webb, Ritz, and Ryan Hall.

Heck, Geb, Komen, El G and Bernard Lagat raise less suspicion that this lady.

Joanie's 247 at age 53 really puts it into perspective.

2018 CIM doubled as the US Marathon Championships and the top athletes were all subject to drug testing

'Subject to' sure just almost never happens.

I check and neither the W50-54 or W60-64 winners were tested, so somewhat targeted, and again she PASSED! So maybe time to end the witch hunt?

usada.org

Athlete Test History

Guy Infront

Statistics for how many times Olympic or Paralympic athletes have been tested by USADA. Athlete test history information for each individual athlete.

Open link

https://www.athlinks.com/event/3241/results/Event/695349/Course/1133196/Division/1274115/Results

Passing a drug test that was publicized ahead of time means nothing. Everyone knew there would be testing officials at this race. Only people who raised eyebrows were tested. But if you know you are going to be tested, you just quit taking the juice for few weeks and you are good. USATF gets to say "see, we tested" but by announcing it, they may as well not have tested at all.

Just don't keep AG records since they are not verifiable.

The issue is you can't tell which age group ace is on PEDS (anti aging meds) and which isn't. Is it worth trashing yourself in training and being beaten by 5 minutes (10k) by an age group ace with average mechanics?

Come join me in pickleball - a sport that is difficult to cheat in. Thankfully pickle doesn't have a Lord Coe.

Still run 3 times per week - just don't race.....or be a member of USAT&F.

Look, I can't give you better advice than that.

Of course by this logic probably shouldn't keep any records at all. Pro's obviously know in advance that they are going to be tested, and they are allowed a couple of whereabouts failures for out of competition tests, so it's all just pointless, I guess. smh

Ok that USADA link goes back 10 years. With that amount of records that she has set in that time anyone wonder why she has been tested just once? It’s almost like she is avoiding testing and intentionally going to races that don’t test.

And smarter apparently

Pros are randomly tested. This is how zane, shelby, and others are caught. The only people who get caught at actual races are those who were either careless or took something they truly didn't know they took.

Amateurs are never randomly tested.