Earlier in the XC season there was a time where on paper, Parker Valby looked insane. What many people didn't realize was that she was running on very flat courses against very sparse competition and that blew up her times a bit.
Here's the thing about doping as of late. It's been really sad to see how pervasive it has been. Many runners we didn't think would EVER ended up getting popped, and now for fans of the sport, it's just impossible to know what to believe and who is telling the truth.
It has been heavily and widely insinuated that PEDs exist at the college level. The Huntington story broke and that's NAIA. That coach was a monster and Valby's coach is....Chris Solinsky.
Do I think it's fair that Valby was targeted like this on anonymous boards? No. But I also think that there are so many runners who are shady and lying to everyone that it's understandable that fans get frustrated and lose faith in nearly everyone in the sport at every level. We've also decided that calling anyone out for positive tests or notable shady behavior is bullying, and we should just continue to forgive and forget and give dopers and people who mistreated the sport passes, and positions with NYRR, and coaching jobs, and what not.
I like Valby. and another thing is that the doping accusations also stemmed from weird people who treat Tuohy like she's their favorite baseball team so they can't root for everyone else, and have to do anything to bring any competitors down.