Do distance runners get tested in the off season?

I could be wrong here but I was always lead to believe that PED's helped you train harder and more often at a higher intensity. This is what primarily makes you race faster. So if you just take some EPO and then only do your normal training you won't get the full benefits although I'm sure there would still be some.

Theoretically, top athletes can be subjected to random testing at any time.

Elite athletes are subject to random, year-round, out of competition tests. Remember the scandal with the Greek sprinters before the Olympics? I believe that whole thing started when the two of them intentionally averted an out-of-competition test.

I know that they are "subject too testing" but can these drug testers actually track down these guys in East Africa during the off-season. Would seem like a pretty good trek to where some of these guys train.

Athletes in Europe and the US do but in Africa........ Certain athletes have said they were never tested once in Africa but knew they would as soon as they came to Europe. How predictable.

Athletes who in the out of competition (OOC) program must submit forms that tell where they are at any given time. If a doping control officer shows up at a location and the person is not there, the DCO follows a notification protocol.

If it turns out the person is away from that spot, say left town, it is possible that could be considered a missed test. 3 missed tests in a period of time (18 or 24 months) can be equal to one failed test and a suspension.

Obviously some countries have more active and better funded doping control programs than other countries. So an athlete in a country where there is not much OOC testing is not going to get tested.

To get into the OOC pool, there are criteria to be met.

EPO enables you to train harder and recover faster. You will not simply get faster by taking EPO without training. Therefore it makes sense that if you were taking it, the off-season would be a good time.

Before we left for the summer, we were informed that there was the possibility that we would get called up and asked to go in to a local testing center and give a urine sample. I'm assuming the same goes for all other NCAA d-1 schools, but who knows. As far as I can remember, there was no such possibility last summer.