ddnbb wrote:
Christian seems to be deleting the negative comments, so that only the understanding and forgiving comments are left.
Whoops, that was totally false. I got confused. Sorry, Christian! You're a doper, but not a deleter, as it turns out.
ddnbb wrote:
Christian seems to be deleting the negative comments, so that only the understanding and forgiving comments are left.
Whoops, that was totally false. I got confused. Sorry, Christian! You're a doper, but not a deleter, as it turns out.
fashupi wrote:
Jeff Wigand wrote:I don't want to tell my kids that they have to risk dying of a heart attack in their sleep if they want to try to make it in this sport.
if it is used correctly, it is fine. if it is abused, of course it is dangerous, so is water, i.e., hyponatremia
Which it will need to be if you're going to be competitive in a world like that.
Saul Goodman wrote:
I just don't get it. You can make way more money doing customer service than being a third tier runner, and you have plenty of time to train, race, and have a good time running. If you're not going to be an Olympian, what's the difference between a 68:00 and a 64:00 HM? Or a 13:45 and 14:10? Or a 3:58 and 4:05? A few hundred bucks for winning a race every few weeks? It doesn't make sense. Either you love competing or you love the 'glory' that comes along with being at the top. There's not really a middle ground in this sport. Our bench warmers don't make a $150k league minimum.
I just wish I never heard stories like this.
Attention at races. Attention on letsrun.
Best punishment you all here can levy is to never talk about him again.
I feel like I follow this stuff fairly closely, but I can honestly say I can't recall ever hearing of Hesch until this news came out.
Christian--
You state in your letter that some reporter tried breaking the story with false allegations and made up sources. Was it Jon Gugala? This guy has approached me with made up sources before. I am curious if this is how he deals with everyone or just me?
FD
Damn, what a disappointing story. Unfortunately, this is only going to make me more suspicious of runners. There is one in DC who fits a similar profile as Hesch and has had some accusations on this site. I always figured they were too small time to be doping, but I guess I was wrong.
Turned up to the Valley Crest Half Marathon in June 2011 as a first race out directly after a training break. Didn't expect anyone of note to be there so rocked up in trainers. After the first mile it was clear that Hesch was with me for the long hall and he pulled away from me on one of the uphill trails. I got him just about back in sight by the finish tho his margin of victory was 30 seconds. In my view this idea that you can go on and off EPO and be clean doesn't wash. If its assisting you at some point in your training then it is assisting you further dwn the line.
Unbelievable.
Who is the next super-recovery, over-raced athlete that will admit guilt?
Also, I would love for Christian to out those California runners that visit Tiajuana pharmacies. I would love to see the names of those Cali punks. They think they run with a different set of rules since they live so close to the border.
This is hugely disappointing. This undermines the entire sport. As a fan, I want to believe in the players. Running is a pure sport and doping undermines its believability.
Christian's recent wins in Pittsburgh and Providence were incredible at the time and now I know why.
Thanks a lot. The more C-list runners that get caught doping (whether they come clean or not), the less the public will believe in clean performances (actual elite ones, not your podunk road race wins).
What did he spend on 54 vials of EPO (and who knows what else) over the years?
SomeRandomDude wrote:
hopefully, someday i can earn your respect back.
Certainly not as a runner.
It can be bought for $400 for a months usage in Tijuana.
Anyone that trains in Southern California is suspect. Christian does a pretty good job of showing how easy it is to acquire. $$$ is not a factor.
B0sl wrote:
Unbelievable.
Who is the next super-recovery, over-raced athlete that will admit guilt?
I hate to say it, but Michael Wardian.
Although my indiscretions are of a different nature (I lied about PR's and running accolades for a few years to pretend I was much faster than I really was) I can understand how easy it is to make choices like this. After I told people what I had done I was humiliated, chastised and scorned for years (and still occasionally get a harassing comment almost 10 years later). Nonetheless, I think I can also understand how hard it was for him to come forward and admit the truth. No, I never did drugs, but, I know what it is like to have something deep and dark you hide from the world. The longer you have been living this dual life the harder it is to come clean. Am I condoning what he did? By no means. Just as what I did was wrong, so, too was what he did. Nonetheless, I think the big picture here is that he can start to work on the real issues that led him to make choices like this. THAT is the important thing here. Forget the sport. Forget the races. Forget the money. A real person can now get real help for something that has probably damaged him more than anyone else. He will live with this the rest of his life. In a month, after everyone else forgets about this and some other story has "broken" Christian will still be recovering from the aftermath of trying to right a wrong. And six months. And a year. And a decade later. My hope is that he comes to grips with what really led him to take the road he took and that he finds healing for his wounds, both the old and the new. I will probably get attacked for my position, but, I can probably relate to what he is going through a little bit better than others...in my own distant, tangentially related way. Does it suck? Yeah. I, like a lot of others, really thought he was doing it for real. Nonetheless, in the end, he came to crossroads in life and made a second, good decision. While the first decision was anything but honorable, I think the second one needs to be recognized as well. Very few of us are in a position like he was, capable of making a choice like his due to either lack of talent, lack or resources or whatnot, so, it is hard to relate to what he did or why he did it. Regardless, I really hope people see past the opinions and stories and help this real person put his life back together. I am no one in Christian's life, a remote spectator. Yet, I hope the best comes out of this situation and some deep, permanent changes for the better are made. Knock me as you feel necessary, but, I am praying for you Christian that this would be the first step on your road to recovery.
Under no auspice of anonymnity,
Will Steele - the cancer guy (will.steele@live.com)
I agree with this. And it IS theft. Not sure how anyone can make him give his prize money back, but he should be forced to. Won't happen though. What a loser that guy is.I never ran a half marathon in 1:07 and I would have LOVED to have done that...EPO could have maybe made that happen for me, but at what cost? He'll never know how good he really was.
Anbessa wrote:
Christian, What pisses me off, as a fellow post-collegiate runner trying to make a few bucks on the side, is the fact that by "admitting" and "apologizing", were suppose to somehow feel sorry, or empathize with your situation.
Likewise, as most dopers love to iterate how they felt compelled to come clean; NO, you just got caught ya cheating liar. Don't think for one second this guy was ashamed of what he did while doing it, he's ashamed in hindsight because he got caught. My tolerance for dopers is very limited, to the extent where only if a coach/organiztion is ENCOURAGING you to do so and you had no other choice; only then do I have the slighest sympathy. The rest of yea's, including you Hesch, you're unethical and greedy. Don't try to prance around and vindicate the idea through letters explaining how the EPO was ONLY for recovery purposes with no intent of using it to aid performance. It's insulting, and you along with the rest of the running scene know better.
At some point you have to become honest with yourself. Become part of the solution now, and join those who fight against cheaters like yourself. You owe it to yourself, your family, and more importantly, those whom you've stole money from. In addition, help clean up the sport and give USADA some insider info on who else is juicing.
Finally, I hope you learned and continue learning lessons through this, because although your definitely not the only one doing it, you were one of the more vocal and often jocular runners that gave the impression you were clean and hard working that gave runners like me faith that it WAS POSSIBLE, when in actuality, you were just a cheat.
Anbessa
Christian,
Good use of me, myself and I in your apology. No less than 100 times do you refer to yourself. You got caught, you lied, you're going to get a whole lot more than the two years USADA will hand out to you. All of the ass kissing you do to the USADA will not work like those race directors you claim to love you.
Clearly you're not over yourself yet. Learn about narcissistic personality disorder before you think you can fool everyone with lame apologies.
You're delusional if you think you'll ever come back to racing in any form.
Lot of this going on....It's very easy to get testosterone and epo through prescription and use it for cheating...even local community races have this going on...very shallow people...btw YOU know who you are.........
txRUNNERgirl wrote:
Sad but Truepo wrote:txRUNNERgirl are you dumb? He had to admit it because he got caught. This is him doing damage control. This would be made public one way or another so him 'apologizing' gets him support.
Some who get caught still deny it. I'm not saying it's okay, but I'm also not going to judge someone else's choice. If I did that, I'd just be pissed off at the world. I'd rather save my energy.
What nonsense (typical from you).
You don't judge people?? Of course you do. Every day, every moment, you judge other people's actions to be prudent, right, wrong, smart, dumb, honest, dishonest, hateful, loving, etc, etc, etc. Don't lie to yourself and the world about this, that is exactly what you do.
You JUST DID IT ON THIS THREAD!!! You gave him props for admitting it, and stating that THAT Was a good decision, and that some people make the wrong decision and continue to lie about it! THOSE ARE JUDGEMENTS. Wow are you delusional.
(and he admits he was going to fight it, until he realized it would be too costly and he would probably lose. THAT is the only reason he is not still denying it. Be like the Hesch himself and "get your head out of your ass." )