I'm surprised you forgot about Hellebuyck (http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/the-confessions-of-eddy-hellebuyck).Obviously something can be gained by masters...Espinosa ran well in 91-97. Then at 38 yo in 2001 had another 2:10. I could see that result as a 38 yo being inspiring to make another big push for 40. I've seen plenty of soon-to-be masters athletes get a new rush of enthusiasm to train hard to do well when they hit 40. One other thing I noticed on Espinosa's slower races - they were often world champs, which are often hot/humid. Maybe the guy just couldn't handle the heat? Were 1999/2003 Boston races hot?I say the guy was probably clean.
wejo wrote:
1) He never doped up until that point but decided to start doping at age 40 and that’s why he ran the big PB at age 40.
2) He was always a doper but nothing really worked until age 40 — maybe some new wonder drug came out.
Neither one makes sense to us. If you are immoral enough to dope, you’d think you’d do it during the prime of your career when the big bucks are on the line. We don’t know of any new drugs coming out in 2003. EPO started in cycling in the 1990s.
So what do you think?