Fair sport: Ben True and Adam Nelson have some very interesting ideas on doping - We share them with you here

So...isn't eating more food or specific foods also artificially balancing levels in your body?

True admits that his wife is a "gray area" triathlete, therefore he MUST be in the gray area himself. Better than a scarlet letter, perhaps we should go Sharia on dopers and stone them? Maybe we should force their gray are spouses to wear burkas? Or since True is big on the horrors of 17th century justice, witch trials and burnings should be employed?

The currant system works. Like our justice system, our doping rules give a second chance.

As for me, I'm hoping that True becomes on of the anomalies and fails a drug test that cannot be explained. He sleeps in the same bed as a doper, but she's "technically" "not really" violating the letter of the law, just the spirit of the law.

Beetroot juice only works for untrained people. So it has no effect.

Sodium bicarbonate likely has no effect at all as well, especially on triathlon.

He's on the slippery slope fallacy.

although I do like the general idea behind True's thoughts.

What about the F-ing alter-g he was running on? How is that not an advantage that he is using that other people aren't?

It's not that the sport is "fair" or we are on a level playing field, that would require everyone to train the same and never get good, only have access to the same stuff. It's that we agree to the same rules.

Nothing wrong with acidophilus to optimize your gut bacteria though, right Ben?

The more outspoken against doping this guy becomes, the more I think he might actually be doping.

The blue-collar, trains alone, "doesn't even drink beet juice" nonsense makes no difference. No one thought Floyd Landis could dope. But the Amish kid was on everything he could get his hands on.

Paula Radcliffe: "Just a cup of strong tea and some scones."

http://new.paularadcliffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/08-300x200.jpg

The reason PEDs are banned is because athletes should not be expected to take dangerous substances in order to stay competitive. What does True think is dangerous about beetroot juice and sodium bicarbonate? When I google most results are titled, "Amazing health benefits of...".

Counting54321 wrote:

Nothing wrong with acidophilus to optimize your gut bacteria though, right Ben?

The more outspoken against doping this guy becomes, the more I think he might actually be doping.

The blue-collar, trains alone, "doesn't even drink beet juice" nonsense makes no difference. No one thought Floyd Landis could dope. But the Amish kid was on everything he could get his hands on.

Paula Radcliffe: "Just a cup of strong tea and some scones."

http://new.paularadcliffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/08-300x200.jpg

I didn't think he was doping till this. This is the classic moral diversion. Beet juice grey area , but beets are OK ? I'm thinking micro dosing, because True is fixated on "grey" areas.

Sounds like something a doper would say

That makes zero sense. No one's talking about stoning. And the current system has completely failed. Only under pressure from Hajo Seppelt and legal authorities has there been any attempt at all to rein in the dopers and doping countries, and I predict this comes to nothing, just as the Meldonium lists have become large numbers with almost no actual names attached to them, just like they announced something like 28 doping positives before World's and then we only ever heard a handful of names at most. Good for True to live up to his name. Eat a good diet but don't start searching the medical journals for substances that provide a substantial advantage over a normal diet. Training on an alter-g is like going to the gym--so special advantage among world elites.

Wow, all the dopers come creeping out of their holes to bash True. Is it tough to see an ethically and morally coherent athlete who is much faster than you despite all the crap you stuff yourselves with?

brogan1 wrote:

The reason PEDs are banned is because athletes should not be expected to take dangerous substances in order to stay competitive. What does True think is dangerous about beetroot juice and sodium bicarbonate? When I google most results are titled, "Amazing health benefits of...".

This. Does he really thing beetroot juice is "gray area"? Lost a little respect for the guy's intelligence with that

This line of reasoning is part of why I won't wear calf compression sleeves.

Mob rule wrote:

The currant system works.

Never really liked currant. Beet juice is pretty nasty too.

PAIN KiLLERS are legal so WGAF?

bigtool05 wrote:

brogan1 wrote:

The reason PEDs are banned is because athletes should not be expected to take dangerous substances in order to stay competitive. What does True think is dangerous about beetroot juice and sodium bicarbonate? When I google most results are titled, "Amazing health benefits of...".

This. Does he really thing beetroot juice is "gray area"? Lost a little respect for the guy's intelligence with that

I think he is saying taking beetroot before a race to improve performance is gray area in his book. As he said, he does not push that on anyone else, including his wife, but is his own personal belief that he lives and trains by.

Why lose respect for that?

joho wrote:

bigtool05 wrote:

This. Does he really thing beetroot juice is "gray area"? Lost a little respect for the guy's intelligence with that

I think he is saying taking beetroot before a race to improve performance is gray area in his book. As he said, he does not push that on anyone else, including his wife, but is his own personal belief that he lives and trains by.

Why lose respect for that?

Because it's stupid...

FLOWERBLOSSOM wrote:

Beetroot juice only works for untrained people. So it has no effect.

Sodium bicarbonate likely has no effect at all as well, especially on triathlon.

He's on the slippery slope fallacy.

although I do like the general idea behind True's thoughts.

What about the F-ing alter-g he was running on? How is that not an advantage that he is using that other people aren't?

It's not that the sport is "fair" or we are on a level playing field, that would require everyone to train the same and never get good, only have access to the same stuff. It's that we agree to the same rules.

Why do people keep going on about the alter-g? It's just a tool. If that's an advantage, than the perfect running trails (and perfect running climate) of East Africa is also a huge advantage. Perhaps, to be fair, all elites should live and train in the same location. I say let's ship everyone to Colorado.

I think he needs to broaden his view. This moral code seems directed at runners like Hall, Goucher,and Rupp. They all took thyroid medications. Although most people seems to just focus that on Rupp.

I understand the view but I am not sure that thyroid meds or the beet juice stuff is what gets you a big advantage. The athletes who are subject to much less doping oversight have a big advantage. And the athletes with access to the best training resources (all legal) - masseuses, alter-gas, altitude training, equipment, etc, - have a big advantage.

Nelson got robbed by a doper. True could be running against runners who are doping. They could be from the U.S. but also, morocco, Kenya,Ethiopia. Most of those runners could be clean but hthere is a weak testing system.

Yup yup wrote:

The athletes who are subject to much less doping oversight have a big advantage.

That is only true if you are doping. If you are not doping then it makes absolutely no difference if you tested every day or not at all.

I have never been drug tested in my life - does that give me a competitive advantage over athletes who have been?

I have taken synthetic thyroid over half my life...since I was 17. No wonder I am so god damned fast now!