Gene Dykes breaks Ed Whitlock's record at Jacksonville Marathon!

Guy seems legit to me wrote:

moanswers wrote:

“I’ve often said that my ability to recover is my super power,” he said in the days leading up to his Jacksonville attempt. He also said that he’s been tested twice for banned substances—once in competition after a masters track meet and once, about 18 months ago, testers showed up unannounced to his home.

Holy F. He was tested at his house? Think of that. He's an amateur athlete and he's been tested more than some elites! Testers showing up at his house unannounced because he won some age group? This is unbelievable.

How many amateur OTQ marathon qualifiers have had testers show up at their house? I bet none. Yet, they are targeting Masters runners like nobodies business. Sounds like somethings wrong here.

dunes runner wrote:

Montego wrote:

From 3:29 to 3:16 to 2:57 to 2:55 then 8wks later, 2:54, in his late 60's to 70+. Supposedly he had been running only 3 times a week and had gotten a running coach, which led to this. Anyone have this coach's number? To recuperate in that short a period of time at his age is attention worthy. I'm reserving judgement on these results for now.

Eight weeks between marathons is plenty of time.

The ignorance and all the talk about drugs on this web site is appalling.

For amateurs & masters it is, but not elites.

FTFY

Guy seems legit to me wrote:

moanswers wrote:

“I’ve often said that my ability to recover is my super power,” he said in the days leading up to his Jacksonville attempt. He also said that he’s been tested twice for banned substances—once in competition after a masters track meet and once, about 18 months ago, testers showed up unannounced to his home.

Holy F. He was tested at his house? Think of that. He's an amateur athlete and he's been tested more than some elites! Testers showing up at his house unannounced because he won some age group? This is unbelievable.

+1

There are elites that have never got a home visit anytime in their career (e.g., Christian Hesch). USADA will even come after a recreational cyclist at drop of a dime. ?

Puts me off the thought of competing as a Masters athlete. Not that I would have anything to hide, but guys coming round unannounced to your home with syringes in their hands and having to Google every single thing you put in your mouth, hardly seems worth it. And all because of doped up African elites and professional cyclists earning millions a year?

Plus, there comes a point when competing as a Masters runner would be detrimental to your health if you're too scared to take a multi-vitamin or pop a viagra ( I guess viagra is on the banned list too? Not that I need it yet, hehe).

You'll have a 70 year old world masters champions running a 6 minute mile - good for him. But he'll be getting lapped in his local park by the 80 year old down the street whose on TRT, DHEA and senolytics.

https://gfycat.com/illustriousbouncyatlanticsharpnosepuffer

Wonder if Whitlock could've run a minute faster in that 4%.

Guy seems legit to me wrote:

moanswers wrote:

“I’ve often said that my ability to recover is my super power,” he said in the days leading up to his Jacksonville attempt. He also said that he’s been tested twice for banned substances—once in competition after a masters track meet and once, about 18 months ago, testers showed up unannounced to his home.

Holy F. He was tested at his house? Think of that. He's an amateur athlete and he's been tested more than some elites! Testers showing up at his house unannounced because he won some age group? This is unbelievable.

Can't you idiots just celebrate the fact a 70 year old man ran a 2:54, whyyyyy does everything have to be immediately discredited and spit on? How miserable or insecure are you all in real life?

It's never ending here. What will make you happy? The more I read, the more I really wonder the mind set it takes to be a runner in today's landscape. Just a bunch of disgruntled, conspiracy driven, key board gangsters, and running is supposed to be a spiritual, enriching endeavor, maybe it was at some point, but these boards are anything but..

Coevett wrote:

Puts me off the thought of competing as a Masters athlete. Not that I would have anything to hide, but guys coming round unannounced to your home with syringes in their hands and having to Google every single thing you put in your mouth, hardly seems worth it.

Realistically you are only likely to be tested if you take part in IAAF sanctioned events such as national championships, Euro championships etc. or set world records. You won't be tested for running in local 5K and winning your age group. The fear of testing though leads to an undesirable side effect - often performances in national championships are relatively pedestrian compared to regular runs. There was a case here in Canada a few years ago of a championship being run as part of a regular race. The championship runners had to pay an additional fee and also accept the possibility of drug testing. The result was the winner of championship race in an age group actually had a slower time than a runner in the regular race.

Personally I have been on the podium in several championship races and yet I can name at least 10 runners in my age group in the Montreal area that are faster than me. Only two of which occasionally compete in championship races.

So why is this the case? Basically it is self exclusion. Many masters are on some form of prescription medication and don't know if they will test positive or not. Their doctor is not going to spend time checking the WADA list and they do not have expertise in pharmaceuticals to interpret the list. Even if they could the chances of getting a TUE are next to nil. Others are scared off by the fear of tainted supplements and vitamin pills so they self exclude. As a result the only people who feel they can safely compete are those on no medications whatsoever. Considering the average North American 60 year old is on two prescription medications that results in small fields. A recent North and Central America and Caribbean Region of World Masters Athletics Championship (NCCWMA) had a race with just three competitors in one race and was won with an age grade result of just over 73%.

I am not sure what the solution is: More relaxed limits for people over 50? Easier TUEs? A DQ the first time you test positive and bans only for repeat positives? Or do we just accept that championship fields will be very small and limited to a sub set of the running population.

The truth is you’re scared of looking bad

That's a good point on dietary supplements - many middle-aged folks take lots of supplements. And many of these non-pharmaceutical OTC male enhancement products contain DHEA, which is banned by WADA.

Curious: When did all this drug testing start with the masters? (I just run local charity events & club races where cheap ribbons and a bottle of Gatorade is usually given to the age-group winners - no drug testers ever show up. Lol). Is there prize money and sponsorship at stake at some of these higher profile events? Or is it just trophies/medals & bragging rights that is involved? It seems weird to be drug testing 50, 60, & 70 yr olds in a competitive sport that most do for fitness, enjoyment and the camaraderie.

Whoah, who's the idiot? You quote a guy defending him and say people jump to conclusions ?!!!

If you're worried that the vitamins or supplements you take might get you popped for doping, so you avoid racing, great! That's exactly what testing is supposed to accomplish. Doping tests scare off fast dopers, so slower runners win? Awesome. Sign me up.

I'm ready to take any test I'm asked to take. If you aren't, because you're not actually sure what's in the pills you're popping, then please stay out of my race. It's an athletic competition, not a pharmaceutical exhibition. Play by the rules or get out of the way.

sad state this thread is..really.. wrote:

Can't you idiots just celebrate the fact a 70 year old man ran a 2:54, whyyyyy does everything have to be immediately discredited and spit on? How miserable or insecure are you all in real life?

It's never ending here. What will make you happy? The more I read, the more I really wonder the mind set it takes to be a runner in today's landscape. Just a bunch of disgruntled, conspiracy driven, key board gangsters, and running is supposed to be a spiritual, enriching endeavor, maybe it was at some point, but these boards are anything but..

Haha, a lot of unsubstantiated generalizations and assumptions from someone complaining about unsubstantiated generalizations and assumptions (amongst other things).

Masters were rarely tested 10 years ago (and most elites on the roads got a pass as well).

Then Eddy H happened:

https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a22000371/the-confessions-of-eddy-hellebuyck/

"fitness, enjoyment and camaraderie" are my own principle motivators, but there are those who prioritize attention and yes even prize money, and they are willing to cheat to get it. If by our age you haven't seen the corrupt means that people will resort to to get ahead, you have lived a much more sheltered life than I. And being back in the pack is almost worse. Look at those big races in Mexico and China where people cut the course in hundreds and even thousands. If somebody is going to keep me or one of my athletes off a podium, I certainly would like at least a sliver of assurance that it was done legitimately.

Coevett wrote:

So basically any Masters runner with some muscle is a TRT cheat? Has this guy actually been caught?

I don't know whether this guy is on TRT or roiding or whatever, but he's not much older than me and I have more muscle than him.

o...m...g.

The guy who thinks every black person who ever lived (especially the E Africans) are doping, *whether or not those individuals have actually tested positive*, wants to say "but has he been caught? " as a defense.

My God, too funny. You have a very interesting different set of parameters when deciding who is on PED's when it comes to different folks, huh?

And as far as you being this jacked up muscle dude.....would love to see you post a pic so we can all chuckle at your "legend in your own mind" status.

Fixed this for you for future reference-

Coevett wrote:

I'm as anti-doping as anyone here, but you can't just assume that because a black East African guy is really skinny and can run really fast that he must be EPO.

.

Tyrone ReXXXing wrote:

Coevett wrote:

So basically any Masters runner with some muscle is a TRT cheat? Has this guy actually been caught?

I don't know whether this guy is on TRT or roiding or whatever, but he's not much older than me and I have more muscle than him.

o...m...g.

The guy who thinks every black person who ever lived (especially the E Africans) are doping, *whether or not those individuals have actually tested positive*, wants to say "but has he been caught? " as a defense.

My God, too funny. You have a very interesting different set of parameters when deciding who is on PED's when it comes to different folks, huh?

And as far as you being this jacked up muscle dude.....would love to see you post a pic so we can all chuckle at your "legend in your own mind" status.

0/10 - cheesy post.

Yes there's Masters prize money. It's usually pretty insignificant. I'm pretty sure 70 year olds are not winning it since it starts at 40+.

No points for you wrote:

Yes there's Masters prize money. It's usually pretty insignificant. I'm pretty sure 70 year olds are not winning it since it starts at 40+.

Where does it end? Can you actually win the masters division at any age over 40?

They always seem to give it to the 40-45 group even if an older p erson runs faster.

dunes runner wrote:

Eight weeks between marathons is plenty of time.

The ignorance and all the talk about drugs on this web site is appalling.

Lets Tell It Like It Is wrote:

For amateurs & masters it is, but not elites.

Because elites are so much more out of shape, and therefore take so much longer to recover from marathons than do hobby joggers and masters. Anyway, Gene Dykes is in the masters division.