Fast Running Blog

Hey all you awesome runners out there! Would like to get some opinions on the Lance Armstrong saga. I have followed Lance since 95'. I thought in his pre TDF days that he was ignorant, arrogant, and extremely cocky. I would have to agree that those traits are still with him today. On the flip side of that coin I see what good things he can do, example...  LIVESTRONG Foundation.. Though I do wonder about it now thinking that it may have been somewhat of a cover for all the doping accusations. I'm dissapointed in the fact that it appears that he used his fame and money to intimidate others in participating in this so called "elaborate doping scheme."  I have a nice matted poster of Lance's 99' TDF victory. It is entitled, "Impossibility Defeated." I had a good friend give it to me that went through some difficult health issues. He has since ran 6 marathons and fathered 2 children when it looked like he might not make it at all. So today I'm taking it down without any reservation knowing that I've been duped! Nike dropped Armstrong due to his doping. Everyone knows that the TDF has been plagued by doping scandals for years and many top athletes have tested positive for drugs in cycling and other sports. So how is that Nike keeps Tiger Woods when he commits adultery ........ over and over and over...........but yet throws Armstrong aside for his doping. What exactly is the standard for Nike. Be a husband, but go after anything that moves and forget about any sort of commitment that you had with your wife...........But don't you dare dope or we will drop you..........Is there a double standard or am I just out there on this one. I'm not condoning Armstrong at all. Infact, I think that he is a bonehead, cheat, and an arrogant athlete  that thought that his fame and money could make him untouchable. Sound off.... I want to hear comments on this.... By the way, I won't be purchasing any Nike products....my little boycott. Good thing I don't run in any of their shoes...

I follow cycling a fair bit, so I'm a bit confused by the whole thing.  I've known Lance was doping for years, I never really even questioned it.  The proof has always been there, his teammates have all ratted him out years ago.  Floyd Landis gave detailed accounts of the entire team doping together.  Yeah, Floyd is a bit crazy, but there is really no reason to doubt what he says was true.  So I'm really not sure what changed, all of a sudden some incredibly corrupt organization (UCI) comes out and says now they have proof.  Its the same proof that has been out there for year.  So I really don't get it, now I'm suppose to change how I feel about Lance just because someone put all the evidence in one big envelope?  It's really confusing.

Good point about Tiger, Rye.  My own personal moral compass tells me it's way worse to cheat on your wife than in a race, yet Tiger's galleries are as big as ever.  But I guess being unfaithful doesn't improve your golf game and give you an advantage over other competitors (although you could argue it looks like it actually DID help Tiger's game!)   He really was the best golfer in the world.  Lance was never the best cyclist in the world.  As far as being a role model, they both suck.

We want to see people as black and white, hero and villain, but that is rarely the case, or we should say for regular mortals it is never the case. People that are generally classified as "bad" have some good qualities worth emulating, sometimes really admirable, and the "good" people have their flaws, sometimes very despicable. So it does not surprise me that Lance Armstrong would be running a charitable foundation while being involved in drug cheating. We live in a world where it is fashionable to justify sin by doing some good somewhere. 

On the subject of an athlete being a role model. The probability, unfortunately is very small. Only a small percent of the population can be at the top. When you have a high general sin rate in the population, the chances of finding an athlete that comes reasonably clean just on the Ten Commandments are going to be next to nothing. I do hope, however, for people with athletic talent, particular those who belong to the LDS Church, and have been taught the Ten Commandments from the nursery age, to step forward, and continue to develop and show their talent while keeping the commandments "as they are written" showing their faith in our Savior Jesus Christ.