Performance enhancing drugs

[Dallen]

Since the topic is in the news lately I am going to throw out a couple questions

1) Have you considered using these or, more likely, why not?
2) Do you think we are competing against non elites who are using them.

[Dallen]

For me, beyond the obvious drugs-are-bad reason, I think it comes down to an issue of pride. I would not feel good about a marathon PR if I was cheating.  I'd rather see how I could perform clean. On the other hand, I would not feel at all bad about using an oxygen tent (if I could afford it) even though this gives a similar unfair advantage. It seems to me like a very fine line.

Not that I would do it, but as a physician I am sure that I could easily get my hands on some EPO, testosterome, etc. I would never get caught because even with drugs I would never be able to run fast enough to get tested. This makes me wonder if some of those guys beating me in races are cheating.

[Craig Green]

That's a good point about amateurs using performance drugs. I'm not a gym rat, but I know some people who are, and some of them take steroids. These guys are all heavy lifters. The drugs are readily available in certain circles. Like I said, these are gym rat types looking to get big, so I don't know how this transfers over to the local running community.

I have often wondered how many semi-competitive runners that I've been up against in a race are using substances to enhance performance. I'm certainly not elite, but I'll place in the top 10 for a given local race. Take the Provo 1/2 Marathon, for example. I don't think the other runners in the top 10 or 20 are taking substances (most of them are on this blog), but who knows? What if 1 or 2 of them are? Ultimately, with local races where no money is involved, I don't think the motivation would be there to risk your long-term health for the sake of short-term pride.

That reminds me- back in 2003/2004, I used to sit next to Terry Montgomery at my work. He is the cousin of Tim Montgomery, who was the 100-meter world record holder for a time until his records recently got stripped due to the drug scandal. Additionally, Tim Montgomery was the boyfriend of Marion Jones at that time. Anyway, I used to hear nothing but excuses for his behavior- "The media... the racism... blah blah blah". In fact, when he crashed at the Olympic Trials in Sacramento before Athens, he went on a tirade against the media- saying it was their fault for his failure (at that time they were reporting on his alleged drug use). Now- what does he have?

From wikipedia:

On 13 December 2005, the CAS found Montgomery guilty and imposed a two year ban. On top of the ban, all of Montgomery's results and awards since 31 March 2001, including his former world record, had also been stripped. After the ban was announced, Montgomery announced his retirement.

In April 2006, Montgomery was indicted and arrested on fraud charges for his alleged involvement in a money laundering scheme. He is accused of depositing three bogus checks totaling $775,000. Montgomery allegedly received $20,000 for his participation. Montgomery plead guilty to the charges on April 9, 2007. He is due to be sentenced in November, and is expected to serve up to 46 months in prison.

When it rains, it pours.

[Sasha Pachev]

My opinion is that over the long term performance-enhancing drugs result in a worse personal best than what you would have accomplished if you trained and recovered properly and optimally for your body via natural means. Why? I believe God has created our bodies and established laws on which they operate. One fundamental law is the law of harmony. God-like harmony in the long term always beats a man-made shortcut even though there will be times when it will appear that the shortcut is winning. God made it this way on purpose to test our faith.
Drugs give a temporary boost of performance at the expense of long-term health. Something that falls in the area of God-like harmony would give a boost in performance as well as improvements in long-term health. So in the end they cannot win even though it might look like they do, there has to be a better way.

[Tyler]

1) I've certainly thought about using PEDs. Looking long term, I don't see myself as the person that will be able to train competitively for many more years, and PEDs offer a tantalizing method of "catapulting" yourself into uncharted areas that would normally take years to reach. There's a fascinating article (I think on Sports Illustrated, although I couldn't locate it recently) written by a middle-aged cyclist who experimented with a mix of PEDs that dramatically improved his ability to train and compete..... reading something like that can make you daydream about the possibilities.

In any case, I have never really been tempted by PEDs for one main reason (besides the obvious health risks and moral issues): Using PEDs makes you a phony. My purpose in training and competing right now is that I don't want to grow old wondering what I might have been able to do in the sport. I think we all tend to dream in this sport, and I don't want to ever feel like I shortchanged myself out of my dreams. But if you achieve your goals and dreams through alternate means than honest effort, it becomes a false sense of achievement. I would rather grow old wondering what could have been than know that I was a fake.

2) I've heard of a few non-elite runners who have used PEDs (including one guy who went from 16:10 5k's to sub-15), but for the most part I think most recreational runners are clean. Although, it depends on what you consider a PED. Right now, the IAAF doesn't recognize caffeine as one (although it has in the past), and I imagine that many competitive recreational runners use some amount of caffeine. Personally, I avoid it at all costs prior to competition and training for the same reason as above. If I run a pr, I want to know it was solely based on pure effort.