Sunday, July 30, 2006

Let's all spike up!

5 miles on the Seabrook Trails. I brought my water, even though it's a short run, but I think it was a good idea.

So, here's another disappointing news story for runners.
Gatlin faces prospect of life ban
Gatlin Test Sparks Furious Debate

Do the people really care if they're doped up or not? World class cheater Ben Johnson says...
"The spectators don't care," said Canadian Johnson, now 44, who ran 9.79secs in Seoul. "The sponsors probably don't care ... all they want to see is the world's fastest man.

"That's the way life is, and people have to come to terms with that and live with it and just enjoy track and field."

Should we shrug it off and assume they're all doped up, like the baseball fans do? Are we on the same road that the bodybuilding competitions have taken, where they have a "drug-free" division, and an "open" division within the same competition.

It's even more disturbing because it seems to me that it shouldn't be that difficult to avoid detection. What percentage of people are stupid enough to get caught? Landis got caught because his testosterone spike was actually during the Tour de France, on the day of his big comeback, when any fool would know he would be tested that day. Gatlin's test was right after a relay race in April.

And the future seems grim, as the drugs get better, and they're designed specifically for performance enhancement, and to avoid detection. And the future holds the possibility for gene doping, where muscles can be genetically manipulated in a way that is impossible to detect from a urine sample or even a blood sample (only by muscle biopsy would you be able to tell).

Why fight it? Let's all spike up! I'll inject you if you inject me. (That's another thing I think is funny. Canseco says he knows about all the steroid use because he was giving all the butt injections. What is it about steroid use that people no longer think that the butt injection is a personal matter?)

Listening to: Professor Longhair - Hey Now Baby (You run around telling people, baby, that I was your clown.)

Keith.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Foot still hurting?

What shape are you shoes in?

Unknown said...

It's cheating, plain and simple!!! Either change the rules or hold participants accountable. If the fans don't care, then the rules should be changed but no pretending.

Tiggs said...

this sucks b/c I really liked Gatlin...geesh, these guys are idiots

Tiggs said...

good music choice btw