Performance Enhancing Drugs

[Danbert Nocurry]

] How the hell can that be true? Seems totally inconceivable.

I agree, it's not just doubtful and dubious it's bloody incredulous.

I'm completely unconvinced to be honest and can find no further links to the report on any BBC website anywhere.

[cobbydale]

...yeah...gotta be lies, damned lies and statistics.

Unless they're including alcohol in there. I always reckon that increases my performance

we could all have 5 pints in the fleece before the beamleys night run would be like monty python's race for the incontinant not to mention zig zag running. i read somewhere there is a marathon (might be in france) where you drink wine on your way round. hiccup

[lavender lenor]

What about viagra, that enhances performance.
Allegedly.

[Chris]

I have been doing this sport, in various forms, about 33 years. I have been a county cross country champion not all that long ago and have run a track 10k in just over 30 minutes. I have met with runners of every ability from slow to the world's greatest.

I have never taken, been offered or would know where to go to be offered a performance enhancing drug. I don't think I know anyone who has been offered a performance enhancing drug. I never read the labels on cold remedies or stuff like that. I'm not so naive as to conclude athletics isn't rife with drug abuse but I do think someone is taking the piss here saying it is bigger than other illegal drugs and I wonder why we as fell runners should care.

By the way, any of you fast runners on here been offered drugs?

[XRunner]

i read somewhere there is a marathon (might be in france) where you drink wine on your way round. hiccup

That would be the Marathon du Medoc mentioned in Peter Mayle's book "Bon Appetit!" in the chapter called "A Connoisseur's Marathon".

[Stick]

we could all have 5 pints in the fleece before the beamleys night run would be like monty python's race for the incontinant not to mention zig zag running...

I think you've got something here CobbyD! I'll put it to the rest of the gang

(It would certainly make your ankle feel less painful...temporarily. I hope you're back running by then. But rest / swim for a couple of weeks!)

[crowhill]

I'm not so naive as to conclude athletics isn't rife with drug abuse but I do think someone is taking the piss here saying it is bigger than other illegal drugs and I wonder why we as fell runners should care.

Five Live declared the item as "breaking news" whilst I was driving home. When I got home I thought I'd post a reference to it on a forum that's read by people who go out and run for the sheer enjoyment of it. I thought the item was at least as interesting and thought-provoking as some of the other things that get discussed on here, even if the veracity of the story is questionable to say the least.

[OneHillWonder]

My cousins' husband used to be a 400m runner (or something )and ran for his country in the commonwealth games and stuff - one of his reasons for giving it all up was because he said he had got to the point where he knew he could never win because too many of the top athletes he was competing against used performance enhancing drugs and he didn't so I am sure there are areas where use is rife.

However! I still don't think that it could possibly compare to the market for other sorts of drugs as the news report you heard seemed to suggest

[jmacewan]

I heard the report as well.

It was Dick Pound who said it,and they actually had him speaking, I remember being surprised that he had an american accent as I always thought he was Australian.

Found this:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...la-home-sports

Quote from the article
"He also contended that trafficking in illicit doping substances has become so lucrative that it has attracted the interest of organized crime.

"We've been told by authorities that the value of the sports drug market exceeds the value of marijuana, cocaine and heroin combined," he said, later attributing the startling claim to Interpol.

However, other statistics undermined the assertion and underscored criticisms that Pound is sometimes prone to exaggeration."

[Swoop]

Ten years ago I trained with Haringay and there was a rumour that some the late-teens were doing stuff, but it was a rumour I didn't find any substance in.

I like that!