Run to Win

Two weeks ago, Justin Gatlin’s appeal was rejected and his original doping offense for being on ADHD medication was upheld. At the time, I stated that the matter was settled now and that he had to wait until 2010 to return.

According to U.S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier, I was wrong. He has filed a restraining order that should allow Gatlin to compete in the Olympic Trials and attempt to earn himself a seat on the plane to Beijing. He feels that the original doping offense violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and that it should be disregarded.

There are two problems with this as I see it, though.
(Click here to continue reading…)

Things are not looking so good for Justin Gatlin. His appeal to reduce his ban from 4 years to 2 years was rejected by CAS. USATF President Bill Roe had this to say:

“USA Track & Field respects the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding Justin Gatlin’s eligibility. This case has been complex and nuanced, and we are glad that it has come to a final resolution. Throughout the entire BALCO saga, the critical lessons have been clear: athletes must take responsibility for the substances they put into their bodies, and must choose wisely the individuals with whom they associate. We are now looking ahead, focusing on the Team USA squad for the Olympic Games that will be chosen at the Olympic Trials. These are the athletes who will take track and field into a brighter present and future.”

I am not surprised by this decision, but I do think that he got the short end of the stick. Gatlin’s first offense was because of medication he had been prescribed as a kid for ADHD, and I don’t think that the punishment that he received in college should necessarily have had any bearing on his professional career.

The matter is settled now, though, so in 2010 he can decide whether he wants to compete again or not.

(More Information: CAS - USATF)

This week last year and two years ago was a busy one. This week this year I am on my way to Rhode Island to run a marathon. Have a good weekend!

• This week last year, I finished up the series on Mind Games by discussing how how your body controls your thoughts. In a reversal from what you usually hear, it’s matter over mind.
• I also asked how well you can you can estimate the duration of your runs when you head out the door. Getting lost is not such a bad thing, but it can be stressful for your loved ones when you don’t come back when you are supposed to.
• Asafa Powell came down with tendonitis and had to miss a few weeks of racing. This year hasn’t shaped up to be very good for him either, as he is out right now with pulled muscle in his chest.
• In other running and track news, Justin Gatlin worked out for the Buccaneers in an attempt to turn his track speed into NFL speed.
• I described (and showed a video for) how to do the “300″ workout, which was a right of passage for the actors in the movie. Very tough, and not something that you’d want to do regularly.
• This week two years ago, I continued my animated workout series with instructions on how to do a swiss ball bridge, continuing the discussion on swiss balls throughout the week with why you would use a swiss ball in the first place and the difference between balance boards and swiss balls. Discussion about the Coast to Coast book continued, with a few reminders about the contest to win a free copy as well as a review of Coast to Coast. There was also the first guest article here at Run to Win, written by the photographer on the Coast to Coast relay. I continued my thoughts on the New Rules with the sixteenth and seventeenth rules.

In a 2 to 1 decision, USADA has handed Justin Gatlin a 4 year ban effective as of May 25, 2006 and invalidating any races that he competed in following April 22, 2006. The lone dissenter on the panel was Christopher Campbell.
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This week last year was dominated by the news, with a review of the past year on the site.

• My series with Scott continued as he discussed working out at the park. It is kind of funny, but last year’s December topic was very closely related to this year’s December topic. We didn’t even do that on purpose!
• I discussed the most popular topics on the site throughout 2006, and discussed some trends about what had appeared on the site and what was likely to be popular in the coming year.
• Responding to the news, I asked whether men are subject to gender testing after Shanti Sounderajan failed a gender test despite having had it ruled out that she had a sex change operation. S/he had to give back a silver medal from the 800 meter race in the Asia Games.
• In other news, I tracked the career moves of Justin Gatlin as he went from a world record holder (removed due to a doping ban) to an NFL Prospect and then to a high school track coach.
• This week two years ago I wrote about:
  • I continued my animated series by demonstrating how to do a seated calf raise on a machine. I also suggested that you stroll about between sets when working out.
  • I pointed out that a healthy diet does not need to be expensive, and linked to a few cheap and healthy recipes that I had written about on the site.
  • I explained how I keep myself from losing focus after completing a goal.
  • I reviewed The Quotable Runner.

This week last year I was still on my honeymoon, so half of the week was spent wrapping up my shoe care tips that I had written before I left. I did discuss when it is appropriate to eat a midnight snack, though.

• The second half of my shoe maintenance series continued with a discussion on rotating your shoes, which can make it necessary to label your shoes. I suggested that you seek help when first choosing shoes, offered some advice on making sure your shoes fit when you purchase them, and recommended that when you find shoes that you like, stick with them! I described the differences between the eight categories of running shoes and suggested the circumstances under which you might want to replace the insoles of your shoes. The series ended after I got home from my honeymoon with a summary of all of the articles that I had published over the previous week.
• In running news, Asafa Powell equaled his own 100m world record (again). I was right about Justin Gatlin losing his record, but I was wrong when I thought that Asafa Powell was going to manage to run under 9.77 seconds. Nobody has managed to do that yet.
• I reviewed a movie called The Long Run, which is about a coach that tries to live vicariously through his athletes. The movie centers around the Comrades ultra marathon in South Africa.
• Two years ago this week, I predicted the record chase between Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin. The Marathon at the World Championships in Helsinki was also run as the meet wrapped up.

This week last year, just like this week this year, involved a lot of preparation for and the running of the Beach to Beacon 10k. At least there was not nearly as many doping scandals this week last year as there were two years ago.

• The Beach to Beacon was won by Tom Nyariki last year, edging out Gilbert Okari, who had won for the three years previously. I did get out of my rut of running the exact same times on the same courses two years running, though.
• After the race, I (re)learned an important lesson about how important it is to hydrate yourself after a race as well as before and during the race.
• I went into quite a bit of detail after being asked, “What is a taper?” I also don’t believe that I have sufficiently revisited the topic and will need to get around to writing more about how to decide what sort of taper is appropriate…
• I reviewed the movie Running on the Sun, about the Badwater ultramarathon. It’s a good watch if you have some spare time. Ultramarathoners are an interesting crowd, which I am getting to learn a little more about now that I am associating with a few of them (and may soon join them.)
• With Justin Gatlin out of the sport for another year, I still wonder if we will ever see two athletes under 9.77 in the same 100m race.
• Two years ago, there were a lot of doping scandals. In business news, Adidas announced that they were going to purchase Reebok.

This week last year was very light.

• I suggested that a regular sleep schedule is important. I think that this is a very important habit to cultivate.
• I updated a few stories that I had written about the week before. The alligator was caught that had killed the jogger down in Florida, and it was announced that Justin Gatlin didn’t break the world record because there was a timing error. He only matched the record.
• I completed my weekend discussions on the New Rules of Lifting with New Rule #20 (Have Fun).