http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_SalazarAlberto Salazar
http://www.law.duke.edu/sportscenter/salazar.pdfOther than blood doping, which was rumored to have been used successfully by the Finns,
there were not any prohibited practices or doping methods that were clearly beneficial for
distance runners, or I did not know about them.
I believe that it is currently difficult to be
among the top 5 in the world in any of the distance events without using EPO or Human
Growth Hormone. While some of the top athletes may be clean, so many athletes are
running so fast that their performances are suspect. This is compounded for me by the fact
that the times these athletes are running just happen to coincide exactly with what top
exercise physiologists have calculated taking EPO would produce.
I would like to make it clear that I in no way condone doping and am glad I never felt forced
to seriously consider doing it, but I can definitely understand how a good moral person
might feel compelled to do so. That person might not even consider it cheating if they
believe all their top competitors are doing it.