Drug testing comes to ultra running: Western States Will Have Drug Testing at 2017

From Runners World
Western States Endurance Run Will Have Drug Testing at 2017 Race – Runner’s World
Athletes who are lining up for the 2017 Western States Endurance Run, the country’s prestigious 100-mile race that starts on June 24, in Squaw Valley, California, better brush up on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) banned substance list. Officials announced Wednesday that they will be drug testing at the Placer High School finish line for the first time this year.
The Western States board of directors has been working on creating a policy and approved a protocol that the organization is comfortable executing and can afford, said John Medinger, board president, during a phone interview with  Runner’s World .
“It’s been kicking around for a while,” he said. “The activity of people in the sport and the number of sponsored athletes has gone up. There’s been more and more discussion, concern, and chatter among the athletes wanting to make sure that they’re competing on a level playing field.”
U.S. ultra and trail running has been grappling with a shifting environment for several years. The once laid-back, no frills culture has given way to one in which more corporate brands are offering sponsorship opportunities for top talent, thereby attracting faster athletes, some of whom come with road or track racing pedigrees. With the potential for financial gain also comes the temptation to cheat…
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