February 2, 2006

    Clinics

1. Our May 7 Runs Get New Website
2. Hypothermic 1/2 THIS SUNDAY
3. Canadians Caught With New Steroid
4. Upcoming Events - , Run for Kurt, Hypothermic 1/2...
5. Running Room Run Club Update
6. Track North News - by Dick Moss
7. Mike's Tri Adventure - by Mike Coughlin

Our May 7 Runs Get New Website

The upcoming SudburyRocks!!! Race , Run or Walk for Diabetes continues to pick up steam and its brand new website has just come online to keep the kettle boiling. Give it a visit to find out all about the Runs and -of course - to register. Information and registration brochures will also be available this week. Their distribution will commence once printing is complete.

Hypothermic 1/2 This Sunday

Sudbury's first winter 1/2 marathon will take place THIS SUNDAY at 9:00 am at the Running Room. There are still some spots available. Fleece toques, draw string bags and a brunch is included in the price. Information and registration can be found below in the "Upcoming Events" section.

Canadians caught with new steroid

fowarded by Tim Uuksulainen

As Turin Olympics approach, Pointe Claire lab detects 'designer' drug in half-dozen samples, some of which originated at competition out West

DAN BARNES, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, January 27, 2006

Canadian athletes have tested positive for a new designer steroid discovered in a half- dozen urine samples sent to a lab in Pointe Claire.

"Definitely, Canada will have to answer questions," said Dr. Christiane Ayotte, director of the World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited lab.

"I detected it in some athletes in routine testing. I found it in a total of five (or) six samples."

The samples are numbered and not named, but Ayotte knows some of the positives came from a batch originating at a competition in Western Canada involving only Canadian athletes.

Is the country that was rocked by the Ben Johnson stanozolol scandal at the 1988 Olympics on the verge of another steroid disgrace?

"I don't know," said WADA president Richard Pound, a former Olympian based in Montreal. "I hope not."

The substance Ayotte discovered, but has yet to fully identify, is only the latest in a line of so-called "designer" steroids that are all the rage in doping. Pound said anti-doping officials have identified other designer steroids and chosen not to go public. In March, for example, the Washington Post contracted the WADA-accredited lab in Los Angeles to examine six dietary supplements available on the Internet. The lab revealed they were actually steroids.

Ayotte is certain the raw materials in designer steroids come from China and are manufactured into pill form in the U.S. by people with skill in organic chemistry.

Slight chemical alterations to existing steroids can create a new generation that is virtually undetectable.

"And there are thousands of ways to do that," said Dr. Don Catlin, who heads the lab in Los Angeles.

Still, every time someone like Ayotte or Catlin finds a new steroid and it's added to the

WADA banned list, the anti-doping side gains a little ground. It is a serious cat-and-mouse game with no end in sight.

"We know about a lot of designer steroids," Pound said. "We have tests for it. We're not going to say which ones, because we have to strike a balance. Do you put the word out so the smart guys stop taking it and go on to designer steroid 'x' instead of 'w,' or do you catch somebody with a big splash like we did in Salt Lake?"

Just before the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Catlin's lab developed a test for darbepoietin, a new generation of erythropoietin, a substance that boosts red blood cell production and therefore increases endurance. One Spanish male and two Russian female cross-country skiers tested positive for it near the end of the Games and were forced to return the medals they won. Canadian Beckie Scott was eventually upgraded from bronze to gold after finishing behind the two Russians in the 15-kilometre pursuit.

With word getting around that the anti-doping police are getting smarter, how will the cheaters respond? Will 1,200 tests at the Turin Olympics next month turn up more or fewer than the seven positives that came out of 825 tests conducted at Salt Lake City?

"We won't know until we test, but clearly, people have to know we're getting better and better at testing and the chances of getting caught are better," Pound said.

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Upcoming Events

 

February 4, 2005           4th Annual Run in Memory of Kurt Gelbhaar THIS SATURDAY On Saturday, February 4, the Sudbury Rocks!! Running Club will hosting our fourth annual Run in Memory of Kurt Gelbhaar. Kurt died suddenly on Tuesday, January 29, 2002. He was in his 79th year and still running competitively. He was a mentor and inspiration to most local runners and it is fitting his actions be remembered. The Run will be very informal. There will be no set distances and it is not a race. We will meet in the lobby of the Cambrian Fitness Centre off Lorne St. at 9:00 am . The run will start at approximately 9:15 am and will proceed at a leisurely pace towards Bell Park and Science North. Runners are free to go whatever distance appeals to them or fits their schedule but ALL runners will be encouraged to stick together for the first 1/2 hour.

 

Sunday, February 5, 2006 Only 50 spots available so sign up early

 

Sunday, May 7, 2006   1 km – KIDS FIT ‘n’ FUN walk/run 5 km – SUN RUN walk/run 10Km - SUN RUN walk/run 21.1 – SUN RUN half marathon walk/run "NEW" 42.2 – SUDBURY ROCKS!!! MARATHON run Details I

Visit our Events Section for all the Details