Sacramento Running News

The Czech delegation for the World Masters Champs checks out Old Sacramento.

I took advantage of the beautiful weather today to enjoy a running commute to my office in downtown Sacramento.

As I passed through Old Sacramento on my way to downtown, I noticed it was overrun by a friendly army of foreign athletes here for the World Masters Athletics Championships.

As I ran by the Railroad Museum, I was flagged down by a gentleman by the name of Jaroslav Hovorka.

Jaroslav Hovorka, it turns out, is here from the Czech Republic to compete in the throwing pentathlon.

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I’ve written here about the doping controls for masters athletes at the Worlds Masters Athletics Championships, realizing this may be the only time that many of us, as athletes, are faced with the specter of mandatory drug testing.

While this may seem intimidating to us amateurs, the reality of the on-going testing required of many elite athletes is significantly more daunting.

Tom Fordyce, a writer for BBC Sports, agreed to be subject to doping control under the UK Anti-Doping In Sport program. He writes about his experiences in a recent blog post.

Does my privacy feel invaded? You’d think so. My girlfriend is banging on the bathroom door, desperate to use the toilet. I have had my genitals examined at short range by a man I have only just shaken hands with. It is early in the morning, and I would rather be asleep.

It’s an interesting read.

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The Army doesn't want to see your toes.

The minimalist and barefoot running blogs are atwitter with righteous indignation over the US Army’s recently announced ban on “toe shoes.”

All Army Activities message 239/2011 states:

THERE ARE A VARIETY OF MINIMALIST RUNNING SHOES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AND WEAR. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ONLY THOSE SHOES THAT ACCOMMODATE ALL FIVE TOES IN ONE COMPARTMENT ARE AUTHORIZED FOR WEAR. THOSE SHOES THAT FEATURE FIVE SEPARATE, INDIVIDUAL COMPARTMENTS FOR THE TOES, DETRACT FROM A PROFESSIONAL MILITARY IMAGE AND ARE PROHIBITED FOR WEAR WITH THE IPFU OR WHEN CONDUCTING PHYSICAL TRAINING IN MILITARY FORMATION.

There are limits to freedom, apparently.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote here about drug testing for the upcoming World Masters Athletics Championships that will be held this month in Sacramento.

It was nice to see in this morning’s Sacramento Bee, Sam McManis giving it the full treatment. McManis does an excellent job of picking through the various facets of the issue.

The money quote from elite masters runner Pete Magill:

“Like it or not, the perception of drug use among all athletes is out there,” he said. “It’s important that, as a group, we submit to drug testing to fight that perception. Any time now anyone has a great performance, the first thing people think is not, ‘That’s a great performer.’ They think, ‘That guy has a great pharmacist.’ “

I couldn’t agree more. It’s a definite “must read.”