Comments on: Drugs Killed Ryan Shay

By: Joan

Joan — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:19:28 +0000

NO, Greg, I am not using drugs as an excuse for my slow”er” performances. I am 46 years old and have 3 amazing daughters to give my life meaning. If anything, I am writing about Ryan Shay as I would a SON; it broke/breaks my heart that his heart burst in pure, honest effort. My own running days are run and I really don’t care who was or is faster than me. I would, however, like to know .. in heaven, maybe, … where I actually ranked (when all the drug cheats are pulled out of the list) in the world. I just want to know the true score, the drug-free score. Why does this make you accuse me of sour grapes?

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:51:26 +0000

I think that maybe the reason you are so gung-ho about this matter is that you are using drugs as a scape-goat reason as to why other runners are able to perform better than you, or Shay. There is an incredible amount of natural talent in elite runners and If Shay died trying too hard to beat other elites that means that either you think he was not talented enough to compete at that level and thus overtrained or that any athlete with a time faster than him has doped.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:31:21 +0000

Loved you article…I wrote something for Ryan.

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 10:39:41 +0000

Joan, if your opinion of drugs in athletics is so strong how are we to believe that you have not taken drugs and that no matter what you say we shall from now on perceive you to have taken drugs to have achieved your results or else we shall simply be wearing rose tinted glasses to believe anything other?

Thank you for enlightening us to YOUR world of running

By: Shalouse

Shalouse — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:42:00 +0000

Do you mean to suggest runners like Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein , and Brian Sell (top 3 at trials) are guilty of doping! I’d have to say that is a gross misstatement. As tragic as Ryan Shay’s death was 140 miles per week is about the standard of elite distance runners. Further more, no one ever dies of overtraining. Ryan Shay’s death is much more likely due to a heart related problem, that quite possibly has more to do with his family tree than fellow athletes using performance enhancing drugs.

By: charles lyons

charles lyons — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 02:56:48 +0000

Agreed it is weird. I would think the NYRR would be more activist in owning this story– but they don’t appear to be at all. In fact, I have a gut feeling that they have tried to keep themselves at a distance from the tragedy, as though it can somehow reflect badly on the organization. I could be wrong about this but I somehow feel that Fred Lebow would have leveraged the NYRRC and given regular updates about a tragedy of this nature. Under Mary Wittenberg, the organization feels closed and careful and calculating, as though everything is about public image and profit (very antithetical to the running community in NY I loved). It’s a different vibe. Am I the only one who feels this?
–Charlie Lyons

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:29:24 +0000

Its weird because there is also a featured article about his death in Feb. 2008 issue of Runners Mag. And they don’t give any conclusive info in that article either. I’m just concerned because often when these things aren’t released it means there’s info they don’t want us to know…

By: Joan

Joan — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:01:42 +0000

Yeah, I know … what’s the hold-up? I’ve been checking Letsrun.com and googling for “Ryan Shay toxicology report” periodically and nothing comes up.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:55:58 +0000

It’s January 30, 2008. Has there been any other news released regarding Ryan Shay’s exact cause of death? Supposedly the final results were suppose to be released some time in December. I don’t understand why nothing more was ever said. Atleast I can’t find any reports since the 1st inconclusive autopsy.

By: Joan

Joan — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:48:07 +0000

This is going to be my last comment on the Ryan Shay post. I almost pulled this post off of my blog because people were reading all sorts of things in to my “cryptic” writing. My intention was not to point an accusing finger at any specific athlete but to look at what the atmosphere of drug-usage (actual or accused) has done to our sport. It has changed the way people train. It has changed the way people think. It has changed the way people feel about a sport that used to be pure. What could be more pure that lining up and shouting, “G0!” to see who is the fastest animal from point A to point B? All I’m saying is that PED’s are now a variable in the equation. If before the equation read: Force X Distance = Work … it now reads Force X Distance + PED’s = Work+

The “plus” is scientifically significant.
It is Pollyanna to ignore it.