February 10 - Confessions of a Professional Athlete Accused of Doping and Suspected to be a Man
1.13.13 “People say that you got a shot to make you strong and that’s why you can run.” I have an 11-year old friend, Alia, who tells me the rumors about me in town. This is by far my favorite one. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I’d be good enough at a sport to be accused of using performance-enhancing drugs. My brother Nathan tells me that I’m just going through the rumors that all elite athletes face, and could get in touch with Lance Armstrong to tell him I know how he feels. As I’ve mentioned in a few of my work posts, I’m training for the Parakou marathon. I really didn’t expect to run while in the Peace Corps, although I did buy a pair of trail runners from REI before leaving (my only closed toed shoes) and packed 6 pairs of socks just in case. I’m a very off-and-on runner in the states. I got inspired to do a half marathon with a friend after watching the Boston Marathon for the first time, but after the ha...