Thoughts on the doping ban for OCC winner Joyline Chepngeno

Kenyan runner was a trailblazer. So much is lost in her downfall

I've been reeling ever since I saw the news that Joyline Chepngeno, who recently became the first Kenyan to win a big ultra trail marathon, the OCC, has been suspended for doping. I've been following the progress of her team, the Milimani Runners, and been in regular contact with their coach, Julien, working on a project to tell their story.

Unlike a Kenyan marathon runner or track runner, Joyline was - largely unwittingly - carrying the torch for a whole new world of running opening up for East African athletes. She was a trail-blazer and a ground-breaker. And now the whole idea of East African ultra trail runners is under threat.

Sponsors and races will now - understandably - be very reluctant to support Kenyans in the sport, and this will be bad for the athletes and for the sport itself. It was so exciting to see the Kenyans finally competing in ultra marathons. When will we see that now? So much has been lost in one person's fall.

Finally, I've seen a few people pointing the finger at the coach, Julien Lyons, as this is his third athlete caught doping. The Sierre-Zinal race has even banned him outright from ever bringing an athlete to the race again.

I’ve spoken to Julien multiple times, and I know, (and truly believe), that he was doing everything he could to prevent doping in his team. But in Kenya, that is not such an easy task. I feel for him as he has put so much into setting up this team.

Many athletes in Kenya lack a full understanding of the implications of doping and are easily manipulated by doctors promising to make them run faster. They are often desperate and, as a result, willing to take risks. You can try to tell them how serious the consequences of doping are, but you can’t always be sure the message is getting through.

The fact that Joyline got caught in a test at an actual race in some ways shows how unlikely it is that the coach was involved. As Sage Canaday once put it to me, “Only an idiot would turn up to a race glowing with drugs.” Since trail running has virtually no out-of-competition testing, he said, anyone doing it systematically could easily dope between races, and then simply come off any substances before a race, so that the drugs were out of their system.

I’m not saying Joyline is an idiot, but she was clearly either doing it without realising what she was doing, or she was doing it badly - ie without the oversight of a coach, who would know not to do it so close to a race.

However, regardless of his innocence or guilt, races and sponsors will now have to steer clear of Julien and his team, to show they are 100% intolerant of doping, and it is unlikely that the Milimani Runners will continue to exist. It’s also unlikely that another person will want to take over the mantel of trying to bring Kenyans into ultra trail running, at least for some time to come.

For me, this is all terribly sad. For everyone.