Some long overdue recognition here for Ruben Sança. Ruben was gunning for top twenty at the 2014 Boston Marathon and missed by one measly spot. But it turns out that he was bumped out of that accomplishment by a doper, who was recently busted. Copied & pasted Ruben’s statement on it below in case the embedded Facebook post goes in and out, as they tend to do.
“Since high school, I’ve always enjoyed watching the Boston Marathon on TV. I remember being a 5:12 high school freshman miler and dreaming of one day finishing in the top 20. It’s been 3 years since my 2014 Boston Marathon debut, in which I ran 2:19:05 for 21st. I was happy with that performance but wished that I had run 1 spot better. I had trained really hard that winter with lots of 120 mile weeks in bitter cold New England weather. During that time I was also recovering from a knee surgery that had a severe impact on my training and racing. Lots of chiro adjustments with John, massages from Larry and late night runs near midnight.
Fast forward to today, I found out that Adil Annani of Morocco, who had finished 10th overall at the 2014 Boston Marathon has been sanctioned to a 4-yr doping ban.
As a result, he has now been disqualified from the results, and I’ve moved into top 20 for the 2014 race.
I know for some, moving 1 spot not in the medal standings or in the money spots isn’t much, but to me being top 20 was a lofty dream I had. It stinks when someone cheats their way and take away a special moment for you.
Results: http://more.arrs.net/race/190917
Ok my rant is over. Back to running.
