Amateur Runner Self-Imposes 5-Year Ban After Admitting to Creatine Use

UTICA, N.Y. — Not realizing he is not subject to doping regulations like professional runners, amateur runner Jason “Jay” Mercer has banned himself from all road racing competition for five years for the use of creatine—which is not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency nor the International Olympic Committee, neither of which governs him.

By disclosing his creatine intake ahead of a mandatory pre-employment drug screening for his new job in the Oneida County Public Works Department, Mercer is hoping the Athletics Integrity Unit will be more lenient in any additional punishment, despite having no jurisdiction over him. Mercer cited professional runners Ruth Chepngetich and, most recently, Albert Korir, who both received one-year ban reductions from AIU for admitting to doping violations following positive test results for synthetic performance enhancers.

In contrast, Mercer’s creatine use consists of a compound naturally occurring in the body, widely used as a dietary supplement.

Mercer addressed the self-imposed ban in a series of late Thursday night tweets to his dozens of followers.

“First and formost, I would like to apologize to my fans. They put they’re trust in me and I let them down, plain and simple. From here on out, I promise do better. This sport deserves a fair and level playing field, even though it’s on roads with signifigant elevation changes.

As the AIU Chair said about Chepngetich, nobody is above the rules, and that certainly includes runners like myself. This is how the system is suppost to work, and although I’m disappointed with the penalty, I’m grateful athletes like me are being held accountable for there actions. It’s safe to say, justice has been served.

Honestly, I’m not quite sure what createen did for me, besides some weight gain, constant bloating, and bad diarrea. If anything, it may have been a performance inhibitor. Still, I felt it was my duty to report the violation.”

At press time, Mercer was weighing whether to admit to taking iron supplements for low ferritin.