Almost a hero
Newsflash: Regina Jacobs' wonderful story is all because she took a wonder drug (see http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/g/gtue.pl?slug-cmunn28). Jacobs, a 25-time U.S. national champion middle-distance runner, recently tested positive for THG, a previously undetectable designer steroid.
On Feb. 29, 2000, I was electrified by Jacobs at the Armory Track and Field Center in upper Manhattan. That night, the 36-year-old ran after the world record in the indoor 1500-meter run. I was there as a reporter and interviewed her for an hour after the race. Unfortunately, she didn't get the record, but did jolt to life an entire arena. Here was my race report:
"Some might dismiss her world-record attempt as the vain, attention-seeking exploits of a prima donna. What those who were there realized, however, was that her bold prediction was instead the most sincere form of human striving. The standard she set for herself was ambitious. She invited the expectations of the world, and the eyes of the 3,000 spectators, for a race she knew she'd have to finish alone.
None of this fazed her. She appeared relaxed and jovial throughout warm-ups, then acknowledged the bright TV lights and action-hero warm-up music with quiet grace and smiling confidence. She knew that this was her show, but she let the crowd revel in the moment with her. She never tripped over her ego, though her confidence radiated through the air.
The crowd, comprised mostly of high-school track athletes there for their own meet, rose to its feet, displayed "Go, Regina, Go!" signs, and filled the airy old arena with pulsating screams. It was the rarest of track and field experiences, the type we've only heard about from our friends in Europe.
Ultimately, her very public failure showed that racing finds its magic in uncertainty. We begin each race filled with hopes, sure that we'll make our running dreams our reality by the time we cross the line. Experience teaches us, though, that our lowest lows lurk within us as tangibly as our highest highs. We toe the line eager to discover what the race will teach us and to explore our possibilities. Thoreau went to the woods for such enlightenment. We toe the line.
Jacobs will continue to fill stadiums and jolt to life once-languid American track fans. Her ultimate effect, she hopes, will show itself at the starting lines of American middle- and long-distance races, from high-school dual meets to New York City road races. Perhaps runners of all abilities will toe the line filled with wild dreams about breakthrough races they're about to run. Then, Jacobs will approve."
Hook, line and sinker, I was duped. But I was not alone -- she crafted her image meticulously, made every effort to make herself appear the squeaky-clean queen of American running, and had a legion of reporters who all wrote similar Regina hagiography.
And her story just got better by the year as her performances improved by the year, at an age when most runners are having their second total hip replaced. For example, she finally busted the world indoor 1500-meter record last winter, at age 39! Turns out, though, that all that glittered wasn't gold, just a junky pile of spare parts super-powered by a bottomless can of illegal, performance-enhancing whup-ass. She'll live out her days an almost hero, as her skin shrivels like a prune and her 'stache grows into a Grizzly Adams. Go, Regina, Go.
