Abstract

Medical and technological advances have forced the human race to come to grips with intense ethical dilemmas. The running community has been under scrutiny for the manner that such issues have been addressed, and the multiple strategies utilized in an attempt to resolve these issues. The current research is an attempt to look at the current ethical issues faced by the culture of running, and the manner in which each has impacted the sport to date. This research has been submitted to Mellen Press for publication as a chapter in a book in progress.

DISABILITY AND MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS CHALLENEGE THE MORALS AND ETHICS OF RUNNING CULTURE.

Catherine Evans, Amy Heger, Jenna DeLongDept of Psychology, Drake University Des Moines, IA, 50311 USA

Core Ethical Issues

Drugs and Detection

•The development and use of performance enhancing drugs encompasses the ethical dilemma of fair play. Medical advantages are continually outpacing detection measures. How will the sport of running continue to handle these breaches of its established standards?

Disability Categories

•The ethical question special disability categories prompts is whether athletes with disabilities should compete directly with able bodied athletes, or should they continue to have a separate division for competition?

Medical equipment

•Is it fair to segregate runners with disabilities into special groups, especially when they are athletes capable of competing with runners in the field without disabilities? Is this when their necessary medical equipment needed for assistance will come into question as an unfair advantage?

Accomplishments

•McBride’s accomplishments since being diagnosed with COPD include completing 3 full marathons, 14 half marathons, a 10 mile, a 5 mile, four 10ks, a number of 5ks,skyscraper stair climbing events and climbing two mountains over 14,000 ft.

•The first event he participated in was the 10k Bolder Boulder in Boulder, Colorado only three months after his diagnosis.

•The first marathon Michael participated in was the Las Vegas Marathon; with no time limit he finished in 8 hours 20 minute 51 seconds to finish.

•Next he ran the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in 2008. This race set the foundation for his journey to the Boston marathon. His finishing time at 6 hours and 17 minutes was nearly two hours under the time he needed to qualify for the “Mobility Impaired” category.

Disability Categories

• In response to legislation banning discrimination against American’s with disabilities, many competitive opportunities have been developed for athletes with physical and medical conditions. Popular events for competition include the Paralympics and Special Olympics.

• Many racing venues added wheelchair divisions to accommodate athletes. These athletes are not in direct competition with other runners as. They are timed as a separate division, have their own award category, and are considered an entirely separate class.

•The Boston Marathon, through the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) policies, provides three separate categories for those with a disability: the Wheelchair Division, Mobility Impaired Program, or Blind/ Visually Impaired Division.

•By designating a category for those particular athletes’ with physical disabilities is the culture assuming that they do not possess the skills crucial to pose as a competitive participant?

•Does the disability category encourage this population to try walking and running, presenting positive opportunities in the sport for those who may initially feel intimidated to participate?

•There are a number of disabling medical conditions, how will the sport decide which category each person classified as “disabled” will compete in?

Semenya

• At the World Track and Field Championship competition in Berlin in 2009, Caster Semenya, an 800 meter runner for South Africa, had her biological sex and gender identification questioned.

• With biological characteristics similar to both men and women, there is scientific support for her to be classified in either division.

• Some advocate that she be allowed to race against women, while others support allowing her to compete only in men’s divisions.

• It still remains to be seen whether Semenya will be allowed to continue competition in women’s division running.

Michael McBride

Background and diagnosis

•In February 2005 Michael McBride was admitted into the hospital with severe bacterial pneumonia and developed bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia (BOOP).

•McBride, a Colorado native, was eventually diagnosed with emphysema/ chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He has since that day quit smoking.

COPD Treatment

•COPD is a progressive disease that causes damage to the lungs and problems in the respiratory system.

•Exercise is proven to reduce its progression and for this reason exercise is included as an element of pulmonary rehabilitation.

•McBride enlisted the help of many trainers after proactively searching out resources on COPD to integrate exercise into his treatment plan. His participation in competitive events is what motivates him to stay fit.

Performance Enhancing Drugs

Ethics and Regulation

• In recent years, running culture has been plagued with illicit substance use and the use of banned performance enhancement strategies.

• The United States Antidoping Agency (USADA) and the World Antidoping Agency (WADA) are responsible for maintaining and enforcing standards in the use of performance enhancing substances by athletes.

• Science continues to develop substances to enhance health in medical application that improve quality of life for patients in ill health. These life enhancing and many times life saving advances can be misused in an effort to improve sport performance. This practice brings forth an issue of ethics in sport.

Drugs and sports

• Antidoping agencies are finding that each advancement made to detect use of performance enhancing substances seems to be lagging behind the medical advances that can be used to enhance performance. These means of achieving unfair advantages are outpacing the science of detection.

• Marion Jones, female runner for the United States Olympic team, won three gold and two bronze medals in Olympic Games. Considered a role model for many, in federal court she admitted the use of performance enhancing steroids. As a result she was stripped of her medals.

Epoch Duration in Milliseconds

Supplemental Oxygen Cart

•To transport his oxygen while running McBride has a cart that connects to a harness he wears on his back. The cart mounts up to four oxygen tanks between two bike tires.

•The cart was built by Mike’s engineer friend and is designed to have only a resistance of 11 ounces while weighing anywhere between 80 to 100 pounds when loaded.

•The potential for problems with this additional equipment requires McBride to make extra preparations for the major running events he participates in. He previously had to drop out of a marathon in Portland because of equipment failure with the cart and tanks.

Pistorius

• Oscar Pistorius was born without fibulas, and runs on carbon fiber prosthetics.

• The IAAF banned him from competition because they determined that his artificial limbs gave him an unfair advantage over able body athletes.

• His case was overturned, but is now being re-evaluated in light of new scientific evidence.

• Pistorius challenges running ethics by forcing the sport to take into consideration treatment of those with disabilities who can compete at or above the skill level of those without disabilities.

• It seems unreasonable to place these athletes with disabilities in a “special” cohort because they require additional medical equipment to participate.

Boston Marathon

Preparation

•McBride was the first COPD/Oxygen patient to run the Boston Marathon. He participated in the “Mobility

•Boston officials did not easily accept his cart as the medically necessary piece of equipment that it is. He had to provide them with detailed descriptions, photographs, and physician explanations before they finally permitted his entrance into the race.

•Additional pre-race arrangements included a need for people to be stationed at over five spots throughout the running course to help with efficiently switching in full oxygen canisters for used ones, another medical necessity.

Results

•Despite numerous obstacles resulting from his medical equipment needs McBride finished with the official time of 7:31:36, keeping a steady pace of 0:17:14

•Mike made clear that the race “was worth every single frustration, setback and hassle.”

Lyn Cole

•Cole’s story starts when she received a diagnosis of COPD in February, 2003. Unlike McBride, she participated in a structured pulmonary rehabilitation program. It is this rehab that she gives credit to for her enjoyment and dedication to exercise.

•Cole exclaims “I am living proof that exercise helps to improve the immune system and combats the depression that often comes with this disease”

•Cole realized she was fond of athletic events after her rehab group participated in a 1K fundraising walk. She set out with a goal of walking in the 5K the following year. Previous to her diagnosis she did not consider herself an athlete.

•Since being diagnosed with COPD Cole has participated in a range of competitive events including 5ks, 10ks, 2 half marathons, and stair climbs.

•Cole and McBride remind us that the notion that special divisions are fair or unfair seems to be missing the bigger ethical issue. The courage and tenacity of special division runners seems to engender the spirit of running culture in a way that minimizes all other issues.