Trying to Clean a Stained Reputation

They said they were told to inject the EPO into Leghzaoui's arm, leaving a space of several days between the injections. They left Morocco to train at altitude in New Mexico, then traveled to Lausanne, Switzerland, for the world cross-country championships about four weeks after the injections, they said. Leghzaoui finished 12th in the short course. The next month, she called Ar-Ar from an airport en route to a road race in California. He told her she had tested positive, and she collapsed on the airport floor.

"I made a bad decision and I lost my life, I lost my family and I thought in that second I had lost everything, all I had worked for," she said. "I made a mistake to the best thing I love."

A High Price

During her suspension, Leghzaoui and Ar-Ar moved back and forth from Morocco to West Chester, where Makké lives and where they stay in a tiny studio apartment with barely enough room for a bed and futon couch. Ar-Ar, himself a former athlete, said he could earn a few hundred dollars running road races in Europe, but he suffered inflammation under his knees and could not continue. They borrowed money from family and friends and, after the birth of their daughter, began making plans for Leghzaoui's return.

Makké, who said he never knew about her drug use until after the test, said if he had "one percent doubt that Asmae is dirty I would never represent her. I'm against drugs. How could I support someone who cheated already and maybe is willing to do it again? It's absolutely against what I stand for."

And yet her critics are angered that a biography that has been used by some race directors describes Leghzaoui as taking time off for maternity leave.

Makké is reluctant to engage the critics but said that he does not want to hide anything, does not want to cover anything up and specifically requested that Leghzaoui be tested tomorrow in Albany, which race officials confirmed.

Regardless, race organizers said they are put in a difficult position.

"She's eligible to compete in the Olympics and all other international competitions, so it seems a little silly to say 'But you can't run in our race,' " said Don Kardong of the Bloomsday race, who said he didn't know of Leghzaoui's suspension until race day. "The other issue is do you invite her and pay her way. To me, that's a little different."

New York Road Runners officials said it would take extraordinary circumstances to invite a proven user.

"We're in a position where we have to take a very strong stance because we have to stop this drug thing," Road Runners President and CEO Mary Wittenberg said. "There are risks associated with inviting someone like that that we're not wiling to take."

Others said they cannot continue to penalize someone who has shown no evidence of continued use.

"It's like saying to someone who spent jail time, you're never going to work again in your life," said George Banker of the Sallie Mae race.

Officials with tomorrow's race in Albany, who said they knew of Leghzaoui's drug suspension when they invited her and have since released a statement decrying drug use, said they don't want to do anything to encourage cheaters, which is why they're spending several thousand dollars to bring in drug testers.

"I don't know what else we can do, we're not in the business of making drug policy," race director George Regan said. "We're not making any judgment one way or the other about IAAF rules; we're just taking them as they are."

Which is all that Leghzaoui wants. She said she visited Moroccan tracks during her suspension, telling young athletes to stay away from drugs. She said she will never cheat again (a second positive would bring a lifetime suspension). She said she will submit to a drug test at any time, even though few American road races have testing. And she said she hopes others will use her story as an example.

"We want to send a message to the world that athletes can reach a high level without EPO, that with training and talent you can achieve," she said. "I hope anybody who listens or reads this will learn from my experience, because I paid my price. I don't wish for anybody to pay that price."