Cam Hanes’ victory was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, it turned into an intense anti-doping controversy. On April 26, the American ultrarunner shocked everyone by finishing the Eugene Marathon in 2:39:11. Hanes broke his recent performances by over 10 minutes, and Sage Canaday, an elite runner, was roped into a normal debate on Instagram that turned into an issue that now lies with the USADA, as Hanes was left to defend his choices.

Cam Hanes won the masters division at age 58. His performances had hovered between 2:50 and 2:55 for years, making the 2:39 jump impossible to ignore. Canaday has previous bad blood with Hanes and did not hesitate to renew the rivalry.

The entire dialogue started on Instagram as Hanes posted a video of his Eugene marathon on April 30. A user tagged Canaday under Hanes’ post, and Hanes started the offensive by recounting Canaday, saying, “Is he the guy with the breaking news about supplements I took 15 years ago that you could buy at GNC like ‘Extreme Mass Weight Gainer?” After the war of words continued with the user, Canaday jumped in himself.

Canaday, a former Olympic Trials qualifier with a personal best of 2:16:52, directly asked Hanes, “Are you on any performance-enhancing dr*gs (Testosterone, hgh)?…or are you 100% natty and clean (i.e., would pass a WADA/USADA standard test?)….”

Hanes directly replied, “I have no idea if I could pass a dr*g test? I don’t have a clue what they even test for. I’m a bowhunter. I run to get in shape for that. You’re the elite runner. It’s your job to know the rules.” He also acknowledged using different supplements over the years, including substances connected to recovery and muscle growth.

A couple of weeks later, on his “Keep Hammering Collective” podcast on May 15, Hanes fought back against the tip and defended using peptides for recovery and argued that he is not a professional athlete competing under Olympic expectations, meaning he should be exempt from the limits of the USADA. “I’m an old man. If this s— might work and save me from surgery, I’m going to try it. Why wouldn’t I? I don’t have USA on my jersey,” Hanes said.

The Instagram exchange became far more serious when Hanes mentioned recovery-related substances, including BPC-157 and past testosterone use. He also wrote, “My test level is fine as is, but yes, I’ve taken it before in my life as I’m old as hell and TRT is great for many men, but personally I don’t like taking it because I feel it messes with my heart rate and blood pressure.”

Canaday responded directly: “You just admitted to taking a banned performance-enhancing dr*g (BPC-157) that totally violates WADA/USADA code and rules. And You’re placing in your Age Group in fairly big marathons like Eugene (where it’s against the rules).” Interestingly, BPC-157 is a synthetic peptide, and USADA lists it under the ‘non-approved’ substances category. Even its first violation can carry a four-year ban.

Soon after, older material connected to Hanes also began resurfacing online. A still-public 2011 post on Hanes’ own website described a supplement stack that included testosterone tablets and products for lean muscle gain. In the post, Hanes wrote, “On any given day, for growth, I take one tablet each of external testosterone in the A.M. and P.M… All of this stuff is for lean weight gain, and it works.”

The Eugene Marathon is a USATF championship that is subject to WADA anti-doping rules. USADA does not test all runners; however, it will investigate when credible tips and supporting evidence are provided.

The USADA set the precedent with the suspensions of previous champions like Robert Qualls, a 70+ age group legend and a former USA Track and Field’s Masters Road Runner of the Year in 2024, and Kevin Castille, a renowned 45+ age group champion, who was stripped of titles in 2012.

Canaday has provided screenshots, timestamps, and video recordings of the Instagram exchange to USADA, but the agency has not released that information to the media. However, it seems the controversy over anti-doping has become personal as well.

Cam Hanes and Sage Canaday’s running dispute took a personal turn

Cam Hanes, however, believes the backlash goes beyond anti-doping concerns and says Canaday already disliked him before the controversy began. Speaking on his podcast, Hanes said, “I’ll just say, there’s somebody trying to cancel me. There’s people trying to cancel me in hunting, too.”

He added, “I can’t sit here and say I’m a victim. I’m not a victim. I’m blessed. I’m lucky… but whatever. So this guy’s trying to cancel me. This guy doesn’t like me, but he didn’t like me before any of this because we’re just different.”

What makes the situation more interesting is that the two come from completely different backgrounds in the running world, despite having no known history or rivalry before this.

Canaday built his name through traditional competitive running. He ran at Cornell University, qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials at 21, and later became one of the best-known mountain and ultrarunners in America, with wins at races like Speedgoat 50K and Tarawera 100K. He is also known for coaching and strongly supporting clean sport and anti-doping rules.

Cam Hanes comes from a very different world. He is mainly known as a bowhunter, outdoorsman, podcaster, and fitness personality who uses running as part of his extreme endurance lifestyle.

This controversy became personal as well as political, as the exchange went on. Hanes referred to Canaday as a “liberal, vegan, whatever” and brought up a pulmonary embolism that Canaday had previously spoken about publicly. Canaday later responded on LetsRun, saying that he is left-leaning and vegan, but that he was shocked the situation had gotten so personal, particularly from a runner with whom he had no prior relationship.

Despite the dispute, on the podcast, Cam Hanes said he still supports anti-doping rules at the elite level and believes Olympic athletes should absolutely be tested. But in view of the tip with the USADA, he argued that his own situation is different because he does not view himself as a professional athlete competing for Team USA and should not be tested.

As of now, Hanes has not been sanctioned or formally charged, and his Eugene Marathon result still stands. But if the USADA proceeds with charges, Hanes will be stripped of his hard-earned Eugene title and will also be staring at financial penalties along with lengthy suspensions.