SEIDEL WITHDRAWS FROM MASTERCARD MINI 10-K CITING MEDICAL TREATMENT ISSUE
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2022 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - Used with permission.

NEW YORK (09-Jun) -- Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel has withdrawn from Saturday's 50th running of the Mastercard New York Mini 10-K here citing a regulatory complication with a treatment she is receiving for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, more commonly known as ADHD.  Seidel, 27, is still awaiting a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for Adderall, a drug used to treat the disorder which under the World Anti-Doping Code is only permitted for use out-of-competition without a special waiver.  Seidel said yesterday through her Instagram account that she cannot get the TUE before Saturday's race.

"I've gone back and forth about whether to publicly discuss why I won't be competing at NYC mini this weekend," she wrote.  "However, I know when it comes to mental health stuff I've tried to be as open as possible in an effort to de-stigmatize that fact that even pros deal with this."

Seidel said that she had been diagnosed with mixed-type ADHD earlier this year and began taking Adderall after the Boston Marathon in April where she was unable to finish due to a hip injury.  She said that the drug had helped her tremendously.

"It would probably be appropriate to describe it as life-changing, and for the first time I felt like I was able to get the quiet, functioning brain in my day-to-day life that I could previously only achieve with intense physical activity," Seidel wrote.  "It also gave me remission of many eating disorders behaviors that I've dealt with consistently since my teens."

Knowing that she would need a TUE for Adderall for in-competition use, Seidel and her team filed the necessary paperwork with the USA Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).  However, that process takes time and she won't have the exemption in time for Saturday.  It's not safe for her to simply halt the use of the drug for the race.

"After applying about six weeks ago I will not receive a decision until at least late June, and since I can't stop my medication without some serious mental health ramifications I will not compete with Adderall in my system until I have full approval from both USADA and WADA," Seidel wrote.  "I'm really gutted to pull out of the NYC mini this weekend, especially since I'm finally feeling ready to race and excited after a difficult last few months.  However, I'm committed to a clean sport and respecting my own mental health needs, so that means following the appropriate procedures of this TUE process."

Seidel was previously selected by USA Track & Field to represent the United States at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore., next month in the marathon. The women's marathon is scheduled for Monday, July 10 at 6:15 a.m., and she hopes that her application process will be completed well before then.

"Mental health takes work and I want to be transparent about the fact that medication is sometimes a very necessary part of that work," Seidel continued.  "I'm hoping that all this will be sorted and processed before Worlds in five weeks, and until then (I) will continue training and focusing on the best and healthiest version of myself."

Saturday's 50th running of the Mastercard New York Mini 10-K will be broadcast live via USATF.tv.  The broadcast begins at 7:30 a.m. and the professional runners start at 8:00 a.m.  Founded in 1972, the race was the first women's-only road race in the world, and over 200,000 women have finished it since inception.  The race was founded by New York Road Runners which still organizes the event.


PHOTO: Molly Seidel finishing the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon where she placed fourth in a personal best 2:24:42 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)