Faith Chepkoech celebrates after crossing the finish line at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K on Aug. 3 at Fort Williams Park. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

It wasn’t the first time elite runner Emily Durgin ran with athletes she later found out were doping.

That the latest race was the Beach to Beacon 10K, however, stung for the Standish native.

Women’s overall winner Faith Chepkoech was stripped of her 2024 title this week after she admitted to violating international anti-doping rules leading up to the race.

“(It’s) extremely disappointing,” said Durgin, who moved up from fifth to fourth in the overall women’s results. “With it being so close to home, and obviously the Beach to Beacon has a huge place in my heart, it definitely hurt a little bit more.”

Chepkoech, of Kenya, provided a urine sample on July 26, about a week before Beach to Beacon. On Sept. 4, her sample was found to contain a synthetic version of recombinant erythropoietin (EPO), according to the Athletics Integrity Unit, which oversees the implementation of World Athletics’ anti-doping rules.

The integrity unit suspended Chepkoech from competing for three years, starting Sept. 6.

Beach to Beacon President David Backer expressed confidence in the race’s testing protocol, which has been in place since 2019. The race employs Clearidium to handle the testing for the race, with top performers and some random runners being tested.

“I don’t see any reason to change our testing protocol. I think it strengthens our resolve to continue exactly what we’re doing, which is to do testing each year,” he said. “The testing that’s being done is the state of the art today … (but) people do fall through the cracks. We know that. But that doesn’t mean that we should stop testing.”

Some runners said that while Beach to Beacon’s testing is effective, it can do more.

“It’s unfortunate that the Beach to Beacon has been marred by this,” said North Yarmouth native Ben True, the only American winner of the race (2016). “But it’s the unfortunate reality of the sport. While we try to take steps to make sure cheating is not allowed, it’s a sad reality that not all the athletes are competing fairly. I’m glad that WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency) was able to do their job this time and (she) was caught, but the unfortunate reality is that is not always the case. … Having testing at the event does dissuade some (doping) people from attending to begin with.”

True added that the race’s best chance to curtail doping in future events comes in the vetting process.

“If meet directors are picky and choosy on who they are supporting to come to the race … there are certain agents out there, certain coaches out there, certain training groups out there that are more questionable than others,” he said. “The New York Road Runners are pretty good with that, and they’ll refuse to bring someone to their meets that they have questions over.

“It’s a lot of work, though. You have to really know the world of running, and you also have to potentially say no to somebody who might be running really fast but there’s a lot of suspicion around.”

In April, Durgin finished 10th in the Boston Athletic Association 5K – seven spots behind Esther Gitahi, who later tested positive for EPO. Durgin said there’s a “what if” feeling from these races.

Emily Durgin crosses the finish line at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K in August. Durgin was bumped up to fourth place after Faith Chepkoech was stripped of her title. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

“My initial reaction was ‘Oh, great. Another one.’ And then, of course, it being so close to home with Beach to Beacon, the race could have played out way different,” she said. “Who knows what may have happened if that wasn’t the case?”

True also said with Beach to Beacon’s increasing popularity in the professional running world, the threat of drawing dopers increases.

“As it rises in the ranks of important races and as it continues to have the prestige that it does have, it really ends up being a matter of time before this happens,” he said.

Still, Backer said, Chepkoech’s positive test shows the process is working.

“It’s not as if this is a great aberration,” he said. “It’s disappointing, of course. But we’re doing our part and I think everybody recognizes, most critically the athletes who are racing recognize that this is an essential part of trying to create a fair playing field.”

Chepkoech tested negative with a urine sample after Beach to Beacon, possibly because EPO taken a week or two earlier had become diluted enough to avoid detection.

“We did not have a positive test in any of our results of any of the eight athletes that were tested. That’s the interesting part (and) just the reality of doping testing,” Backer said. “The EPO showed up six days after (when) she was tested (in Kenya), but our race wasn’t until Aug. 3, another eight days after. In that period of time … (it) was enough time for the EPO to become undetectable in a urine test. Perhaps it would have been detectable in a blood test.”

True said blood tests after periods of heavy exertion can be unreliable, which is a reason why urine is the preferred method.

“Just because you have a clean test doesn’t necessarily mean that you are a non-cheater,” he said. “That is a sad reality, and is just something that’s a battle that’s going to be hard to win, but we’ve got to stay vigilant on and do what we can do.”

Because of Chepkoech’s disqualification, which made Edna Kiplagat the overall women’s winner, the $10,000 in prize money is due to be returned to the race and distributed to the other top finishers. Speaking on Friday, Backer said the race hadn’t received the money, but was in contact with Chepkoech’s agent and had been told that the money will be wired back.

Delays with reimbursement aren’t unheard of in racing. Earlier this year, it was reported that Buzunesh Deba, who was elevated from second to first in the 2014 Boston Marathon after Rita Jeptoo’s positive drug test, hadn’t received additional prize money from the Boston Athletic Association.

“It’s not guaranteed,” said Durgin, who received $4,000 for her finish but is owed another $1,000. “How far are they going to fight to get this $10,000 back? You never know.”