Lance Armstrong paces friend at Western States 100-miler despite race ban

Just left mile marker 60 with @ebyrnes22 He can hit a 100 mph baseball and run 100. #westernstates #wedū

A photo posted by Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) on Jun 25, 2016 at 6:49pm PDT

Former cyclist Lance Armstrong made an appearance at the world’s oldest 100-mile trail race on Saturday in California. The 44-year-old helped pace friend and ex-Major League Baseball player Eric Byrnes for 32 kilometres of the Western States 100.

Full non-Lance-related race recap

Armstrong, who was stripped of seven Tour de France titles for doping, paced Byrnes from mile 60 to 80 at the race which is considered one of the world’s most famous ultramarathons. Race pacers are permitted to run alongside runners at the event, which begins at Squaw Valley ski resort and finishes in Auburn, to aid and support competitors. Each runner can have their own pace team, if they so choose.

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Armstrong, who is banned from racing the event because of a zero-tolerance rule on cheaters, was allowed to pace because he wasn’t an official entrant. Rule 18 of the Western States policy states the following:

“The Western States Endurance Run has a zero-tolerance policy regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Any athlete who has been determined to have violated anti-doping rules or policies, whether enforced by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), or any other national sports federation is ineligible for entry into the Western States Endurance Run.”

Bro, absolute honor pacing you today for miles 60-80. Mad f’ing respect for your outstanding effort. #WS100 #WEDŪ https://t.co/CD6qYJRKFC

— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) June 26, 2016

The implementation of the rule came before Armstrong expressed interest in running in the famed event. He did a Western States 100 training run in February and also did a Spartan Race in April.

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Byrnes, 40, completed the 160K run in 22:50:55 and finished 73rd overall. The top Canadian was Edmonton’s Alissa St Laurent who finished fifth in the women’s race. She’s one of the country’s top trail and ultramarathon runners.

Mile 62 Pacer Dream Squad

A photo posted by Eric Byrnes (@ebyrnes22) on Jun 25, 2016 at 6:19pm PDT

Byrnes, a native of Half Moon Bay, Calif., played Major League Baseball for 11 seasons (2000-2010) beginning his career with the Oakland Athletics and retiring with the Seattle Mariners. Canada only has one MLB team: the Toronto Blue Jays.

Crossed #ws100 finish line in 22 hours 50 minutes. The most challenging & humbling thing I have ever done in my life. No way any of it would have been possible without INCREDIBLE family, crew and pacers that brought me home.

A photo posted by Eric Byrnes (@ebyrnes22) on Jun 26, 2016 at 9:07am PDT