This is the medal for End of the World 5K that was held on December 21, 2012 in Nags Head, North Carolina.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by Bill Jordan. Follow him on Twitter @billjordan4]

This is the medal for the Schaumburg Half Marathon & 5K Turkey Trot that was held on November 24, 2012 in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Very cool bling!

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[medal photo submitted by Arturo Moreno. Follow Arturo on Twitter @marathonarturo]

This is the medal for the Quarry Turkey Half Marathon/10K/5K that was held on November 24, 2012 in the Quarry Lakes Recreational Area in Fremont, California.

Pretty fierce turkey! Love that it incorporates a slice of pumpkin pie too.

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[medal photos submitted by Sarah – follow on Twitter @craftyxplorer]

This is the medal for the Glow Run 5K that was held on November 3, 2012 in Miami, Florida.

Love glow in the dark medals!

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[Medal submitted by Felipe Zambrana. Follow on Twitter @JustBringit247]

Here is a look at where everyone is running this weekend. We had 45 responses this week. Good luck to everyone and Run It Fast!

Best of luck to everyone, especially those at the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C.

To join Run It Fast – The Club then click HERE to read more details.

Where Run It Fast Runners Are Running This Weekend (Nov 3-4, 2012)

Storified by Joshua Holmes · Fri, Nov 02 2012 10:53:21

This is the medal for the Bupa Great South Run 5K that was held on October 27, 2012 in Portsmouth, England.

This is the back of the medal:

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[Medal photo submitted by Martyn Ewers – follow him on Twitter @martyngringo]

This is the medal for the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon that was held on October 21, 2012 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The smaller medal in the photo is for the 5K that was also held. Love these surfboard medals. Great colors and they are also bottle openers so they are useful too!

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[medal photo submitted by Katherine Phillips]

This is the medal for the Bupa Great North Run that took place on September 16, 2012 in Newcastle, England.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by Martyn Ewers.  Follow him on Twitter @martyngringo]

Elite road-runner Christian Hesch has admitted to EPO blood doping after being confronted by several of his Nike Team Run L.A. teammates who found an empty vial in his stuff.

Hesch, a self-described “profligate road racer,” said that over two years, beginning in August 2010, he injected himself with EPO 54 times before an empty EPO vial was found in his bag and he was reported to antidoping officials. In that time, he won nearly $40,000 in prize money in more than 75 races, including international competitions, United States championships and local road races.

Hesch, 33, gained national fame earlier this year when he out ran Ethiopia’s Fikadu Lemma and Demesse Tefera at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Providence Half Marathon to win with a time of 1:07:05.

Two days prior Hesch had run a 4:00.01 mile at the GNC Live Well Liberty Mile in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The USADA has a case pending against Hesch and has ordered that he not race until they decide how to punish him. (USADA has been a bit busy with it’s loaded case against cyclist Lance Armstrong over the past few weeks).

“It would be fairly expensive if I wanted to fight it,” Hesch said. “Usada only brings cases when they’re pretty sure, and this is coming from a guy with a pending case.”

Hesch could face a 2-year ban from the USADA.

Competitor’s Mario Fraioli felt miffed and misled by Hesch giving his story to the New York Times when he had been working with Hesch for days about an exclusive for Competitor Magazine (full story).

Fraioli ran the piece (see below) last night after getting word that the NYT was about to publish it’s exclusive piece on Hesch.

Hesch’s public apology piece that Fraioli had been waiting on, and was published last night, titled ‘Christian Hesch Publicly Apologizes for Doping‘ can be read HERE.

“I will promise you that when I return to racing if you yell “doper” or “you suck” at me as I pass by, I will not flip you the bird, nor will I throw a sarcastic thumbs-up. I might wave though, and I’ll be happy to hear you out after the race, no matter how rough the content. As Tyler Hamilton said so well, “I’m an ex-doper, and I don’t suck.” I hope you’ll feel the same way about me after sharing a word, a race, or a beer with me. I look forward to seeing you all on the roads, next year.”

What are your thoughts on Hesch’s confession?  Do you really think he’s sincere in his apology or just sorry he got caught?  Have you ever suspected one of your racing peers was doping?

Christian Hesch’s Running Results on ATHLinks

• Christian Hesch on Twitter @sub4Medic
• Mario Fraioli on Twitter @MarioFraioli
• Joshua Holmes on Twitter @bayou

Here is a look at where everyone is running this weekend. We had 51 responses this week. Good luck to everyone and Run It Fast!

To join Run It Fast – The Club then click HERE to read more details.

Where Run It Fast Runners Are Running This Weekend (September 1-2, 2012)

Storified by Joshua Holmes · Fri, Aug 31 2012 19:28:06