Pro ultrarunner opens up about taking banned peptide BPC-157 - Canadian Running Magazine

Utah’s Mike McKnight, a professional ultrarunner and coach, has publicly said he used BPC-157, a peptide banned under the World Anti-Doping Agency code, while dealing with a herniated disc last winter.

McKnight first shared the admission on a podcast, then posted a longer statement to Instagram after renewed debate around BPC-157. The issue had already drawn attention after fellow U.S. ultrarunner Cam Hanes said publicly that he had received an injection of the same peptide. Hanes, 51, recently ran 2:39 for a 13-minute PB at the Eugene Marathon and was later reported to USADA by elite ultrarunner Sage Canaday.

BPC-157 is an experimental peptide often marketed for injury recovery. USADA says it is prohibited under WADA’s S0 category for unapproved substances and is not approved for human clinical use by any global regulatory authority. Substances in that category are banned at all times, not only during competition.

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McKnight says he used it before planned surgery

In his Instagram post, McKnight said he herniated a disc after slipping on laundry detergent 24 hours after finishing Cocodona 250 in 2025, then spent months in severe pain before scheduling surgery.

“Once this surgery was set, I became desperate,” McKnight wrote. “Some friends of mine told me about a peptide called BPC-157. I knew very little about it, aside from the fact that it helped them recover from injuries that were plaguing them for years.”

McKnight said a nurse came to his house, explained the peptide and recommended a daily dose; after seeing “major improvements by the end of the first week,” he cancelled the surgery.

The WADA question

McKnight said he later learned BPC-157 was on WADA’s prohibited list. In his post, he wrote that he accepts responsibility for not knowing the rules, but doesn’t regret the decision.

“One could argue that I should have known what was on WADA’s list, and that I should have known it was banned before taking it,” he wrote. “I’m not going to argue with anyone on that. I’ll hold myself responsible for not being more aware.”

McKnight told Canadian Running that he knew speaking publicly could have consequences. “I knew it was going to be a risk. I knew people would think less of me, and I knew I might get banned from racing, but I wanted to be honest about taking it,” he said. “I also feel that for change to happen, people like Cam and me need to be honest and speak up and be willing to suffer the consequences.”

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An already heated debate

Anti-doping in ultrarunning is not handled by one race organizer. The International Association of Ultrarunners endorses World Athletics’ anti-doping policy, while UTMB World Series has its own policy aligned with the World Anti-Doping Code. Under World Athletics rules, athletes are responsible for knowing what is prohibited, and WADA says athletes may apply for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) when a medical condition requires a prohibited substance or method.

McKnight said he believes there should be a pathway for athletes in his situation. “I don’t understand how there is anything on that list that you can’t get a TUE [therapeutic use exemption] for,” he said. “In my case, I should be able to show the following receipts: I did months of physical therapy, I went to a chiropractor and holistic health doctors. BPC-157 was my Hail Mary before getting surgery.”

What he tells athletes now

McKnight said the experience has changed how he thinks about what athletes are told by medical providers, coaches and wellness clinics.

“When I can’t walk or stand without being in chronic pain, thinking about WADA is the last thing on my mind,” he said. “Dozens and dozens of people have been in my shoes (based on messages I’ve received). They had a painful injury, nothing was helping, and they took BPC-157 and saw amazing results.”

Asked how he would respond now if an athlete he coached asked about BPC-157, McKnight said he was unsure. “The human side of me would want to tell them my experience and tell them to look into it. But, the safe side of me would want to not say anything at all,” he said. “I’d probably inform them that it is banned, share my experience with it, then tell them that they are an adult and can make the decision that is best for them.”

The response, McKnight said, has been more positive than he expected, and he was surprised by how many people reported having successfully taken BPC-157. “I was expecting way more hate. If I had to make an arbitrary percentage up, I’d say 95 per cent have been positive, and five per cent haven’t. Unfortunately, it’s the five per cent that’s the loudest.”