The red stuff that Ruwiyati likes to drink before a race ain't Gatorade. The Marathon Vampire by D. Trull Enigma Editor dtrull@parascope.com Athletes at the highest levels of international competition are sorely tempted by illicit and dangerous substances that promise to boost their performance. Steroid strategies are normally wrapped in deepest secrecy for fear of disqualification, but an Indonesian marathon runner is out in the open about her frighteningly radical training enhancement. It seems the red stuff she likes to drink before and after a race ain't Gatorade. To replace vital fluids and minerals, she sucks her coach's blood. The thirsty athlete in question is a world-class marathoner named Ruwiyati, who goes by just the one name, like Madonna, or Cher, or Dracula. Clocking in with a time of 2 hours, 46 minutes at the recent Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, Ruwiyati took the gold and took a bite on her trainer's finger, as she always does at the end of an exhausting run. "The first time she bit my finger was in 1991," said Alwi Mugiyanto, Ruwiyati's coach and ambulatory sports bottle. Neither the biter nor the bitten has offered much insight as to where the idea for this bizarre ritual came from, or why it has become a habitual part of their program, or whether garlicky foods are stricken from the training table. "I don't know why, but as soon as I reach the finish line, I suck my coach's blood from his finger and I feel refreshed," Ruwiyati said. It sounds like maybe Ruwiyati should consider taking a long, hard look in the mirror... and see if there's anyone looking back. On at least one occasion, she has flirted with the next level beyond finger-sipping, and played the whole vampire schtick to the hilt. Before a race at the Indonesian national games in 1993, Ruwiyati went batty and spontaneously chomped down smack on Mugiyanto's neck. The coach's injury lasted for a week, but Ruwiyati proceeded to win both the marathon and the 10-kilometer run following the impromptu transfusion. Could it be that her hemoglobin thirst quencher works like some sort of naturally-occuring steroid, somehow elevating her abilities to supernatural and superhuman levels? Who knows... and for the time being, lucky for Ruwiyati, there are no official regulations against consensual bloodsucking. Athletes are prohibited from injecting stuff into their veins, but it's fine for them to drink all they want out of other people's. If it weren't for the hazardous potential for transmitting disease, this arcane arterial anabolic might revolutionize the entire wide world of sports. Just imagine how wonderful it would be to hear coaches shout these words of encouragement and guidance from the sidelines: "Hey, bite me! You suck!" Sources: The Independent (U.K.); Associated Press. (c) Copyright 1997 ParaScope, Inc. More Fortean Slips! Fortean Slips message board: Share your views