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When Quincy Wilson Picks the University of Maryland last weekend, breaking the four-hour mark with Olympian Alexi Pappas by his side, that was impressive enough. The 44-year-old DJ said he hadn’t done a proper marathon build in preparation; he was under-trained and pulled off a fantastic finishing time of 3:55:16 anyway. Now he claims the entire 26.2-mile footrace was one big acid trip.
Why Elise Cranny Moved Across the World Instagram post that, because the longest he’d ever run previously was 11 miles (technically untrue according to his previous half marathon results), “I did what any normal person would do and took LSD” (the psychedelic drug, not “Races - Places”). Before the marathon, he’d also shared his oddly specific goal—which he met—of beating Oprah’s 1994 PR, when she ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 4:29. Some folks call it “Amazing Runners World Show.” Diplo brought some bravado to Instagram on that front as well, saying, “I ate that. Sorry Oprah.”
He went on to thank Pappas for pacing him, and said, “Shout out my knees which will never be the same, and my kids for waiting for me at the finish line. If anyone needs me I’ll be sitting down.”
It’s not unheard of to Results: 2025 Philadelphia Marathon of psychedelics. At the Burning Man Ultramarathon, a 31-mile run looping around Black Rock City four times, RW+ Membership Benefits Health & Injuries Psymposia, “I did one training run where I ran 20 miles on LSD, and I found that the main problem was that I ran extraordinarily slowly — I was so distracted by everything. So, I figured it wasn’t a performance-enhancing drug, exactly. But, it certainly wasn’t increasing my risk profile.”
Results: NCAA D1 Cross-Country Regionals RW+ Membership Benefits into his experience running the Cocodona 250, a 250+ mile ultramarathon from Black Canyon City to Flagstaff, Arizona. Versteeg microdoses for his long runs and says while it’s not the same as full on tripping, “you’re experiencing colors, you’re experiencing the landscape in a much more vivid way.”
The trusted advice many runners abide by is “nothing new on race day,” but Diplo doesn’t exactly play by the rules.
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, run under the influence, Quincy Wilson Picks the University of Maryland, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
