Lance Armstrong decides to skip marathon

By Dan Loumena

Aug. 26, 2012 12 AM PT

Lance Armstrong decided to rest Sunday, a day after taking second place in a 36-mile mountain bike race and two days removed from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency levying a lifetime ban and stripping the seven-time Tour de France winner of his titles.

Armstrong, who announced Thursday that he would no longer fight the doping allegations despite arbitration remaining as an option, was supposed to follow the Power of Four mountain bike race in Aspen, Colo., with an off-road marathon Sunday morning. But he told the Associated Press that he’d skip the trail run.

No matter. It’s likely that the 40-year-old cancer survivor, and hero to many, needs to be with family and friends instead of in the public eye for a day.

“I’m focused on the future,” Armstrong said Saturday. “I’ve got five great kids, a great lady in my life, a wonderful foundation that’s completely unaffected by any noise out there, and we’re going to continue to do our job. The people — like the people who are standing around here or on the course — they voiced their opinion in the last 48 hours and are going to support us.”

It’s likely he’ll still receive warm welcomes as he continues to be a weekend warrior, be it on a bike, during a marathon or while raising funds and awareness for cancer patients and organizations through his Livestrong foundation.

“It’s not so much about racing anymore for me,” Armstrong said. “For me, it’s more about staying fit and coming out here and enjoying one of the most beautiful parts of the world, on a beautiful day, on a very hard course. Some may say you’re a little sick to spend your free time doing stuff like this. I had a good time.”

And he appears to have the public on his side. On Friday, his Livestrong foundation received 400 donations totaling about $75,000.

“I think people understand that we’ve got a lot of stuff to do going forward,” Armstrong said. “That’s what I’m focused on and I think people are supportive of that.”

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