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Witness 5 was diagnosed with PTSD and believes it was partially as a result of their experience in the program. They said they got the sense they thought the coaches thought mental health was a hoax.

Witness 6 said they trusted Wetmore and Burroughs’ training advice but said they created toxic team dynamics.

Witness 7 said she wore a sports bra and shorts at the start of her first practice and Burroughs told her she didn’t have the CU look. She also said the coaches gave those who questioned the team culture a hard time.

Witness 8 said they didn’t want to talk about their body composition numbers because they were triggering. Anderson continued to take measurements but did not share them with Witness 8 unless they asked.

Witness 9 praised Burroughs, but acknowledged that she can come across as “hating you” because of her level of intensity.

Witness 10 said the coaches were focused on the “sum of seven” body composition numbers instead of other performance issues. They also said the team culture was not bad but called it “intense and unforgiving.”

Witness 11 said Anderson told her that her sum of seven number was akin to “a regular woman on the street” and that she “had a lot of work to do.” She said Wetmore and Burroughs believed in what Anderson was doing because of the focus on science, but they were not concerned about the emotional toll the test was having. Witness 11, who experienced disordered eating, said no one would feel bad for you if you didn’t do well and called the environment cutthroat.

Witness 14 said Anderson should not interact with college athletes because she’s “the single most harmful person” they’ve interacted with at CU. Said Anderson encouraged them to go from 112 to 102 pounds, and that Burroughs would say, “Someone had too much sugar; we will need to work that off of you.” Said Wetmore made similar comments but he was excused for being “old school.” They said they did not attend their CU graduation ceremony because they didn’t make the Pac-12 team and therefore felt they didn’t deserve to. Visiting Boulder now is triggering for them.

Witness 15 said Anderson told her she looked like a “rec girl, like the sorority girls who do the Stairmaster during the week so they can drink all weekend long.” She said Wetmore and Burroughs’ runners are like darts. The ones that stick to the target become All-Americans and Olympians and the ones that fall to the ground become broken, both physically and emotionally. She told the investigators, “I can’t believe I made it through that (program) alive.”

A first-year teammate told Witness 19 they hadn’t eaten carbs in three days in order to get ready to meet with Anderson. Witness 19 said Anderson would pinch and measure specific body parts and say, “This is your problem area.” They have lasting body image issues after leaving the team.

Witness 20 said the environment is more toxic now than when they first joined the team, and they accused Wetmore and Burroughs of manipulation and emotional abuse.

Witness 21 said Anderson told them they needed to lose four pounds from their thighs and said they “starved themselves a bit” due to the expectations around body composition. They also said that Burroughs held up a sheet with everyone’s body composition numbers, compared them to a past team, and said the entire women’s team was too fat. They said Burroughs told them to run through an injury and it took weeks to convince the coaches they were injured. Witness 21 said that there should be a book called “Running From the Buffaloes,” and said Burroughs told a teammate, “You are not the athlete that we ordered.”

Witness 24 said they developed a severe eating disorder as a result of the body composition testing and expectations, and they continue to have related mental health issues after graduating. They said both coaches constantly gave a teammate hell about their weight and fat-shamed them. They used the words brutal, damaging, machine-like, and meat grinder to describe the team culture, and compared it to military training.

Witness 25 described the program as intense but “not as destructive as other distance running programs.” Said the team culture was cutthroat but not toxic.

Witness 27 says Burroughs told them they needed to lose 10 pounds, and said they got injured because they gained weight. They saw a sports psychologist to work through the trauma they experienced as a result of their interactions with Wetmore and Burroughs. They transferred to another school and had a much better experience.

Witness 29 said their body fat and bone density numbers were low but Anderson and the medical team did not follow up, even though they were clearly in osteopenia. They realized they had disordered eating patterns for years after leaving CU and they were tired of these issues taking up so much space in their brain.

Witness 34 said she wasn't negatively impacted by Anderson’s testing, but she understands how it could have been harmful for others. After a poor race, she says Wetmore and Burroughs told her to go see Anderson because she looked like she had gained weight. But she said she had a positive experience on the team and would encourage others to run for CU.

Witness 35 said the team environment is harsh and, “It’s a business, you’re a number, and your value is related to the points you score.” They said runners were leaving CU depressed and with other mental health challenges. They talked to a CU runner from the 2000s who said they still have an eating disorder from training with Wetmore and Burroughs. Witness 35 said any performance advantages are not worth impacting people’s lives in this way.

Witness 36 said that when the body composition tests became optional, Anderson told the team, “You can come and see me and we can talk about brownie recipes instead, but not getting your body comp test done is completely asinine!” They said Burroughs told them they weren’t as good as they were in high school because they weigh more now. They developed an eating disorder while at CU, and Anderson ignored their request not to do the testing. They said Burroughs told them to run through stress reactions in both tibias and that she encouraged athletes not to get an MRI because then there’s a record of their injury and the athletic trainers would keep them from training. They continue to have mental health struggles as a result of their time in the program and called the culture “toxic” and “fucked.”

Witness 37 said they told the coaches they needed blood work because of their iron issues, and Burroughs told them there was nothing wrong, they were slow because they had gained too much weight. They report that Burroughs said they needed to lose at least 10 pounds if they wanted to race that year. They said nearly every year, at the start of the cross country season, Wetmore or Burroughs pulled them aside and said they “clearly hadn’t been running that summer because it was no secret they had gained a little weight.” They said they had roommates who had eating disorders and instead of encouraging them to get healthy, the coaches encouraged them to run more or keep losing weight.

Witness 39 said they hoped the coaches would be fired. They think the program has ruined careers and lives. They said they would forgo the rest of their eligibility rather than continuing to run for Wetmore and Burroughs. They said there was a “sink or swim” mentality within the program and if you are sinking, the coaches do nothing to help you up.

Witness 40 said the program is toxic and cliquey.

Witness 55 said that after a DEXA scan, they were told they needed to lose 10 pounds, and a senior talked to the team about running faster due to losing weight over the course of their CU career. Witness 55 developed an eating disorder and saw the same happen to both their male and female teammates. Because of the pressure, they tried to go off their anxiety medication to lose weight, and they have difficulty returning to Boulder now because of the memories it brings back. They said a teammate struggled with depression and suicidality and Burroughs told them to “go jump off a cliff already.”

Witness 58 said Wetmore would talk about team members’ weights and use skinfold calipers in front of the whole team. Witness 58 says they remember a teammate fasting because Wetmore told them they were fat. They had poor mental health because of the CU running program and eventually transferred.

Witness 60 said the distance environment was very toxic.

Witness 61 was at a track meet and was extremely cold. She said Wetmore asked her why she was cold and said, “We do not have you skinny enough to be cold.” She read the Runner’s World article in November 2022 and thought, “Oh my God, this is still going on.” 

Witness 63 appreciates everything Wetmore did for them, but said that how he handled body composition was dangerous and inappropriate. They said that after the women’s team didn’t perform well at nationals, Wetmore told the team they would have to have their body fat measured in the Bod Pod weekly. They say the women were told they should have 9–12% body fat for optimal performance.