You have to trust the people that are supposed to be looking after the sport and you.

Clearly sometimes that trust can be misplaced.

A lot of athletes have a strange way of working in terms of our year. The season is from May until August so we have a break in September and that's the only time I relax and drink a bit which can raise the level of testosterone in the body. You put on a bit of weight and don't go near the runners and by the end of the month you've had enough and you're almost hungry to get back into training. Last year my doping test took place on 30 September which was the very last day of my break. I'd been out the night before and was flying to Florida for warm-weather training that afternoon.

Unbeknownst to me until June this year, the Irish Sports Council (ISC) analysed my test for eight months. Within a month of the test the IAAF were notified that there was a high level of testosterone showing. The IAAF said they've a test to deal with these cases and can determine very quickly if the testosterone is my own or if it's artificial. The test came back negative and the IAAF were happy to close the file on my case. All of which took place less than one month after my initial test yet eight months before I received any formal notification.

Yet the ISC's decision to pursue the investigation further is still something I find most difficult to fathom. As athletes, we have a code of conduct to follow. Every three months we receive a leaflet letting us know what is expected of us when it comes to drug testing. But those in charge of testing also have a code of conduct and you'd expect them to follow it. They have to test the athlete, obtain the results, notify the athlete of those results and then carry out a further investigation if necessary. But they went straight from test the athlete, get the results, to carry out a further investigation. They ignored their own rules to an extent which is mind-boggling.

So on 12 June, nine months after my test, I was left in a situation where I was getting ready for the European Championships and the season ahead when I was told by the ISC they had carried out a nine-month investigation without my knowledge or involvement. I received a phone call which suspended me from all athletics competition. The very next day a 1,600-page file documenting the investigation carried out into my test results arrived at my door and subsequently I was given 48 hours to respond to the allegations or I would be suspended indefinitely. That was a staggering series of events to cope with and put my life on hold. I guess I've been very lucky because in my family and friends I have a great support network and they were very quick to go into action mode with me. But without all this you are sunk before you start in terms of defending yourself and I would hate to think of this happening to someone who wasn't in a position to defend themselves and clear their name.

I firmly believe that this whole saga calls into question the fairness and integrity of the administration of the antidoping rules in our country. If you didn't have access to the range of legal and medical expertise that I was lucky enough to be able to tap into, then other innocent athletes like myself would almost certainly be convicted wrongly.

The costs are astronomical, particularly when the prosecution, as in my case, consists of two complete legal teams, representing both Athletics Ireland and the ISC. You can see the difficulties that poses and forces you to take on the most expert help you can get simply to prove your innocence. I feel saddened to think that justice requires a sizable financial risk, that other athletes, who may find themselves in my position, may simply not be able to come up with.

And this isn't just about Gareth Turnbull, it's about the potential for this to happen again to others if the system doesn't change and I have wondered how many people have been in my position before because they simply didn't have the funds or the information to defend themselves. So this is only the start.

Practically speaking, I should be training in America. I'm not. The Lottery funding will be assessed and they'll say I haven't competed, so the impact of this case still continues to affect my life. I simply want to return to normality and make sure that the next time my name hits the headlines it will be for something I have done on the track as opposed to something I haven't done off it.