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The Half Full Triathlon in Columbia, Md. confirmed this week that Lance Armstrong will participate in the October 7 race. That’s great news for the race’s organizers, which are raising money for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.

It’s not without consequences, though. Because of a recent decision by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to impose a lifetime ban on Armstrong because of longstanding allegations of doping while he raced bicycles professionally, the event has had to forgo its status as a sanctioned race.

That, as the Baltimore Sun reports, means that the race has lost some prestige among elite athletes, will have to find insurance from somewhere other than the usual governing bodies and has left organizers open to accusations that they’re willing to bend the rules for the once seven-time winner of the Tour de France:

Robert Villanueva, an avid triathlete from Baltimore County who came in third in Ulman’s Half Full last year, planned to volunteer at the race this year. Then he heard Armstrong would be there.

“The race holds a special place in my heart, and he’s there, and it ruins it for me,” said Villanueva, who’s particularly upset that race organizers let go of their sanctioned status to allow Armstrong to compete. “It says it’s OK to bend the rules and to create a new set of rules for Lance.”

For organizers, though, it’s an obvious win—Armstrong remains a huge draw, and as a cancer survivor himself, is likely to draw in more donations and attention for the cause, they say.

“Half Full has always been about raising awareness and resources to support our programs in the young adult cancer fight,” said Ulman Cancer Fund COO and Half Full Race Director Brian Satola in a statement. “We thank Lance and the rest of our athletes for supporting an event that will enable us to change countless lives.”

In late August Armstrong decided not to enter an arbitration process with U.S. anti-doping authorities, during which the evidence against him would be publicly presented. Though Armstrong strenuously denied ever having doped—and never failed a drug test, he says—former teammates have come out and accused him of systemic doping when he rode for the U.S. Postal Service Team. The most recent is Tyler Hamilton, himself a former doper who just published The Secret Race, in which he says that Armstrong doped during his consecutive Tour de France victories.