Archive for March, 2010
Book review: ‘Running on Third Wind’ a second look at top columns
Mike Tymn is my hero, and my envy. He lives in Hawaii, writes almost exclusively about masters running and — like one of those everyday-streak-runners — just keeps churning out marvelous slice-of-life vignettes. Year after year. National Masters News, from which these 72 columns were taken, has been his home base for more than 30 […]
March 31, 2010
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Book review: ‘Masters Athletics’ is an academic tour de force
Authors Kryzysztof Kusy and Jacek Zielinski sent me their academic masterpiece three years ago, and I’m ashamed it’s taken me this long to give it proper due (even though I noted its existence in February 2007). The book, which debuted as a “monograph” at the July 2006 Eurovets championships, is a serious look at masters […]
March 30, 2010
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Book review: ‘The Ultimate High Jump Manual’ falls short of promise
Since Ron Lee, my M45 high jump friend, isn’t a professional author, I’ll forgive him the hyperbole. This is far from the “ultimate” book on high jumping. That would mean chapters on the history of the event, its superstars, record progressions, top coaches, most dramatic competitions (like the Atlanta 1996 men’s high jump I witnessed […]
March 29, 2010
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Book review: ‘Periodized Sports Psychology’ is not about shortcuts
I watched a lot of Vancouver coverage with perverse curiosity. Where did the bobsledders get the guts to go down that deadly run? How did that Canadian figure skater overcome her emotions after her mother died? How did Shaun White get that superconfidence to execute those half-pipe tricks? Although Brian Risk wrote “Periodized” before the […]
March 28, 2010
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Book Review Week: Check out my takes on masters titles
Starting tomorrow, I’m reviewing seven books worthy of your attention — all relevant to masters track. Listed alphabetically by author, the titles are: “Second Wind: The Rise of the Ageless Athlete” by masters sprinter and newspaperman Lee Bergquist, “Masters Athletics: Social, Biological and Practical Aspects of Veterans Sport” by Krzystof Kusy and Jacek Zielinski, “The […]
March 27, 2010
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Ralph Maxwell going where few hurdlers have gone before: past 90
The USATF preview of Boston indoor nationals starting today focuses on the big names – the Raschkers, Collinses, Hanscoms, Shaheeds, etc. But my attention will be riveted to results of an event scheduled for 4:35 p.m. local time Saturday: the men’s 80-94 60-meter hurdles. If Ralph Maxwell competes as suggested by his entry, he will […]
March 26, 2010
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USATF offers $220,000 in grants — and masters invited to apply!
OK, it’s put-up-or-shutup time. Masters athletes, clubs and organizations have been invited to apply for a share of $220,000 in “challenge grants” from USA Track & Field. This apparently is part of the program telegraphed at the last annual convention. It’s not under the USATF Foundation, which snipped “masters” out of its mission statement. Complete […]
March 25, 2010
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Scottish gent won 2 throws golds at Kamloops — after stroke
Comebacks from injury are part and parcel of masters track. Some go the extra mile, getting heart transplants or new knees. But this story from Scotland just frightens me: “A retired athletics coach from Edinburgh has become a double world champion hammer thrower – in his first competition after suffering a stroke. Bill Gentleman, 70, […]
March 25, 2010
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Nolan Shaheed joins the kiddies in Sports Illustrated’s latest FITC
Nolan Shaheed gets his 15 seconds of fame in the current (March 29) issue of Sports Illustrated. See “Faces in the Crowd” on page 18. The SI folks wrote to USATF, seeking a portrait, and they used the big smile I shot at 2008 Spokane nationals. Cool! Nolan was celebrated not for his latest mile […]
March 24, 2010
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Four world indoor records reported at Nordic champs in Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä, Finland, site of the 2012 WMA world indoor meet, saw four world records last weekend, report the Koops in Gemany. They write of the Nordic championships: “Along with a number of national records (including nine Finnish national records) showed high levels of these two world records . . . The Finn Leo Saarinen improved […]
March 24, 2010
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