Archive for July, 2011

Marathon man at Sacramento shares joy of winning own Olympics

I didn’t get up at 5 a.m. July 17 to cover the marathon at Sacramento worlds. Fortunately, first-person accounts are popping up in hometown papers like Terry McCluskey’s in Vienna, Ohio. Terry won M65 gold in the 26.2-miler at worlds. And the paper does his race justice. “It’s like the Olympics, but for those over […]

July 27, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Masters show they care: $3,500 for Joplin tornado relief efforts

Joplin wasn’t forgotten. The tornado-ravaged town in southwest Missouri — which hosted masters deca/hep nationals in 2010 — has benefited from masters trackfolk. The Rev. Tom Thorne writes: “A thank-you note … for putting our information out concerning the tornado fund. The masters combined-eventers and their friends have contributed over $3,500 to assist those affected […]

July 25, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Sacto was coming out party for M55 supersprinter Mark Davis

Track fans love the sport because the local high school star could be the Olympian of the future. In masters, that same kid could be a world champion in four decades. Meet Mark Davis. He’s my pick for Sacramento’s Coming Out of the Woodwork Award. Davis, a Caltech engineer from Pasadena, took 8th in the […]

July 24, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  14 Comments

Galleries galore! Lotsa photos added to Sacto worlds albums

You might see yourself. You might not. But I guarantee you’ll be impressed with the effort shown in the faces and sometimes wrinkly sinews of Sacramento entrants in our latest photo albums. Check out the distances (including steeple), the 200/400 sprints, augmented throws and more jumps. And best of all — last Sunday’s relays. Use […]

July 23, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  9 Comments

Sacramento story: How Jim Crittenden helped Greg Foster medal

Greg Foster, the masters jumper (not the Olympic hurdler), is a world champion. He also has a world-class story to tell from Sacramento worlds. He wrote me recently, and I’ll let him share it in his own words. It’s a beaut. “Personally, I had a wonderful experience at the meet,” Greg says. “What made it […]

July 22, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  4 Comments

Vaulters plan ‘Jock ‘N’ Roll’ at Berea masters nationals next week

Berea masters nationals start in a week, and athletes are already planning their parties. One features a band of musician vaulters. One writes: “M65 vaulter Bob Banghagel, M55 vaulter Mike Soule, M60 vaulter John Large and a couple more masters athletes to be named later, are going to be “doin’ a Gig” at a place […]

July 22, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  5 Comments

Johnnye Valien named USATF Athlete of the Week for Sacto WRs

Johnnye Valien has been around forever, it seems. I first met her in the mid-1990s, and later profiled her for The San Diego Union-Tribune. (She lives in Los Angeles but came down for a Senior Olympics meet.) Every five years, she goes bonkers. Sets a bunch of records. Sacramento worlds was her W85 coming out […]

July 21, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  12 Comments

Bill Bangert dies at 87; masters track pioneer from the 1960s

Bill Bangert, a pioneer of masters track profiled in Len Olson’s book, died July 12 after battling Parkinson’s disease, according to several online obituaries, including this one in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Inducted into the USATF Masters Track Hall of Fame last year, Bill’s career was summarized by Norm Green: “Bangert of Marthasville, MO, had […]

July 20, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Phil Raschker tells ESPN her new focus is turning 65 in February

Phil Raschker spoke to an ESPN correspondent at worlds, and the result is one of the better profiles of recent years. We learn from John Schumacher, a longtime Sacramento Bee scribe: “Raschker, 5-foot-4 and 105 pounds, typically spends one day a week in the weight room, then hits the track on four other days for […]

July 19, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  8 Comments

David Pain got rock star treatment at Sacramento world meet

The founder of masters track was the toast of the town for four days last week. David Pain, whose masters miles in the mid-1960s led to the first USA national masters meet in 1968 in San Diego, visited the General Assembly at Sacto on Thursday and witnessed track events on Friday and Sunday, including all […]

July 19, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment