Archive for October, 2011

M100 Indian sets 8 world records in succession? Check ID first

The Toronto Star is reporting that a turbaned phenom set or broke eight M100 world records in the course of 5,000-meter run. See story and video here. Story says: “Fauja Singh ran through eight track events in succession at Birchmount Stadium in Scarborough as part of a charity event, Sikhs in the City. Singh, who […]

October 13, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  23 Comments

‘Autumn Gold’ debuts Nov. 27 on USA’s Documentary Channel

Jan Tenhaven sends wunderbar news from Berlin: His milestone masters track movie, with footage from Lahti worlds, airs Nov. 27 in America. But only if you get the Documentary Channel. Which I don’t. Drat. Jan, who directed “Autumn Gold,” says the cable channel “will air the shorter international version, which is slightly different from the […]

October 12, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

‘Age of Champions’ to screen in Austin with live M85 vault demo

Most movies about masters track don’t include screenings preceded by live pole vaulting demonstrations by 89-year-olds. But that’s what Keith Ochwat is promising about the PBS documentary “Age of Champions.” The movie focuses on several athletes competing at the 2009 National Senior Games in Palo Alto, including a 100-year-old tennis phenom. Keith says: “The film has […]

October 11, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  9 Comments

If director Steve Miller has his way, USATF will kiss masters goodbye

Recently, Track & Field News ran an eye-opening interview with USATF board member Steve Miller in which he said: “I feel that there are only two areas that need to be engaged first and foremost — the elite athlete and the pre-high school athlete. Period.” See it here. This makes masters track (among other elements) […]

October 9, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  38 Comments

Bobby Whilden and Myrle Mensey finish season with more records

National Masters News reports in an email blast that Bobby Whilden, 76, has again broken his American record in the 100-meter dash — his latest being a fantastic 13.55 Wednesday at the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah. “The wind was a legal 1.9 meters per second,” NMN says. “His time just missed […]

October 9, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  5 Comments

Columnist Pete Magill seeks stories from medicine-taking masters

Pete Magill, the best runner/writer in masters track, writes: “I’ve been following Ken’s recent posts on medications/PED use (Craig Shumaker’s positive result and the anonymous essay on health-related drug usage, including testosterone), as well as the numerous comments attached to each post. And I’m convinced that this is a major issue that masters track, road […]

October 7, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  5 Comments

Guilty of wanting to compete: An athlete’s essay on drug-testing

Nothing I say about drug-testing of American masters could be as eloquent as the following essay from an athlete who asked to remain anonymous. In a note to me, the athlete wrote: “I think for every Val Barnwell, there are many more athletes like myself. There needs to be a commonsense approach to drug testing […]

October 6, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  54 Comments

Kathryn Martin named USATF Athlete of the Week for Syracuse 5K

Kathryn Martin is so consistently dominant in her age group that we (meaning I) take her honors for granted. Thank goodness, the folks at Indy recognize her every once in a while. Her latest eye-opener is described here: “Martin has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after setting an age-group American […]

October 6, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments

Huntsman World Senior Games field results first to begin trickling in

It’s time again for the annual Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah. Sanctioned by USATF, the meet at Snow Canyon High School began today and runs through Thursday. Field event results were the first to arrive, and track director Cindi Blevins will ship running results later, she says. This meet has character, and nostalgic events: […]

October 3, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Aussie and Kiwi athletes are named IAAF Best Masters for 2011

World Masters Athletics, led by Aussie President Stan Perkins, has named an Australian lady and New Zealand gent as IAAF Best Masters of 2011. WMA Secretary Winston Thomas of Britain writes on the WMA website: “Congratulations to all the entrants; this has been the most number of athletes nominated since the start of the WMA […]

October 2, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  13 Comments