Archive for April, 2014

Next great masters beer miler? First sub-5’er has viral video

At age 34, James Nielsen made history Sunday by becoming the first beer miler to go sub-5. So when he turns 35, I’m sure he’ll have the potential to becomes the greatest masters beer miler in history. I wrote about James’ feat on Times of San Diego. Back in 2007, I posted Dave Clingan’s hilarious […]

April 30, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  8 Comments

Phil Felton, Penn Relays masters coordinator, deserves thanks

The Rev. Dick Camp, an M75 sprinter who ran the featured masters 100 at Penn on Saturday, penned a nice note to Phil Felton, who coordinates masters events. Dick shared his email, a model for how we might thank the unsung officials of masters track. Dick wrote Phil: “Thank you for your outstanding leadership in […]

April 29, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  13 Comments

Striders Meet of Champions is Saturday at Santa Ana College

Deadline looms for one of the top SoCal masters meets — the Striders Meet of Champions. The venue this year is Santa Ana College. Saturday’s meet is USATF-sanctioned, and you can enter by mail or online at Direct Athletics until 8 p.m. Pacific on May 1. You can see likely competition by perusing last year’s […]

April 28, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Thad Wilson inducted into county Hall of Fame near Manhattan

Rockland County is in New York, and until a few days ago I didn’t know it had a Sports Hall of Fame. But when my M60 hurdle friend Thad Wilson was inducted in the hall Saturday night, I cheered from afar. The local paper profiled Thad in advance of the ceremony, and the best part […]

April 27, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  15 Comments

Drake Relays 800 titles go to Lance Elliott, Chris Gentile

With Nick Berra elsewhere, Lance Elliott had the Drake Relays to himself this year, winning the masters 800 Friday for the second time in three years. He clocked 2:03.50 at age 43. On the women’s side, 44-year-old Chris Gentile notched a 12-second victory Saturday over another Chris — Christine Price — 2:24.95 to 2:37.20. Lance […]

April 26, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Masters fields being assembled for Jim Ryun Festival of Miles

Jim Ryun is teaming with Competitor Group and others to put on the Jim Ryun Festival of Miles on June 5 at Balboa Stadium in San Diego — 50 years to the day after his historic first sub-4 as a high school junior at the Compton Invitational. I spoke to Jim last week before the […]

April 26, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  4 Comments

Masters fast at Penn Relays, where Flotrack seeks quick buck

With only a couple masters races left Friday, it appears we had some powerful marks at Penn Relays. More relays and individual events will be contested Saturday. M40 Nate Sickerson posted the day’s fastest 100 at 11.18 with a legal wind, but very impressive was M50 Lonnie Hooker’s 11.36, which would rank second only to […]

April 25, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Forget the pole vault! I’m now the biggest fan of the Soule Vault

Mike Soule, the musician and M60 vaulter, is featured in his local Minnesota paper. Headline is: ‘Flying through the air is really kind of fun’ and so is the story. He’s not a superstar jumper this year, but I share his attitude of “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” He says: “I’m really […]

April 24, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

M60 Bob Hahn boasts Texas-sized appetite for masters hurdling

I admire a lot of masters athletes. A few I also envy. One is Bob Hahn of Texas, an M60 hurdler I’ve known for many years. He’s well-traveled (the source of my envy). I didn’t know his backstory until his local paper profiled him. “The games have taken him across the globe,” we learn. “He’s […]

April 23, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  7 Comments

Healthways seeks stories of masters overcoming own hurdles

Our Seattle friend Jessica Seyfert has put out a call for stories of people “who have achieved greatness and overcome challenging hurdles, sometimes literally!” She writes: “Consider your peers who may need a little extra dose of inspiration to get off the couch and start moving, one step at a time. Consider the person who’s […]

April 22, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments