YouTube shows age-graded handicap 200 in Texas
Hey, we can YouTube, too! M55 sprinter Rick Riddle provides a link to a 3-minute video featuring introductions and the race of seven masters sprinters, ages 42 to 70, at a March 31 meet at University of Texas-Arlington. What a show! Rick takes the race, but the masters movement is the big winner. This shows how we can preserve our moments of fleeting fame. Rick writes: “The age-graded race was a crowd favorite. If you watch the video you will hear the crowd roar as the young guys try to reel in the older runners with the head start.â€
Rick also wrote:
The field, as you see from the times shown, was closely grouped and competitive.
Wayne Bennett was responsible for assembling the field of athletes and did a great job of organizing and making things easy for UTA meet officials. . . .
The meet was a large collegiate and open meet that included a legal 10.13, 100 meter race run/won by Darvis (Doc) Patton. About a half-hour after our masters race, Jeremy Wariner competed in the open 200 section. Also, 2004 Olympian La Shauntia Moore finished 2nd in the women’s open 100 meters in 11.49, a blink behind Virgil Hodge of TCU.
My personal observation from the race is that the system of age grading worked well with the closely matched field Wayne brought together at UTA. The race was also a big crowd favorite.
The racing experience was also unique in that as I looked down the homestretch of the last 90 meters it felt like Mission Impossible to catch the older runners. That feeling is somewhat different than the feeling of racing with our age peers. The young runners need to remember to not surrender mentally and the older runners have to recognize the younger ones are moving up faster than their usual older peer.
Also, on behalf of all the masters athletes I would like to thank the University of Texas-Arlington for giving us a little time and track in a very busy collegiate meet.
Age grade results and distances run
Lane Athlete Meters Run Time
Lane 4 Rick Riddle, age 55 172.9 21.69
Lane 8 Wayne Bennett, age 70 155.8 21.75
Lane 5 Reggie Garner, age 47 182.5 22.02
Lane 3 Ed Jones, age 62 164.9 22.12
Lane 6 Michael Labay, age42 188.6 22.32
Lane 7 Don Denson, age 66 160.4 22.40
Lane 2 Rick Easley, age 53 175.3 23.47
YouTube links for video:
Long version with introductions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxrdrIISTiI
shorter version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOZxxjiXvhI
One Response
This is great , way to go Wayne in putting this together, wished I could have been able to participate
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