Hartshorne Diary: Peter Taylor regains his focus after car scare
Peter Taylor
My Sixth Trip to the Hartshorne Mile
Friday, January 20
It’s 4:38 a.m., and here we go again. For the sixth consecutive year, I will be driving up to the Hartshorne Mile in Ithaca, New York, and what a pleasure it will be. I will be the announcer, the only announcer, and I hope I can do well.
4:50 a.m.: I’ve thought a lot about tomorrow’s races, and I have focused in particular on W40+ elite. World 800 and 1500 champ Sonja Friend-Uhl is coming up from Brentwood, Tennessee, and world steeplechase champ Lisa Ryan is traveling from Sioux City, Iowa. All-everything Alisa Harvey, who lives in Manassas, Virginia, will be there as well, as will Bernadine Pritchett of London, England.
Sonja Friend-Uhl showed a great deal of optimism by telling a newspaper reporter that she was looking to break the American W40 record of 4:47.26 (also the world record). If we were running outdoors in appropriate weather, she might be able to do it, but the race will go around 16 turns on a flat track, and thus I can’t see a 4:47. The meet record for 40+ is 4:51.32, but I don’t think that will be approached. Look for Sonja to run about 4:56.70. I expect Alisa Harvey to be second in about 5:05.50, which will be interesting because the American record for W45 is 5:04.02, another one of Alisa’s marks.
M40+ has a smallish field, and I look for Charlie Kern of Illinois to win with complete authority. Last year, with Nick Berra in the hunt, Charlie ran 4:20.50, but this year, without Nick, I look for 4:23.10 or so. Charlie is an impeccable stylist and fun to watch.
The W50+ race will be very interesting, but it seems impossible that anyone other than Lorraine Jasper of Pennsylvania will be in front at the end. Terri Cassel of Oklahoma should be second, with defending champion, and local favorite Suzanne Myette third.
The M50+ race will be tricky, as two of the runners, Mike Egle of Illinois and David Cannon of Washington, will run in the M40+ race. They will score against the M50+ runners, however. Conor O’Driscoll should cross the line first when the M50+ runners do their thing, with Tom Cawley an extremely close second. But again, they will score against Mike Egle and David Cannon as well as the others in their race. I hope it works out.
5:05 a.m.: I am pretty exhausted from my truncated sleep, but I don’t have to run tomorrow, just announce.
After working out at my fitness club in Fairfax (27 minutes on elliptical, 11 minutes on stationary bike, 13:05 on recumbent bike, then a few pull-downs), I shower, then head for Ithaca. Stop in Bethesda, Maryland, for a haircut (yes, even I need one), and tell Sunny, the haircutter, that I hope to be in Ithaca in 6 hours. Sunny is from Pusan, South Korea, and she has no idea where Ithaca is. Not to worry; I take off at 11:23 a.m. from the parking lot and head north.
2:15 p.m. (approximate) What’s this? I am just below Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, on Route 15 North and I notice that my temperature gauge is on “hot.” It’s all the way up. This is the worst possible news. Is my engine on fire? I can’t believe my misfortune. Decide to hang on for 5 miles or so. I just can’t bring the needle down no matter what I do. Curses.
I enter the parking lot of a repair shop and notice they are very busy—at least a 2-hour wait, they say. After learning that I live in Virginia, the man who writes the service tickets takes pity on me and says he will look at (but not fix) my engine. He opines that the temperature gauge, not the engine, is at fault. Advises me to blast the heat whenever the gauge gets high and, wonder of wonders, it comes back to normal after a few minutes.
I do this perhaps 15 times between Selinsgrove and Ithaca. Of course, I am toying with the gauge, not the engine. Or so I believe (I know nothing about cars).
6:06 p.m.: Pull into the hotel parking lot in Ithaca. Again, my engine is not hot, not smoking, there seems to be nothing abnormal about it, but the needle for the temperature gauge will go all the way to the top unless I blast heat. Strange.
I have a nice time at the restaurant in Ithaca, and I get somewhat overconfident.
Saturday, January 21
After waking up at 4:05 or so, I lie around until about 5:27, then get up. I realize I have gotten lazy, too confident about the meet. I am not well-prepared. I do some studying and determine that two runners in particular have a shot at a record. Alisa Harvey could break her own American W45 mark of 5:04.02, and David Cannon could break Nolan Shaheed’s 4:42.89 for M55 (world and American). I do some studying.
The meet goes pretty well. Sonja Friend-Uhl does not run 4:56.70, as I had predicted. Instead, she runs 4:49.82, breaking the meet record but not Alisa Harvey’s W40 world standard of 4:47.26. Wow, is she good. Powerful, great form, yes. I just didn’t think she would be ready to run a fast time in January on a flat track with 16 turns. Feels great to be wrong.
Nolan Shaheed starts well, seems to fall back a bit, then resumes his strong pace. Eventually his intention reveals itself; he is going for his world mark of 4:57.06. But instead of just dropping under it he obliterates the record, running an unconscious 4:50.96. Put him up there with Bob Lida (27.03 200 at age 75 a couple of weeks ago); this is a quantum leap. You go, Nolan.
Alisa Harvey runs 5:05.95 (I had predicted 5:05.50). At the banquet at the Ithaca Country Club that evening, I say that if I had to do it over again I would have paid more attention to Alisa, as she had a shot at her 5:04.02 mark. I had been concentrating on Sonja Friend-Uhl’s attempt at a world record and, after all, Sonja was out in front.
Saturday afternoon and evening, January 21
After the races are over, Tom Hartshorne takes me back to his house. From there we go to the banquet. I do some interviews for National Masters News; one woman I approach in the food line gets so upset with me (I was not going to interview her, just talk about her race and her training) that she walks out of the line without saying a word. Not good; I want to apologize to her, but that would make things worse.
In the evening the DJ starts spinning, and for the second year in a row Lorraine Jasper asks me to dance. I do a fair job at first, but after about 30 minutes my shirt is soaked and my form turns to poor. Lorraine distinguishes herself on the floor, however, as do fellow competitors Julie Hankin of Pennsylvania, Annie Bunting of Canada and Kathy Haubrich of Minnesota. Others also dance well, but these are runners who, more or less, dance with me, at least at times. Julie Hankin even has a maneuver in which she puts her hands on the floor and does one or two push-ups as part of the dance. Nice.
Sunday, January 22
About 9:02 a.m.: One of the women who ran yesterday sees me in the lobby of the hotel (I had told her I would be leaving at 9:20). She suggests I get a coffee, and I say I don’t drink coffee.
What about tea?
“I don’t drink tea.”
She then gives me an out (because it looks like I am avoiding her), saying I must be set to hit the road. Actually, it’s very strange. In truth, I am a bit cowed by her—am I worthy? I won’t reveal her name; I just feel that she has so much going for her in so many different ways that having a one-on-one breakfast with her will put me to shame, reveal me as a very uninteresting fellow. Odd. Eventually I settle for orange juice and we have our breakfast. By the end I hope she understands that I really enjoy her company.
I say my goodbye and hit the road. Six hours and 25 minutes later I reach Fairfax Racquet Club, having blasted the heat perhaps 35 times to get the temperature gauge back to normal. I do the elliptical for 28:10, then the recumbent bike for 23:05. Weigh out and find I have lost 3.75 pounds since Friday.
Overall, I grade out at 88 for announcing (although Tom Hartshorne gives me a higher mark). Hope to do this meet again next year.
P.S.: On rereading what I wrote on Friday, I can note the following: (1) The sound system is much improved over previous years. (2) Neither Lisa Ryan of Iowa nor Terri Cassel of Oklahoma made the race (problems with snow). (3) Lorraine Jasper indeed won 50+, and very easily. (4) Charlie Kern was late and ended up running with the collegians.
12 Responses
Fantastic event. Congratulations to Tom and all the organizers for hosting such a competitive and social meet. Never thought Ithaca in late January would be so enjoyable. Great job Peter.
Thanks, Conor. You did cross the line first in the 50s race, as I had predicted before I left home on Friday.
Just to clarify, I am doing the National Masters News story on the Hartshorne Mile, and thus the account above is a personal rendition rather than a complete reporting of the nine races that were held on Saturday in Ithaca.
PT
So it’s obvious you are a great writer as well as announcer. Car update? Glad you’re safe sir!
Well, I will take the car in tomorrow, Bubba. It’s icy today, and I am not traveling more than 11 miles or so today (in all).
Thanks for compliment. I hit a 99 level in my announcing early in the Hartshorne meet but got a little too relaxed and fell back to an overall 88.
Will work on my dancing for next year’s rendition of the event (my dancing graded out at about 32 of a possible 100, but Lorraine J., Annie B., Julie H., and Kathy H. all graded out at above 90).
Great job summing up the crazy weekend’s events, Peter! I was going to email to make sure you got home OK – was worried about the car situation. I had my own car woes and my car limped into the driveway Saturday night. It was wonderful to see you, as always and to chat during dinner. Stay safe in that ice.
Thank you Peter! Another great year of announcing. I am impressed with your prediction of my final mile time (5:05.5). You know your T&F!
See you at the local meets.
Thank you, Alisa. Looking forward to seeing you at the local meets. Thank your husband for helping me with my frosted, ice- and snow-covered car.
Bubba (post no. 3). Took the car to the dealer, but they recommended I take it back to the repair shop that had installed two new hoses, a thermostat, and a gasket on January 9. I’m reading the bill from the repair shop right now:
Had thermostat replaced on 1-9-12 invoice number 5…….. Had to reinspect vehicle for overheating. Notice that the lower radiator hose was cold. Remove the thermostat and seen (sic) that it had been installed backwards. Replace the thermostat under warranty.
PT
Charge this time was $0.00.
Hi Peter, this is Don Cheek–I’ve put this comment off for a long time–as you (track historian) know I come from the Thane Baker, Dick Stolpe, Al Guidet, Dave Jackson, Ossie Dawkins era of Master T&F–having run in the First World Track and Field Championships in Toronto, Canada (Aug. 1975—won the 400 meters 45-49 beating my friend H. Chandra, Singapore—victory memories still sweet at my age of 82). Bill Collins reporting the death of John Hartfield at 67 motivated me to say a “Thank You” to you and many others who have helped “Keep the Faith” of Masters over the past years.With a deep and abiding hearfelt appreciation for how track has enriched (and changed) my life, it is good to salute you and others (Ken Stone, Randy Sturgeon, Brenda Matthews, Bill Collins to name a few). This kind of commitment nourishes the values and tradition of not just the pursuit of excellence in competition but allows for you to be the custodian of true and authentic caring and sharing (the essental foundation of love and unity in the human condition).We all have experienced this in our t&f experience. I felt it when the late Don Palmer insisted that I share his lane when other lanes were taken—I felt it when the blond, blue-eyed son of Dick Stolpe ran as my son in the father-son relay in San Diego (at his Dad’s request, and we won)—I was part of it at UCLA when USATF officials did not show up and the athletes got together and ran their own meet–to hell with records we said–also saw it when David Pain arranged for South African competition breaking the laws of apartheid (before it was popular). Some of us feel we owe a lot to Masters T&F–so before my days are over, and I break the tape for the last time, we say thanks and keep the faith–as a man I admires said–“And the dream goes on”.
Nicely stated, Don. Thanks for your kind words.
“And in lane 4, out of Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, Don CHEEK.”
Wow–what a memory (or are you just that old?)At any rate, accurate as usual.
Thank you, Don. What I do, if you want to know my secret, is that I think of the person and then let my mind wander to the place on the map I associate with that person. In your case I let my mind settle on the upper half of New Jersey, and then I focus in on Seton Hall.
For Nolan Shaheed I can focus on Pasadena, California, for Khalid Mulazim on northern Ohio, for Alisa Harvey on Manassas, Virginia, etc. Not very difficult.
Not very difficult. . except that most of us can’t remember the capital of a neighboring state much less another athlete’s hometown and alma mater. Taylor’s memory bank still has the sharp barbs of a newly formed rose firmly planted in the earth capable of grabbing a hold of a thousand details and recalling all, unlike mine which feels like it has fallen into the stream and rolled and rolled – good for perhaps catching one thought at a time as long as it was not too far back in time.
Last Saturday Peter had what I believe was his best performance announcing our races here in Ithaca
since his first go round 6 years ago (I might have said 5 without Peter’s reminder above). The speaker system was good, but he was better, able to speak at the right time, appropriate decibel level and catch the attention of even the myriad of college kid wandering around the track lost in their ipod tunes with commentary like, “and here comes Shaheed for the bell. . .looks like a world record in the making. . .Shaheed on the backstretch. . .Shaheed to the line. . . Shaheed has a world record!”
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