Back to the ’90s: Striders president calls for detente on meet dates

Robert Richardson wants more masters meets, fewer conflicts.

Robert Richardson, the national-class M60 jumper and sprinter, has taken the baton as new president of the Southern California Striders from nine-year leader Brenda Matthews. And he’s fast out of the blocks. At the masters track club’s annual awards banquet Nov. 23, he recalled how the late 1990s had more meet opportunities for SoCal masters. In recent years, however, some meets have fallen out of the deck and others fallen on the same date. So Rob’s idea: Can’t we agree not to step on each other’s spikes? He’d like to see meet directors avoid conflicting dates. This is a tall task, but it’s long overdue. All meets would benefit if they don’t force athletes to choose. Have other regions made similar efforts? The Striders banquet also was graced by Olympian Bryshon Nellum, who made the storybook comeback from gunshot wounds to his legs to make the London team in the 400 and 4×4 and won the 2013 NCAA 400 title for USC. I asked him about his prospects for a professional contract (he still doesn’t have one), and his coach, Ron Allice, added some perspective. The light was too dim, so I used photos in this video.