Bert Morrow is a masters monster
My idol is Bert Morrow. He’d be yours too, if you knew his story. At age 69, he started hurdling. He’s since competed in 11 world masters championships. At age 89 he was the oldest human hurdler in history. Then a challenger showed up. A Japanese gent, age 90, ran hurdles — taking Bert’s Oldest Hurdler title. Now Bert is champing at the bit to start running barriers this season, his first in the M90 group.
Bert lives about 45 minutes north of me in Escondido, California — northern San Diego County. He’s amazing. When he got back from the 2001 Brisbane world WMA meet, he was angry about having lost the 80-meter hurdles to an 85-year-old Finn. He told me: “I can’t wait ’til I’m 90. I’m going to wipe them out when I’m 90.”
He turned 90 in November 2002. Now watch him fly. His target is Kizo Kimura, the Japanese hurdler who ran the 80-meter event (over 27-inch barriers) in 22.76 seconds in July 2001 at age 90. Morrow ran 26.09 in 2002, but mostly encountered problems with his step pattern. At the San Diego Senior Olympics, for example, he four-stepped almost all the way — but then forgot which leg was supposed to come up next. (Four-stepping is devilishly hard even for youngsters; it requires that you alternate lead legs every hurdle.)
I ran against Bert once. We were both in a 300-meter hurdles at Long Beach State, and his lane was next to mine. As I set my blocks, he smiled and thanked me for setting his. He was a little confused. I gently directed him back to his lane. He likes to call me Keith. Fine with me. He’s the Man.
Playing Boswell to Bert’s Johnson is California gerontologist Kelly Ferrin. She featured him in a book she wrote: “What’s Age Got to Do With It?” She’s been a friend and chauffeur ever since.
Bert also has friends and fans in high places. One is TV talk-show/movie star Rosie O’Donnell, who paid Bert’s way to several world WMA meets, including Gateshead, England, in 1999. She met him when he was a guest on her TV show.
Some years back, Bert was a TV star himself — being featured in a series of Chiquita banana commercials. Was called Banana Man for a while. His morning stretching is described. He also made some money as sponsor/user of an upside-down exercise mechanism.
But stardom has its limits. Early in 2002, Bert was asked to make another TV commercial. When he got to the shoot, it was raining. He prepared to run hurdles anyway. During the filming, he tore a groin muscle in the act of athleticism. Blew half his season.
But he’s back in 2003 — raring to reclaim his crown and the records. I’ll be cheering him from the sidelines. Stay tuned.
One Response
Alternating leadlegs, esp. in lowish hurdles need not be THAT difficult–provided you learn early. I used that pattern all thru HS, winning the 1955 NJ State Champs (Group I) in the 180 LH in 20.4, also running 13.5 for 120 LH in East Orange, all at age 16.
My breakthrough was at the Englewood Relays the previous, where I ran 3rd to eventual WR holder Elias Gilbert, then of Linden HS. Elias had his own breakthrough under Wilbur Ross (“The Hurdlers’ Bible”) at Winston-Salem, along with Russ Rogers, also NJ. Wilbur Ross showed up at a Montclair Decathlon in 1954; I beat him but he was already over 40. The Atlantic City AAU Decathlon featured the debut of Rafer Johnson (3rd behind hurdler Joel Shankle of Duke), of Kingsburg, CA, HS. I was one of several HS’ers, probably the youngest, at 15, to ever compete in the National Decathlon, mediocre sub-5000 Pts. not withstanding, though I did run 11.5 in the 100m on that soft cinder track, and was only a few of places behind overall winner Rev. Bob Richards (he cleared 15′ on steel, I did 11′)
Meanwhile, back to alternating strides, the advantage in lowish hurdles, esp. the “old” lows (20 yds. apart), is it allows you to sprint comfortably without stretching. Isn’t it considered an essential tool in the 400m IH? I loved it with the Masters spacings of a couple years ago, but have yet to try it with only 8.5m; I’ll give it a shot when my knee allows. I would encourage Masters to experiment with alternating strides; it does take repetition to begin to feel natural, so that you “automatically” lead with the leg that “comes up”. Sure beats chopping.
Leave a Reply