Age Is No Barrier (PDF)
a colorful history of masters track in Australia by
Bryan Thomas, is a book published several years ago. Itās now online as a
154-page PDF with lots of photos. Bryan draws on earlier works by
Jack Pennington and
Gloria Seymons. Lots of ground covered. It notes the āfun runsā of the early 1960s involving older ājoggers,ā which helped inspire the American running boom when
Bill Bowerman paid a visit to
Arthur Lydiard. The book notes the intersections of Aussie and U.S. masters track, especially
David Painās track tours in the early 1970s. In 1968, however, Aussie distance star
Cliff Bould stayed with David at the first American masters nationals in San Diego. (Cliff won the 3- and 6-mile runs and the marathon in the over-50 division.). āIn 1969,ā the book recalls, ā
Richard Nixon, USA President, gave the veteransā movement valuable credibility when he said in a letter supporting the 2nd U.S. Masters Championships in San Diego: āIt gives men over 40 the opportunity to engage in athletic competition ā¦Age should be no barrier in the pursuit of excellenceāā
In 1971, the first New South Wales meet in Sydney had four age groups: 35-39 years (designated as Juniors), 40-49 (Seniors), 50-59 (Masters) and over 60 years (Grand Masters).
āAn interesting condition attached to a participantās entry requirements for these and other early veteransā championships, was that āa Doctorās Certificate only required if you had not participated this seasonāā
The book cites a warmup meet at San Diegoās āBilboa Stadium.ā (Make that Balboa.) In San Diego, Wal Sheppard set M50 world records in the 800 and 1500 of 2:06 and 4:24.2, respectively.
The current listed WRs are 1:58.65 (by Nolan Shaheed) and 4:05.2 (by an Aussie, Tom Roberts). The Aussies are still awesome.
2 Responses
Please note that David’s efforts for the first USA Nationals included contact with the President, Congressman and former Olympians. Mr. Ryan being in two of those catagories. David worked hard to grow the sport.
The M50 world 1500m record of 4:05.2 by my old friend and rival, Tom Roberts was set in March 1984, it is one of the oldest records on the books. Knee troubles overtook him, his last WMA championship was Gateshead
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