February 2008 Archives

Allan Williams of Blackheath and Bromley AC is an outstanding M50 pole vaulter. His teammate Tom Phillips says Allan recently returned from knee surgery and is jumping well. But when I spotted his picture in Tom's latest masters shots of UK indoor nationals, I was curious about his USATF top. (That's our cross-dresser du jour.)

Allen Johnson turns 37 Saturday, and admits he's not going to win the 60-meter hurdles at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain. But he's shooting for sub-7.50, an amazing time for a masters athlete. Gene Cherry of Reuters wrote a nice story about AJ's quest. A bittersweet ending: "He said the most difficult part, aside from the aches and pains of age which affect his workouts, was the boredom. 'Nothing is really new to me,' Johnson said. 'At first I was running against my idols. Now my idols are retired, long retired.' " Hey, Allen! You just need new idols. Here's one for you. See U in 50 years!

Carter Holmes, 58, dearly wanted to compete in the pentathlon at the WMA world indoor championships in France. But life happened, and he probably won't go. He's just content to speak French, which he studied in advance of the planned trip. Carter has come out of a four-day coma following a heart attack. And Jim Ferstle's amazing blog account tells his story. Equally wonderful is Jim's report on how fellow University of Minnesota track alum Shani Marks helped save his life.

After Sunday's 800 final at the AT&T USA Indoor Championships, third-placer Morgan Uceny, 22, approached the woman she had beaten by less than 2 seconds. Morgan asked Alisa Harvey: "Excuse me, I don't want to be rude -- but how old are you?" Alisa says she just laughed and told her, "42." (Twenty years older!) That's just one of several entertaining anecdotes Alisa shares of her Boston nationals experience, where she lowered her W40 American indoor record and provisionally qualified for June's Olympic Trials. Alisa, who has been called the Tiger Woods of masters track, is just as compelling an athlete as the golf icon.

Charmaine Roberts drew Lane 6 for the masters women's 400 exhibition at the Boston open nationals last Sunday. Lane 5 was empty. That's understandable, since Alisa Harvey had scratched to focus on the open 800 finals. Charmaine made the most of it, however, winning the race in just over a minute. Charmaine turns 41 in mid-April, and graciously consented to a quick interview. I began by asking if she had been hammered by the miserable weather, which forced a 2-hour delay in some events.

Olympic champ Maria Mutola is still near the top of her game, the 800, but she told the IAAF she's bound and determined to hang up her spikes, even though she's only 35. So be it. But it's cool that the M-word is popping up with regularity. The IAAF reports: "On a statistical note, Mutola joined the Master category last 27 October when she turned 35, but she laughingly comments: 'Frankly, I don’t think of that. The only important thing for me is to reach the goals I have set in Valencia and Beijing. I believe 35 is a perfect age to say at the end of the season, 'OK, time to get off.' Possibly I will compete a few times at the permits scheduled after the Olympics but my decision to retire from athletics is adamant."

Britain's Fran Scott, a 49-year-old sprinter, was fighting liver cancer when I noted his struggle last September. Last Sunday, he died, according to an email message sent by UK Masters Team Manager Maurice Doogan. "I cannot say more, than to pass on the words and sentiments of Kermitt Bentham and Steve Peters, which I outline below," began Maurice's note, sent to UK masters. "It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to tell you that Francis Scott (Fran) passed away on Sunday 24th February."

My masters moles remind me that it's not the America Wide Web. Records are falling across The Pond as well. Word arrived yesterday of a wonderful W50 world indoor record for 3,000 meters. Spanish masters champion Aurora Perez ran the nearly 2-mile distance in 10:06.36 Saturday in her country's open nationals in Valencia. Aurora took more than 11 seconds off the listed age-group WR of 10:17.53 by Britain's Pat Gallagher in 1997. (But Aurora also has a pending mark of 10:11.70.) A running forum celebrates her feat (and includes a great photo). The results are here (but seem to be be missing the 3K). Aurora is entered in the 3K at worlds in mid-March.

Congrats to Kamloops! Canadian and WMA brass have confirmed what we telegraphed earlier: Kamloops, British Columbia, will host the 4th World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships. The dates are March 1-6, 2010, according to Brian Keaveney, head of the Canadian Masters Athletics Association and president of the North, Central America and Caribbean WMA region. Meanwhile, another high WMA official informs me that Kamloops was awarded the 2010 WMA Indoor Championships "by overwhelming vote of the WMA Council" (with Britain's Winston Thomas the only dissenter). My source says: "The council was given that power because there were no bids for the General Assembly to vote on in Italy. To my knowledge, there were no other bids received. A couple of sites expressed interest, but no bids."

Paul Babits, 47, vaulted 5.14 meters (16-10 1/4) indoors at the Brenda Lee pole vault meet yesterday in Fort Wayne, Indiana, according to a posting (probably by Paul) on mastersrankings.com. This would shatter his own M45 world indoor record of 5.01 (16-5 1/4) set six weeks ago (and reflected on the WMA records page). It also exceeds the listed M45 outdoor record of 5.10 (16-8 3/4) by that rascal Larry Jessee in 1997. I also notice that Pat Manson's 5.36 (17-7) jump at Reno is now listed as the M40 world indoor record -- even though Jeff Hartwig's M40 season best of 5.70 (18-8 1/4) is listed by the IAAF. I guess the record application is still on a boat from Stuttgart.

Running in the rain, Joe King, 81, clocked a mile Saturday in 7:13.25. That beats the listed M80 world record of 7:16.16 by Canada's Hans Weickhardt in 1994 and the listed AR of 7:36.55 by John Hosner in 2006. However, 80-year-old John Keston ran 6:48.3 in May 2005 -- a mark that created a buzz for change in USATF rules. (Rules were eventually changed, but his mark was not grandfathered.) Results from Joe's Los Gatos all-comers race are posted here. Joe is no stranger to records, since he holds the listed M65 American outdoor records in the 1500 (4:56.31) and 5000 (18:07.04), marks dating back to 1991! Joe won the M75 national 5000 title at Eugene in 2003 and was second in the 1500 and high jump. Thanks to Jim Bordoni for sharing the news!

According to German runner Annette Koop's blog, Kamloops, British Columbia, will bid to host the fourth World Masters Indoor Championships in 2010. It would be the first WMA indoor worlds outside Europe (following 2004 Sindelfingen, Germany; 2006 Linz, Austria; and this year's meet in Clermont-Ferrand, France). Don't know who else is in the running, but Annette writes: "No question: North America is far off, when it comes to international athletics championships for Masters."

With her sixth-place finish in the 800 final today at open nationals, Alisa Harvey broke her day-old W40 American indoor record by a few tenths, clocking 2:05.75 and improving her chances of competing in her fifth Olympic Trials. The Boston race was won by Nicole Teter, who turns 35 this coming November. Coincidentally, the listed USATF W35 indoor record for 800 is 2:06.62 -- by Alisa Harvey. Now Alisa holds back-to-back age-group records, with W40 faster than W35. Incredible. Also amazing was Atlanta Olympic champion Allen Johnson, a week shy of 37, taking second in the 60-meter hurdles in 7.53 seconds, taking .01 off his M35 American record.

Alisa Harvey qualified by time this afternoon for tomorrow's 800 finals at the AT&T USA Indoor Track Championships in Boston. She ran 2:06.08 to again lower her own W40 indoor American record. More important, she ducked under the "B" qualifying standards for the Olympic Trials! If she's in the top 30 in June, she'll be competing in Eugene. Incredible. Now let us pause for a moment of silence -- in memory of the shattered egos of 11 women in their 19s or 20s who lost to a 42-year-old. We hope they'll recover in time for outdoor season. For example: Laura Hermanson, who finished just behind Alisa, turns 22 in five days.

Barbados is an island nation in the western Atlantic with a population of about 280,000 and a national budget of $1 billion. The United States is a 50-state republic in the Northern Hemisphere with a population of 300 million and a national budget of $3 trillion. Guess which country helps its masters track athletes travel to international meets? You got it. Yesterday our M50 friend Dave Ortman in Seattle shared an article (with his comments) that he got from his W65 aunt, who was vacationing in Barbados.

What a birthday present! On the day she turned 61, Phil Raschker yesterday learned that for the second time in five years, she's a finalist for the highest honor America bestows on amateur athletes: the AAU Sullivan Award. And this year, fans can take part in the selection. Becky Wesley of the National Senior Games Association writes that you can go to this site "and vote for Philippa Raschker, Track & Field. Also, text additional votes by mobile phone - Text AAUVOTE8 to 44636 (standard carrier text message rates apply)." At age 61, Phil is the oldest contender in history.

Here's a trick question: Who's the world's best masters vaulter at the moment? You thunk Jeff Hartwig? Well, thunk again. M40 Jeff isn't even No. 2! According to the IAAF Top List, Tim Lobinger of Germany, who turned 35 last September, is the top masters vaulter in the world this indoor season. Tim jumped 5.81 meters (19-0 3/4) yesterday in Stockholm to overtake M35 Derek Miles of the United States, who went 5.80 at Reno. WMA lists the M35 world indoor record as Jeff Hartwig's 5.88 (19-3 1/2) in 2004. Ohmygawd! Geezervaulters are taking over!

Last November, I wrote about the grievance battle inside the Colorado USATF association. I have no clue how this was resolved, but folks have noticed a change on the association Web site: The grievance posting has been deleted. Vanished without an explanation. Oh well. Maybe it was all a dream. Anyway, Colorado masters aren't twiddling their thumbs. Christel Donley shares some positive news: "The Colorado Masters Track and Field athletes have formed . . . (the) Colorado Masters Track and Field Club. President is George Soule. Athletes interested in joining should contact Jim Weed (at) 2203 E. 149th Ave, Thornton, CO 80602 (or) e-mail rockymtnmastersgames@msn.com or gfsoule@comcast.net."

Today Chris and I celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary. We got hitched the same year as Chuck & Di (across the Pond in a slightly bigger ceremony). But we're still going strong. Chuck & Di? Don't ask. But since this is a masters track blog, I found another masters track love story to highlight: Stacy & Ian. Check out this romantic (and creative) tale about how world-class discus thrower Ian Waltz recently proposed to W35 vault star Stacy Dragila. This video is cute -- shot only 20 minutes from my house, in fact. I wish Stacy and Ian as much happiness as my lovely and talented Chris and I have had this past quarter-century.

M50 sprinter Tom Phillips is an exceptional sports photographer in England who writes well, too. Recently he shared a link on our Forum to an article he wrote for the UK masters magazine. It's posted below. The article recounts the evolution of his appreciation for masters track -- starting at age 14 when he knew some vets in his club. But after becoming one himself, he became acutely aware of the lack of respect and admiration for masters athletes. Therefore he calls for a "parity of esteem." We agree.

Dave MacEachern of Canada's Prince Edward Island won bobsled gold at the Nagano Winter Olympics 10 years ago, and this article in his local paper says he's keen to enter age-group meets: "MacEachern . . . plans to whip himself into even better shape to take a run at some future Masters Track and Field competitions." Nice article. But one flaw: It doesn't specify WHICH events in masters track he'll enter. A clue comes in the reader comments that follow: "He's done well after being the 2nd-fastest man at Colonel Gray High School. If the track and field records are checked, you'll find Bob Dioron was faster." A bobsled pusher might prove to be a great sprinter. (Several American Olympic hurdlers and sprinters tried bobsledding.)

Masters men's winner Sean Wade, women's champ Jody Hawkins and a cast of hundreds are featured in my photo gallery of last Saturday's USA national cross country championships in San Diego, just 20 minutes from my home. I also got lotsa shots of women's open winner Shalane Flanagan and men's victor Dathan Ritzenhein, who qualified for the American team going to the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in late March in Edinburgh, Scotland. And I shot masters legends Kathy Martin and Gerry Davidson, who at 86 was the oldest runner at nationals. The opening shots of Nolan Shaheed are bittersweet, however. He drove down from Pasadena only to drop out after 50 yards. He had tweaked his hamstring the previous week running a 400 at an all-comers meet. I tell other stories about XC nationals on my Masters Athlete blog, which will be posted sometime today.

Doug Thompson's SISU 800-meter Challenge event in Arizona has returned to a $500 first prize after briefly promoting a $650 prize for the top age-graded runner. Why? It appears that offering a prize over $500 might force his meet to do drug-testing. At least that's the explanation Doug gave in an email to participants and observers. Doug writes: "It is three weeks 'til the SISU Foundation 800 Meter Challenge race, and I'd like to give one last update on some recent developments, as well as a final reminder to participants to register."

Several weeks ago, I was informed of a masters exhibition hurdle race planned for the Modesto Relays in California. The genesis of the event was former Olympic decathlon champ Dan O'Brien's interest in setting an M40 world record in the 110 hurdles. He wanted to shoot for it at Modesto, I was told. But when the meet's date was changed from May 3 to May 10, O'Brien's involvement because doubtful. That's because Dan (now 41) coaches at Arizona State University, and the Pac-10 Conference multi-event championships is being hosted at ASU on May 10. (I wrote to ASU but never got a reply.) Anyway, Dan may not run, but other track legends might.

Kay Glynn turned 55 just four days before setting her age-group's indoor WR in the vault this month. But that's just the latest chapter in a remarkable story. She's a dance teacher and grandmother of two who dreams of doing the circus trapeze! To learn more about Kay, I first contacted one of her track pals, M60 vaulter Bob Banhagel, who replied: "(Kay) and I are friends and talk and swap ideas about the vault on a regular basis. I've watched her at national events for the past few years."

Allen Johnson, who turns 37 on March 1, tonight won the 60-meter hurdles at the elite Tyson invite in Arkansas, clocking 7.60 seconds. That's just off his own M35 American indoor record of 7.54, which he did last weekend in Germany. (The listed M35 American record is 7.56 by Greg Foster in 1994.) Check out this story, which again displays the cliche media amazement that a thirty-something can stay up with the kidlets. AJ said: "Listening to people and watching the people that came before me, I thought when you hit 33, 35 years old, that you feel significantly different than you do at 25. So far with me, that's not been the case." You Da Man, Allen. Go all the way to Beijing!

Anthony Treacher, the banned-in-2006 Briton, jumped in the Swedish masters indoor nationals last Saturday and broke the listed UK M65 indoor record in the long jump. His mark of 4.79 (15-8 1/2) pipped Tony Bateman's 4.77, set in February 2003 in Glasgow, Scotland. Tony was a world champion at the 2003 Puerto Rico WMA meet. Anthony -- who also won the 60 and 200 at Swedish nationals -- holds the British M65 indoor 400 record of 63.55. He'll be tested in all his events next month, when he competes in the third world masters indoor championships in Clermont-Ferrand, France. BTW, entry lists are now available via this lookup page. Just specify sex, age group and event and hit "Go" to see who's entered from what country (and what they submitted as a recent best).

Former marathoner Zofia Wieciorkowska, a Polish native who lives in Connecticut, tonight broke the W45 world indoor record for 800 meters, according to a report from the New York Armory and the New York Road Runners Club's "Thursday Night at the Races" meet. Zofia is said to have clocked 2:16.3, hand-timed. If confirmed, it smashes the listed age-group indoor record of 2:18.16 by Sweden's Karin Wåhlstedt in March 2007. This would mean that she just turned 45, since she was listed as 44 when she ran the Hartshorne mile a few weeks back in 5:08.95. Zofia was the W40 European masters outdoor champion in 2007 in the 1500. She's a former Polish national teamer.

Phil Raschker didn't show up in a housedress with curlers in her hair when she accepted the Amateur Athlete of the Year award for metro Atlanta last Monday night. She was dressed to the nines. Below are some photos from the event, plus a press release sent out that gives more details on Phil's special night.

Masters aren't the only ones with beefs about site selection. When USATF announced in mid-December that Eugene would host the 2012 Olympic Trials, folks in Sacramento said: Say what? They were blindsided. They lost the 2008 Trials to Eugene fair and square, but the 2012 Trials weren't even supposed to be in play. Or so they thought. But what Nike wants, Nike gets. So Nike got the Trials to Eugene four years hence, and a few weeks later they hire USATF CEO Craig Masback. Something stinks. And yesterday the home USATF association of Sacramento gave notice that they'll file a grievance over the award of the 2012 Trials to Eugene. Of course, a grievance has little force of law. If Sacto doesn't get no satisfaction, they could turn to the courts. Mr. Masback, do you swear....

Phil Raschker has to find another space in her trophy case. Monday night, the winner of 10 world titles at Riccione last summer won the Amateur Athlete of the Year award at the annual Atlanta Sports Awards. Phil, a tax accountant in nearby Marietta, Georgia, beat a couple Melanies for the honor (one a tennis player, the other a soccer goalie). Among the other winners honored at the Fox Theatre’s Egyptian Ballroom was Billy Payne, the 1996 Olympic poobah, who took home the Atlanta Sports Council's Lifetime Achievement Award. Congrats, Phil. You make us proud. Now go find some tax deductions.

Andy Hecker of Ventura, the USATF official and meet organizer, is gearing up for his annual "USATF Southern California Masters Indoor Championships . . . Outdoors." It's Sunday, February 24, at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, south of Los Angeles, and here is the meet Web site. Most indoor meets aren't listed as "rain or shine," but this one is. (In fact, several years ago, it was held in a drenching rain in Huntington Beach.) Andy explains the name: "Since there are no indoor track facilities in Southern California, we are holding this event on an outdoor track, but will offer all the indoor distances for our championship event. After the 'indoor' events are over, we will hold any events we have competitors and facilities for." Included on the schedule is an "indoor pentathon," one of the rare times when SoCal masters men can do the 60 hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump and 1,000 meters and women the 60 hurdles, high jump, shot, long jump and 800. Check it out.

Over at Masters Athlete Daily, my latest blog post deconstructs Roald Bradstock's habit of throwing "silly things" for distance -- iPods, soccer balls, etc. In a Q&A, Roald gives rational reasons for heaving non-javelins. A sample: "The main reason was as a PR move -- and a free one at that. It has worked. The BBC have met once and are meeting again this Tuesday to discuss me going on National TV to show my artwork, talk about my various proposals for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics."

Kay Glynn of Iowa and Terry Cannon of Oregon shot to world records over the weekend. Kay, a new 55, cleared 2.82 meters (9-3) Saturday to top the listed W55 American indoor record of 2.76 (9-0 1/2) by Phil Raschker in 2005 at Nampa nationals and the W55 world indoor record of 2.81 (9-2 1/2) by Germany's N.Y.-based Hillen von Maltzahn. Kay did this at a college meet at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. Results are here. Terry, 70, went 3.23 (10-7) after clearing an American record 3.16 (10-4 1/4) Sunday at the Columbia Striders Winter Classic in Kelso, Washington.

A month ago, we noted the second Annual SISU Foundation 800 Meter Challenge Race on March 8, with a first-place prize of $500. Check that. The top prize is now $650, reports event organizer Doug Thompson. He writes: "We've gotten agreement from Saucony to donate six pairs of shoes to men and women who beat the All-American standard in the race. We've received an anonymous donation of another $150, bringing our total first-prize money to $650 for the man or woman who runs the most seconds under their All-American standard. We've received numerous inquiries and several commitments to participate. . . . I'm getting excited about this because other folks are getting excited."

Gina Kolata of The New York Times always seems to find a new spin on health and exercise. Her book "Ultimate Fitness" a few years back was a hoot and a revelation. It debunks a bunch of fitness maxims. Now an article by Gina looks at aging runners. And she delivers some revelations here as well. Among them: You can be faster at 60 than 50. (Gina herself turns 60 on Feb. 25.) But she isn't the first to point out that intensity of training is more important than frequency. Phil Campbell made similar points in his "Ready, Set Go!" books.

Now it can be revealed: Alisa Harvey can set an American indoor record in the 1500, but she can't beat her own 5-year-old daughter up the stairs. So we learn from a mini Q&A I conducted with our W40 star over the weekend. Alisa also confirms that she'll double-dip at the AT&T USA indoor nationals Feb. 23-24 in Boston. She'll run the open 800 and the masters exhibition 400. (The first round of the 800 is Saturday, and the 400 is Sunday.) I began by asking Alisa if she had filled out all the necessary record paperwork for her amazing 4:26 indoor 1500.

Back in December 2005, three months after turning 40, Alisa Harvey of Virginia ran an indoor 1500 in 4:41.34. It shattered the listed W40 American indoor record of 4:48.40 by Kathy McIntyre in 1990. But a few months later, Marisa Hanson ran a hand-timed 4:36.7 at a nonsanctioned meet. But Alisa's record also went unrecognized. She remedied that oversight yesterday, however. Running in the New Balance Collegiate meet at the Armory track in New York City, Alisa, now 42, clocked a 1500 in 4:26.18, cleaning the clocks of her 20-something rivals. Her 4:26 also beats the listed W40 outdoor AR for 1500 of 4:32.73 by Joan Nesbit in May 2002. (However, Alisa ran a 4:26.49 for 1500 en route to a 4:46 mile at the 2006 Penn Relays.)

Northern California's Jeff Laynes, 37 going on 17, ran 50 meters in 5.91 seconds Friday night at the Knights of Columbus meet in Saskatoon, Canada. Last year, he ran 5.86. Pretty consistent. In 2007, he ran the 60 meters on the meet's second day in 6.74. I haven't seen results from Saturday night yet. Jeff, who sat out a couple years with a drug suspension, has been consistently among the fastest M35s in recent years. He's already qualified for the Olympic Trials, meeting the "B" qualifying standard of 10.28 last April. (He ran a legal 10.16). But he just needs to be in the top 32 on the U.S. list come June. He'll likely be the oldest male sprinter at the Eugene Trials.

Roald Bradstock has been racking up the records this winter. But all will be rejected by Sandy Pashkin, USATF and World Masters Athletics. They weren't measured with a steel tape. What a shame. I can't think of any other 45-year-old who can throw an iPod 154 yards or a soccer ball 82 yards. Check out his latest WR:

Serbia's Dragutin Topic, who turns 37 in March, last night became the oldest man to clear 2.30 meters (7-6 1/2) when he scaled that height on his second try at the Eurotop meet in Novi Sad, Serbia. Dragutin then fearlessly passed 2.32 (7-7 1/4), made a failed jump at 2.34 (7-8) and missed twice at 2.36 (7-8 3/4). Gutsy! He thus beat the listed WMA M35 indoor record of 2.27. Better yet, he tied Charles Austin's unrecognized world age-group record of 2.30. But Charles was 35 at the time of his 2.30 jump, so Dragutin is now the GeezerJump King. As it turns out, Dragutin himself organized the men-only HJ meet, which was set to music. Here are results.

Bone scan of W60 world champion Phil Raschker.

Now for something completely different: Phil Raschker's bones. More specifically, three bone scans done as part of Amanda Mittleman's master's thesis research at Long Beach State University near Los Angeles. Phil volunteered the images and writes: "When I was out in California before Thanksgiving, I did the study with Amanda and highly recommend it to anyone. Especially if they are in driving distance, they should not miss this FREE opportunity." Among other things, we learn that Phil's body fat is in the bottom 4 percent of her age group, she's in little danger of suffering osteoporosis, and her hips aren't perfectly symmetrical.

Donna Schultz is one proud momma. Her daughter, Kate Soma, got hitched to William Conwell last August. Oh, and did I mention that Kate was the 2005 NCAA pole vault champion? And did I mention that Kate is one proud daughter? Her mom has broken the W50 world indoor record in the pole vault twice this year -- the most recent being a 3.11 (10-2 1/2) clearance Saturday in Seattle, Washington. A member of the Willamette Striders in Oregon, Donna earlier broke Phil Raschker's listed W50 indoor vault record of 3.06 (10-0 1/2) set in 2000. Donna did 3.07 at the Pole Vault Summit a month ago in Reno.

Jonathan Beverly is editor in chief of Running Times magazine, but he wasn't fully on board the masters bandwagon until Orono nationals last summer. That did the trick. In the March issue, a wonderful article by Jon chronicles his conversion. Headlined "Embracing time" (which you can read here), Jon's gem begins: "I have to confess that I used to think masters competitors were a bit pathetic. Not older runners keeping in shape . . . but those serious competitors wearing flashy racing flats and singlets designed for speedsters half their age, grimacing and sprinting as they finished in the middle of the pack. I thought they were in denial: refusing to accept that they really couldn’t compete anymore."

Olympic sprint champ and former WR man Maurice Greene shocked the track world yesterday by announcing his retirement. But anyone who knows Mo won't be surprised if he makes a comeback. And I have a suggestion. He turns 35 on July 23, 2009. Five days later -- how con-VEEN-ient! -- the 18th World Masters Athletic Championships begin in Lahti, Finland. Of course, he'd have to pay his own way. But on the upside: No Trials or qualifying standards. He'd also have the advantage of being the youngest entrant at worlds! The listed M35 world record for 100 meters is 10.03 by Britain's Linford Christie in 1996. Hey, Mo! You've gone sub-10 some 52 times. How about shooting for No. 53 in Finland?

California M50 Marty Krulee and Nevada M60 Larry Barnum raced high school boys Saturday at the United Heritage Invitational in Nampa, Idaho, site of the 2005 masters indoor nationals. Both were world champions at Riccione last summer, so I feel sorry for the youngsters whose spirits were crushed and egos traumatized. Marty, 51, won Heat 4 of the 60 in 7.33 seconds, the fastest M50 time of the year and close to Bill Collins' world record of 7.20. Larry, 64, ran 200 in 27.38 and 400 in 61.46. George Mathews, 64, was the only entrant in the "boys weight throw." His mark was 19.57 (64-2 1/2). The listed M65 world record with the 20-pound implement is 19.12 (62-8 3/4). Hang on, George!

People sometimes ask: Where can I compete indoors? My reply: Wherever a collegiate meet director is willing to take your money! You'd be surprised how many coaches are happy to let you run if you cough up the entry fee. Latest example is the University of Washington, site of several record-breaking Tony Young masters miles. Over the weekend, masters sprinters there were accommodated in sprints (including a mixed-sex 60). Check out these results. (Do a search for "maste") These meets aren't advertised for masters, so you just have to contact the coach, and ask: Can I run?

Perhaps the biggest achievement of the masters tracksters at Friday night's Millrose Games was simply getting to the meet. Julie Hayden of the victorious Athena TC 4x4 team tells a typical story of grown-ups with jobs, kids and injuries overcoming all to compete at Madison Square Garden. In the course of a Q&A, Julie writes: "Lorraine Jasper was in D.C. for a training weekend in January when she heard that her college gymnast daughter had torn her ACL in training at UNC. The next weekend a 'sick' Jasper drove from PA to Upstate NY for the Hartshorne Mile and then straight to North Carolina for her daughter's surgery. Returning to PA late Wednesday, Jasper, barely recovered, was back in work on Thursday and on the train to the City on Friday!" And that was just one of the Athena foursome.

Susanne Rohlfing of the German newspaper Kölner Stadtanzeiger interviewed Jeff Hartwig before his latest record jump, and he disclosed that he won't vault indoors in the United States this season. Therefore, he won't be on the U.S. team for the IAAF world indoor championships in Spain in early March. Instead he'll focus on preparations for the Eugene Olympic Trials and ultimately Beijing. Typically, the German interview dwells on drugs.

Some folks return from worlds with pulled muscles, aching joints. About 10 days after returning to Canada from Riccione, where he won five M85 gold medals in the throws, Garry Bachman had a heart attack. He seems fine now, according to an article in his local newspaper. “The fellow athletes blamed it on all the Italian women,” Garry told writer Shawn Cayley of the Durham Region News north of Lake Ontario. Garry, who holds the M80 world record in the weight throw, won the shot by more than 3 feet, the discus by almost 5 meters, the weight throw by more than 5 meters and the weight pentathlon by nearly 2,000 points. Whew!

Olympic champion Allen Johnson lowered Greg Foster's M35 American indoor age-group record in the 60-meter hurdles today in Stuttgart, Germany. Allen, 36, ran 7.55 to beat the listed M35 record of 7.56 by Greg in 1994. Here are the official results. The listed M35 world indoor record is 7.40 by Britain's Colin Jackson in 2002. Allen ran 42-inch hurdles, BTW, not the 39-inch masters sticks. In other masters action, W35 Maria Mutola won the 800 in 2:02.44, which is about five seconds off the W35 world indoor record.

Psssst! Nobody tell Jeff Hartwig that he's 40. Today in Stuttgart, Germany, Jeff raised the M40 world indoor record to 5.70 (18-8 1/4) and had three misses at 5.75 (18-10 1/4). It's the second time in less than a week and about the fourth time this season he's upped the undercover best. Here are the official results. He opened at 5.45 (17-10 3/4), which would have been an M40 world record until recently. Jeff is among the top 10 vaulters in the world this season. Guess he won't be at French worlds. More likely he'll make the team for IAAF worlds in Valencia, Spain.

If news reports are accurate, M50 long sprinter James Lofton will soon take a coaching job with the Oakland Raiders -- an arch foe of the San Diego Chargers who fired him as receivers coach a few weeks back. How delicious. If James moves to the Bay Area, he'll see plenty of masters track action in the red-hot USATF Pacific Association, with the likes of Kevin Morning, Marty Krulee, Peter Grimes and other world-class sprinters in his age group. And with the 2010 nationals and 2011 world championships coming to Sacramento, we'll finally get to see him test himself against the best. Cool! Go get 'em, James!

A Southwest Sprinters foursome (not necessarily from the Southwest) tonight won the men's 4x4 relay at the 101st Millrose Games in New York City. Southwest was runner-up a year ago. But they ran faster last year, when they lost to Nike Central Park TC. Athena TC, however, defended its title of 2007. But Athena ran 9 seconds faster last year. We're all getting older, I guess. Unsure of the makeup of all these teams. Hope entrants report the sights, sounds and smells of the tuxedo meet. But the masters men, at least, were studly. Southwest's winning time of 3:37.22 would have taken fourth in the Public Schools Athletic League boys 4x4, just ahead of Clara Barton High School. Next year, guys, beat ENY Transit Tech!

Do they have C-SPAN for the Maryland Capitol? If they did, you might have seen the amazing sight of 16 masters athletes from around the state officially honored by state lawmakers for their Orono nationals achievements last summer. M55 multi-eventer Keith Mathis writes: "On Martin Luther King Day, the Maryland Legislature recognized masters athletes from Maryland who won medals in Orono. Thought this might encourage other states to do the same." Indeed! What a great idea to emulate. Get on the horn to your local rep and get the same recognition for your state stars! Call it a masters mitzvah!