Masters Track News and Muse

They pulled the trigger. Anyone wanting to start a subscription to GeezerJock magazine now has to pony up $30 for 18 issues or $40 for 30. (Both give you Web access to current issue and its archived articles, though.) This is great news, however, for masters media -- since the Chicago publishers of GJ now think they have a broad enough reader base (about 75,000 after giving away free subscriptions for a year) to make a go of it. Charter subscribers will continue getting GJ -- at least into 2007. Newbies will have to pay.

Geezerjock magazine is tackling the elephant in the living room -- the use of prescription drugs by masters athletes. Many of us take our medicine under doctor's orders. Some may have a more nefarious purpose. Geezerjock magazine wants to get to the bottom of all this, with real-life stories instead of whispered rumors. I've been asked to throw a net on the Net -- ask y'all to volunteer your own experiences as drug-takers. Geezerjock founder and editor Sean Callahan promises confidentiality to those who share stories that might subject them to the unwanted attentions of the USATF or WMA drug police.

WMA veep Rex Harvey today sent me this Microsoft Excel file (updated 5/18/06 to fix M55 shot factor) containing the Age Graded Tables -- factors for multiplying your times or distances to see how they compare with marks in the "Open Class" (generally 20- to 30-year-olds) or any other age group. Officially, these tables are used only for age-grading the multi-events (decathlon, heptathlon, pentathlon, etc.) in the masters world championships. Unofficially, they decide winners in road races, handicap track sprints and a zillion other events -- sometimes with cash at stake. So this is big. And long overdue.

The raw numbers in the Age Graded Tables may seem daunting, but there is method in this masters madness. I've found several sites that explain how to use the AGT, which have been through several iterations over the years. A good introduction was written by Running Times editor Jonathan Beverly almost a decade ago. British statwiz Howard Grubb offers his plug-and-play AGT (based on the 1994 tables). Canadian hurdler Jess Brewer (who smashes subatomic particles in his day job) crunched the numbers, too. Several distance-running sites have their own versions -- catering to roadies. And Hy-Tek incorporates the AGT in its track-meet software.

The Modesto Relays is friendly to middle-agers. Of course, you have to be a damn talented middle-ager to make the Open/Elite field this Saturday at Modesto. A quick scan of the event lineups reveals at least two masters stars -- Aaron Thigpen in the 100 and Henry Andrade in the 110 hurdles. Aaron was a DNF at the Penn Relays recently. Hope he's recovered from whatever ails him. Henry, a Cape Verde Olympian, isn't quite in the same M40 league, but deserves kudos for having the courage to run the 42-inch highs. Henry turned 44 a couple weeks ago.

Ridiculous question, right? Who in their right mind would say: "The mile run shouldn't be listed among official masters age-group records"? Unbelievably, it could happen -- as soon as May 2008. And the same for the 4x800 relay and the 3,000-meter run -- events that aren't contested at the World Masters Athletics world outdoor championships but have been on the books for decades. For the past few days, angry emails have been zinging around the country (and world) over a rumored attempt by WMA Records Committee czar Sandy Pashkin to remove these three events from the age-group record rolls. Naturally, elite milers have expressed outrage and frustration.

If Professor Howard Grubb were an Olympic sprinter, he'd be called for jumping. His reaction time is unreal. Only a couple of days after receiving the new WMA Age-Graded Tables, he's incorporated the numbers into his online lookup form. He writes: "I'd be grateful for any feedback/checking. Structurally it's the same, but some bug/discrepancy may have crept in with the data changes." His page adds: "Note that the factors are stored in this page, in Javascript, so that you can save the page to your local machine for use as an off-line calculator." Jolly good show, perfesser!

USATF Masters T&F Chairman George Mathews and his Northwest friend Bill Roe, president of USA Track & Field, have jumped in to support efforts to keep the WMA records book as is. They want WMA to keep listing and maintaining age-group records in the mile, especially. George writes: "We obviously will convey the U.S. wishes on this subject to WMA. I am sure Dave (Clingan) will get a motion of support from the Masters Committee in December and I will bring it to the WMA General Assembly in Riccione if not the Council before then. Sandy (Pashkin) and Rex (Harvey) will advise us of best time and place."

Competing against collegians yesterday at the Billy Hayes Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana, Gary Hunter set a world record in the M50 vault. Height is in dispute, though. The online results list him at 4.85 meters (15-11) -- which tops the listed WR of 4.73 (about 15-6) by German legend Wolfgang Ritte in 2004. But polevaultpowergirl Becca Gillespy says Gary jumped 15-7. (And she promises pictures). Stay tuned.

The USATF Masters Invitational Program showcases elite masters athletes at major relay meets and both the indoor and outdoor USATF open championships. But in recent years, getting cooperation from the corner office has been a pain. Only one meet is left on the 2006 agenda -- the June 21-25 USATF nationals in Indianapolis, but invite chair Mark Cleary reports that there is still no final approval of which masters exhibition events will be contested.

Despite their presence on the entry lists, M40 stars Aaron Thigpen and Henry Andrade didn't compete at yesterday's Modesto Relays. A sprint friend of Aaron's informs me that Aaron is still rehabbing a hamstring injury that prevented him from finishing the 100 at the Penn Relays. I don't know why Henry didn't compete in his event -- the open 110 hurdles, where the single-age world record for 44-year-olds is 15.1 (by Iceland's Valjorn Thorlaksson in 1979), according to statman Pete Mundle. Hope Aaron and Henry come back soon. Meanwhile, I've heard that Bruce McBarnette set an M45 American record in the high jump at the Southeasterm Masters meet in Durham, North Carolina. I'm awaiting details. The listed record is 1.98 (6-6) by Californian Keith Nelson.

Bruce McBarnette isn't shy about tooting his horn. But when you leap like him, it's hard to be quiet. On Saturday, Bruce broke Keith Nelson's M45 American record in the high jump of 1.98 (6-6) by clearing the magical 2-meter barrier (6-6 3/4) at the Southeastern Masters Track and Field Championships at Duke University. After topping 2.0, which tied the world age-group record of Asko Pesonen of Finland, he went for 2.05 (6-8 3/4) but missed all three attempts.

Jon Pearlstone is an M40 javelin thrower living out my dream -- joining the local college track team. (I keep telling coach Steve Scott at Cal State San Marcos that I have two years of collegiate eligibility left.) The Marin Independent Journal did a nice story on Jon's adventure at College of Marin. Story also mentions that Jon' son, Alex, sprints for the UCLA track team. The only way this story would be cooler is if father and son did the same events for different schools that met each other. No such luck here. But I envy Jon being able to compete collegiately. Sadly, the story says: "After NorCal finals on Saturday and possibly the state finals the next weekend, Jon will participate in the Regional Masters meet in Los Angeles in July, then expects he'll call it quits." No, Jon (pictured here)! Keep it going!

Results are now posted from Saturday's Southeastern Masters meet in Durham, North Carolina. Besides confirmation of Bruce McBarnette's world-record-tying M45 high jump of 2.0 meters, the results show many remarkable marks in all events. Bruce also sent me a shot of himself jumping during his American Record series. (But loosen the jaw, Bruce!) The Koops in Germany also report that Hillen von Maltzahn -- a W55 phenom -- set a bunch of European age-group records at the same meet.

Every so often, I dog-paddle my way over to U.S. Masters Swimming to see what's up with the geezerfish. The other day, I came across something interesting -- the swimmers' version of the Age-Graded Tables. (This means trackfolk aren't the only ones obsessing over how are marks compare with those in other age groups.) And by the way, Dr. Howard's Grubb's online lookup page incorporating the newly revised WMA Age-Graded Tables is back live. For a while, his server was down and you couldn't reach his Web site. All is well now. Anyhoo, the swimmers show us that age-grading is a masters thing, not just a track thing.

It's possible. George Mathews, USATF Masters T&F chairman, has seen efforts to grow masters (and the movement's income) go for naught. Now he says he giving serious thought to a radical solution -- playing Moses and leading masters out of the Egypt known as USA Track & Field. Even though untold hours and thousands of dollars have gone into a USATF Masters Strategic Plan, George told GeezerJock magazine that he is considering leading an exodus from USATF and establishing masters track as an independent masters-only organization similar to U.S. Masters Swimming. GeezerJock quoted George as saying: "We are just a distraction (to USATF) to be honest with you."

The masters exhibition events for the Indy open nationals are officially set -- the men's 100 and the women's 400. Men have to be 40-plus with a 100 mark under 11.50. For the women, you have to be 40-plus and faster than 65.0. Application information was posted today, reports Invite chair Mark Cleary. The site notes that application isn't a guarantee of acceptance. (And you have to pay $25 for the privilege.) Both races are Saturday, June 24.

I subscribe to the Yahoo Groups mailing list for USATF Associations, and I posted a note about the possible exodus of Masters T&F (and mebbe LDR) from USATF. The USATF Association folks reacted, all right. Most think the idea is nuts. Some point out the complexity of such a move. I've copied their comments below. Just to give a sense of the politics/nuances of the issue.

Becca Gillespy says she used her handy digital camera to capture a nice sequence of photos of Gary Hunter setting the M50 world record in the vault last weekend in Bloomington, Indiana. She reports that the collegiate vaulters competing against a guy old enough to be their dad did a classy thing. They allowed the bar raised to a height (4.75/15-7) just high enough to beat the listed world age-group record. Good kids. (Becca has a whole page devoted to vault videos, BTW. Some show masters in action.)

Things are getting clearer. One of the reasons Masters is thinking of seceding from USA Track & Field is a potential downsizing of the USATF Board of Directors, which would give more clout to the "professional" (elite, Olympic-class) arm of USATF. From what I've been reading on the USATF Associations mailing list, the USOC (U.S. Olympic Committee) is the driving force to shrink the board. Folks posting comments suggest that a smaller board means fewer representatives of the "grass roots" -- which includes Youth as well as Masters T&F. In the past 24 hours, some very revealing arguments have been posted.

Linz world champion Lesley Chaplin-Swann, 48, a Georgia resident who competes for the SoCal/Fleet Feet TC, set another American record today at a Vanderbilt University meet, going 4:47.36 in Nashville to lower the ancient W45 outdoor record in the 1500. The listed record was 4:48.19 by Joan Colman (now Joan Ottoway) in 1989. (Forget the WR: 4:05.44 by Yekatarina Podkopayeva.) A former Briton, she's been rewriting the USATF records since becoming a U.S. citizen. Meanwhile, cross-country champ Pete Magill, 44, ran the 15 today in 4:00.58 at the Oxy Invitational.

Yesterday's Oxy Invitational at Occidental College in the Los Angeles area saw other fine masters performances besides Pete Magill's 1500. Ageless (but actually 45) Willie Gault ran the 100 in 10.79 (no wind reading given) -- shattering the listed M45 world record of 10.96 by American Neville Hodge in 2001. (But lack of a wind reading may negate mark for record purposes.) Willie also won his heat of the 110 hurdles (5/28 note: 39-inch hurdles) in 14.41 -- into a 1.3 mps wind!

Lesley Chaplin-Swann, bless her super-efficient heart, good-naturedly replied to my cheeky request for details of her W45 American Record in the 1500 over the weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. She took the time to type and send a report despite it being Mother's Day (she has a grown daughter) and no doubt having better things to do. She writes: "With regards to the race (Saturday): I had run in the SE Masters meet at Duke last week attempting a double record from the mile."

I've been having an interesting online debate with IAAF and USATF racewalk poobah Bob Bowman over whether the Amateur Sports Act in the United States permits a group like USATF Masters Track & Field to leave the parent organization and form its own national governing body. Bob says nope. I say yup. Following is our exchange this weekend. You be the judge.

Rob Copeland is president of U.S. Masters Swimming, a stand-alone group that runs masters swimming without being part of USA Swimming. In reply to an email query, Rob tells me that USATF Masters Track & Field, if it split off from USATF, could still be recognized by World Masters Athletics as a national governing body. That's been a side issue in whether USATF Masters should secede from USATF. (Some had argued that WMA might not recognize an independent U.S. Masters Federation, or whatever it ended up being called.

Ivar Söderlind of Sweden, records guru for the Eurovets, is the decider when it comes to European masters age-group records. And he's decided not to ratify any of the European records that came out of the Linz world indoor championships in the 3,000-meter run for women 65 and older. Why? Uh, nobody knows for sure how many laps they all ran. Of course, this isn't news to readers of this blog, who saw Mary Harada's account of the lap-count disaster in her W70 race in Austria. Ivar also sent me his opinion on whether the mile should be zapped from the WMA record books. His verdict: Keep it!

I'm planning to compete in the Charlotte masters nationals in August, and I found a PDF detailing cheap on-campus housing. The options are two-bedroom suites ($35 per person per night) or four-bedroom apartments ($39 per person). (All rooms are air-conditioned, BTW.) Would anyone be willing to have me for a roommate? I don't smoke or drink. I cuss just a little -- when I take ice baths after my event. Gents interested in sharing a suite or apartment with me should write me privately at: TrackCEO@aol.com.

I've been corresponding with the meet director and chief official for this summer's Charlotte masters nationals, and they seem to be on the ball when it comes to conduct of distance races on the track. Most important, they're aware that some are worried about hydration and lap counts. (North Carolina is rumored to be hot in early August, and lap-counts have been the bane of masters existence in major meets of late.) Tony Wayne, the tiptop official, wrote me today: " It will not be our responsibility to take down the split times for each individual; however, each lap will be accounted for."

Yes, we are chopped liver. How else to explain this latest indignity? Today, while checking on a meet date, I learned that the USATF Western Regional Masters Championships set for July 22-23 have no home. The venue is TBD -- to be determined. For the past two years, the Western Regionals have been held on the superfast, Olympic-caliber Mondo track at the Home Depot Center in Carson, south of Los Angeles. This site, host of this weekend's televised Adidas Track Classic, made a losing bid for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. Now it's treating masters like a bunch of losers. Andy Hecker's site said of the meet: "No longer at Home Depot Center -- the location is in the process of being changed. Details to follow."

Jess Brewer, the cancer-conquering physicist in Vancouver, spends his weekdays studying muons and other quantum cuties. The rest of the time, he trains for M60 hurdles (in which he recently set a Canadian record in the 100 hurdles). He took a break from both this week by posting his own version of the 2006 Age-Graded Tables, joining Dr. Howard Grubb in England, who was first off the mark. But Brewer's interface is a lot simpler -- a Googlized version of Dr. Grubb's "lookup" form. Both work fine.

Aaron Thigpen? Willie Gault? Nope. This is a trick question. Think younger. The over-40 studs listed in mastersrankings.com aren't the fastest. Masters are now defined by World Masters Athletics as age 35 and up. On that basis, the top masters sprinter in the world is American Jeff Laynes. According to the 2006 outdoor IAAF top list for 100 meters, Jeff ran 10.17 with a legal 1.6 mps wind at Modesto on May 6. Jeff was born in October 1970. So he's in his first full M35 season.

The annual Southern California Striders Meet of Champions certainly lived up to its name this year. In perfect conditions (low 70s, mostly sunny skies) at Long Beach State University, two men and two women today set world age-group records -- Willie Gault in the M45 200, Bud Held in the M75 pole vault, Kathy Bergen in the W65 high jump and Gerry Davidson in the W85 3,000-meter run. The official results should be posted before long, but I can share the highlights here.

Bruce McBarnette, the jumper-lawyer-teacher-actor-realtyguy, etc., is adding another gig to his bio: tour operator. He writes: "Bruce McBarnette, Masters World Champion, high jump 45-49 age group, has arranged hotel discounts and tours in the Charlotte area." Since I'm planning to take the cheapo route at the masters nationals this August (staying in the dorms), I don't have a stake in Bruce's promotion. But since I like the guy's chutzpah, I'm passing along details on his tour. My only question, if you're unhappy with the hotel, can you hire him to sue?

Linda Cohn of Northridge, California, will fly under my radar no more. Saturday at Long Beach State, she raised her own W50 American Record in the javelin to 39.06 meters (128-2), beating the 500-gram jav best of 37.95/124-6 she set back in April 2004. After reporting Saturday that four world age-group records were set at the Striders' Meet of Champions, I was alerted to Linda's own remarkable efforts. To atone for my oversight, I made her acquaintance via email and invited her to tell her story. Which she graciously did. And what a story.

Longtime masters track star Toshiko d'Elia of Ridgewood, New Jersey, won the Vincent Carnevale Award (and $300) at Sunday's Run for Freedom, which I wrote about a month ago. Race founder Frank Schiro of New York wrote me with some highlights of the pair of races (1 mile and 5 mile) that benefited Integrity House, a nonprofit drug and alcohol treatment center.

With Marion Jones in sprint purgatory -- and not long jumping much anymore -- the title of best American female horizontal leaper is a tug-of-war involving Grace Upshaw and a few others. Grace won't turn masters age until September 2010, but a newspaper story about her gives welcome credit to her biggest fan and supporter -- sister Joy. Competing as Joy Upshaw Margerum, big sis is a world champ and record-holder in her own right. And as masters chair of the USATF Pacific Association, she brings her incredible energy and enthusisasm to all her roles.

USATF Masters Invitational Chairman Mark Cleary reports the bulk of the field for the men's masters field in the 100-meter dash at the Indianapolis USATF open nationals in late June: "The exhibition 100m race for Indy is shaping up nicely -- Willie Gault, Ken Travis 11.17, David Ashford 11.21, Don Fields 11.23, Rawle Crichlow 11.27 and Courtney Muhammad 11.30. Aaron Thigpen is trying to figure out how he can possibly make it -- he has a wedding to attend that weekend--but he's working on it." In this group, only Thigpen has a good chance of beating M45 Gault, who has run about 10.80 twice in the past month.

My friend Gerry Davidson of Fallbrook -- an hour north of San Diego -- doesn't look fast when she's chugging around the track. But the clock doesn't lie. At 85, she may be the best female distance runner in the world over 80. As I noted last Saturday, she claimed the 3,000-meter world age-group record of Canada's Ivy Granstrom by coming close to dipping under 24 minutes. Her official time is now posted. Gerry ran 24:00.33. And L.A.-based photographer Bob Elliott of The Athletic Connection graciously sent me two shots he took of Gerry during her WR. Just as notable -- for courage -- is Gerry's husband, Bob, who several years after suffering a stroke still runs sprints.

I saw Valeri Brumel jump today in San Clemente, California. Yeah, I know he's been dead for three years. But the form of the Russian high jump god was being channeled by a 65-year-old Superior Court judge from Ojai. When newly minted M65 straddler John Dobroth did his straight-legged power jump this morning, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was Brumel's clone! I took pictures to prove it

Had to leave the San Clemente masters meet before the javelin was done, but I saw folks on a grass field north of the track chucking spears. One was Linda Cohn, who a week earlier at Long Beach State set an American Record in the W50 age group. A masters mole sent me this note (and oficially confirmed a day later): "Linda Cohen does it again: San Clemente: 39.78M -surpassing last week." This translates as: Linda hurled a spear 130 feet, 6 inches. Now she's in spittin' distance of Regina Stange's listed W50 world record of 41.50 (136-2). Go, Linda!

Nadine O'Connor and Bud Held generally take turns setting records. Yesterday at the San Diego-Imperial USATF Open Championships at San Diego State University, the couple from Del Mar, California, both set world age-group records -- improving their own marks in the pole vault. M75 Bud went 3.00 (9-10) and W60 Nadine cleared 3.11 (10-2 1/2) to break their previous records by an inch or so. Bud writes: "Nadine's 3.11 is 116.48% on the new 2006 Age-Graded Tables. We think it might be the best percentage mark of any age group so far for this year. Mine is a measly 103.79%."

One of the kicks we get as masters is competing on tracks (and fields) used in major open meets. Like the Olympic Trials and NCAAs. Two meets coming up in California offer such thrills. First is the Pacific Association USATF Masters Championships July 1 at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium, site of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Trials with its superfast Mondo track. Second is the Trojan masters meet July 9 at USC's Cromwell Track & Field, site of the Big Meet between UCLA and USC over the years. Trojan horse (and I mean that in a nice way) Eugene Driver sent me this entry form for the Trojan masters meet.

Yes, they have masters track Down Under. And I'm talking about South America, where their track season is topsy-turvy like the Aussies' and Kiwis'. Phil Raschker sent me this link to the South American Masters Athletics Championships set for November 3-11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although the site doesn't explicitly say non-South Americans are invited, I'm assuming they are if Phil sends me info. That's been an issue with the European masters championships -- which are closed to Americans.

With no fanfare, except a brief note on the WMA Web site, WMA Records Committee chair Sandy Pashkin has updated the official world indoor and outdoor age-group records. They are now all updated as of "May 19, 2006." Yeah, right. While the list includes marks from Linz and Boston, many legitimate world records are still unrecognized by WMA. I won't count records set in the past few months, which haven't been through the paperwork mill yet.