Masters Track News and Muse

In pointing out that WMA (and probably USATF) list dozens of plain-wrong age-group records, I got some people thinking. One thoughtful note came from masters meet announcer Pete Taylor. He wrote: "I'm more interested in US records than I am in the world marks." And another Pete -- Pete Mulholland of Running Fitness magazine in the UK -- reminded me of the great work done by statmeister Martin Rix in compiling M35 and W35 world bests, which could easily replace many of the WMA records in that youngest group.

Got confirmation today that the South American Masters Athletics Championships in November are open to athletes north of the equator. Gilson Fernandes, South American Masters president and head of the local organizing committee, writes: "Dear Ken, All masters athletes are welcome in our South American Championships. Our site is www.asudaverio-2006.com.br. It will be a great pleasure to receive our North American brothers. Send your entries please."

W50 trackster/roadster Diane Sherrer writes a running column for The Ithaca Journal in New York State. In her current offering, she says point-blank: "Track and field has been the heart and soul of running for centuries, and yet the prospect of racing around the indoor or outdoor oval is intimidating even for the brave of heart. But you all need to get over yourselves. Step away from those marathons, and lace up your track spikes." Well said, champ! We need more of this, everywhere.

Does Kenya have masters track? It certainly has masters-age track stars. Friday night, a day before 22-year-old Meseret Defar of Ethiopia set the world record in the open 5,000 in 14:24.53 in New York, Kenya's Edith Masai (born April 4, 1967) lowered her own W35 world record for the same event in Oslo, Norway. Edith ran 3.1 miles in 14:33.84 -- or about 4:40 mile pace. You don't want to know how that time age-grades. Oh, all right. I'll tell you. Edith's 5K is equivalent to an open (20-30) time of 14:05.53. Incredible.

WMA and USATF are the Big Boyz of masters track -- and I hold them to the highest standards when it comes to records. Translation: I cut them no slack. But I'm peeved when even a Little Boy stumbles. That's the case with USATF's New England Association, which has posted a page of "records" set at the 2006 masters indoor nationals. Some records listed are kosher. But others clearly aren't. New England perhaps took its cue from National Masters News or USATF's error-riddled press release at nationals.

Kevin Morning lost his M45 world record in the 200 this spring but not his hunger for speedy competition. Yesterday at the Jim Bush USATF SoCal Association Open Championships at Occidental College, Kevin ran the 100 in a windy 11.38 (2.2 mps) and the 200 in a legal (0.9) 23.07. Kevin turns 50 this year. Not sure when. National M40 champ Aaron Thigpen, recovering from injuries this spring, clocked 10.96 (into a 0.5 wind) and 22.44 (in the same race as Kevin).

The USATF Western Region (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico) will hold its outdoor masters track championships July 22-23 at Long Beach State University, south of Los Angeles. The track, just south of the Pyramid indoor arena, is well-known to Southern California tracksters. But it's nowhere near as fast as the Home Depot Center at Carson where the meet had been held two previous years and was slated to be held again this year -- until the HDC people pulled the plug on masters and assigned the track and date to a fledgling professional lacrosse team.

Ed Small is steamed -- and saddened. Not just because he was fired last month as director of track and field at the Armory indoor track in New York City (after 13 years of service). It's the bitter fact that Dr. Norbert Sander, his old Armory boss, is lying to people and saying Small, 68, just up and retired. Now comes word that Ed's assistant, W55 sprint champion Sharon Warren, was fired by the Armory yesterday. This completes a purge by Sander that began a couple years ago, when Robert Hill and Tom Buffalano were let go under similar circumstances. Robert and Tom were the ones who wanted the Armory to host the 2007 USATF Masters Indoor Nationals. And we know what happened to that -- Sander pulled the plug.

Y'all know about how the New York Armory said yes and then no the 2007 USATF Masters Indoor Nationals and how the Home Depot Center near L.A. pulled the same stunt on the 2006 USATF Western Regional Masters Championships. Now comes word that Azusa Pacific University has pulled the rug from under the USATF National Club Championships as well. Steve Vaitones of USATF New England posted this note on the Yahoo Groups USATF Associations listserve: "From the Elite Development Club listserver, the site for the Club National TF meet has been moved from Azusa Pacific to Mt SAC."

Hy-Tek is the Microsoft of track-and-field software. It's basically a monopoly. So it's good to hear that the 2006 Age-Graded Tables are now incoorporated into Hy-Tek's Meet Manager program. Yesterday, Charlie Hodgson of Hy-Tek wrote me: "After considerable effort and last-minute corrections to the tables by Rex Harvey, the full set of age grading tables are now in Hy-Tek's MEET MANAGER version 1.2Kh. For owners of the 1.2 Windows version, the update to 1.2Kh is a free download from the Hy-Tek Download Center."

Among the first track people I got to know on the Internet was a Finnish 400-meter man named Georg Dunkel, who maintained (and still does) an all-time list of Finnish quarter-milers. Not long after, I met (and ran well behind) a 400-meter hurdler named Rick Easley from Texas. He also loves to keep lists, and he's put out a call for all M35 and older performances in the 4 and the 400-meter hurdles. A semi-retired teacher, Rick is among the masters I most respect. He's a national age-group champ who goes beyond the call of duty by keeping seasonal lists.

Thanks to the Track & Field News message board, my main source for masters news, we learn that Merlene Ottey at age 46 has run the 100 in 11.94 seconds -- into a nearly 8 mph headwind! Her stunning time, easily a W45 world record, is equivalent to an open mark of 10.658 seconds. An 11.94 would nearly have qualified for the M45 final at San Sebastian worlds. And she becomes the oldest female sprinter to crack 12 seconds -- a time that most masters men would be thrilled to achieve.

Sweden's Ivar Söderlind is my kind of statmeister. (Competent and professional.) He keeps the books for the European Veterans Athletics Association and this week posted a list of meet records for the Eurovets outdoor championships, held in even-numbered years since 1978. Last I looked, USATF had similar resources and personnel, but so far nobody has put together a list of USATF Masters Outdoor Nationals meet records. The first masters nationals here were held July 19-21, 1968, at San Diego's Balboa Stadium (site of some historic Jim Ryun miles). And those results were published in Len Olson's history of masters track. So what's the deal?

Justin Gatlin runs 9.77 to tie the 100 world record on May 12, 2006. Asafa Powell runs 9.77 to equal his own PR on June 11, 2006. It's one of the greatest rivalries in sport -- and certainly in contemporary track and field. Does masters track have anything comparable in sprints? You bet.

Pete Taylor, the nationals meet announcer, and I have been going back and forth in recent months over how many athletes will compete August 3-6 at the USATF National Masters Outdoor Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina. My guesstimate is 1,200. Pete predicts 1,771. He thinks I'm way off, saying, "My sources indicate a VERY high number for Charlotte."

Some people can't figure out why we run, jump and throw past the "good years." An old Kansas journalist/author friend of mine, Rich Louv, tried to puzzle out why his fellow baby boomers do what they do. Rich's latest column in The San Diego Union-Tribune raises some fascinating issues. And he says: "Like a lot of baby boomers, I figure that aging is a bad policy, so I don't do it. Denial is destiny."

The German masters site run by Rüdiger Hasse has posted dozens of short videos of masters in mainly sprint action. Didn't see any throws (although I didn't look very hard.) The videos apparently were submitted by amateurs. Lots of camera movement, bad tracking, etc. But it's still fascinating stuff -- going back to 2001 and including some world records (a women's 4x1 relay and a Ritte vault among them). One montage of hurdle races showed one middle-age guy alternating lead legs in an indoor race (four steps between hurdles). Windows users will have an easier time loading the clips than Mac users, since the files are in WMV format.

Don't know how I missed this, but Athletics Weekly in April ran a note saying Olympic legend Carl Lewis was planning to compete again -- in masters track. He turns 45 on July 1, 2006. Track & Field News apparently picked up the item as well. But I've seen no evidence of Carl running since April. Maybe a false alarm. But this is news: Lee Evans, the 1968 Olympic champ and world record holder, wrote me a few weeks ago that he's considering a masters track comeback (after a few forays in his early 40s).

Jon Mulkeen of Athletics Weekly, author of the story on Carl Lewis' comeback intentions, has sent me a longer version of his April report. This one gives important hints on Carl's comeback plans -- namely that he might shoot for the top. "While he did not specify which competitions he will be targeting, the World Masters Championships in September 2007 could become one of his main goals," Jon writes. Thanks for the rest of the story, Jon!

Good ol' polevaultpower.com reports another masters vault record. This one is by John Altendorf, whose jump was reported as 3.91 meters (12-10), bettering the the listed WMA world record of 3.90 by Germany's Herbert Schmidt in 1971 (the oldest masters vault record on the books). John proceeded to dedicate his record to his old high school track coach, Al Miller of The Dalles, Oregon. "Without his encouragement, I would never have vaulted," John writes.

A message thread on letsrun.com reports that Henry Rono, the former Kenyan distance great who lives in the United States, is in training with hopes of breaking the masters mile record for the M55 group next year. He turns 55 in February 2007. The listed world record is 4:40.4 by Australia's Jack Ryan in 1977. But M55 Nolan Shaheed has run 4:47 this year and could go lower. Thanks go to David Olshan for bringing Henry's goal to my attention.

I'll take an interest in soccer when Pele announces he's taking up the pole vault. Enough said. But that's not the only event going on these days. In San Diego this weekend, police and firefighters from around the Western United States will compete in a bunch of sports (including track and field). This seems to be the latest multisport festival that nips at the heels of masters track. Corporate games and Senior Olympics have long competed with USATF Masters for entrants. Maybe this accounts for the declining numbers we've been seeing in USATF meet attendance. It's a puzzlement. But at least it means opportunities for more people.

How good is M45 sprinter Willie Gault? At Saturday's SoCal Association masters championship, he is credited with a legal 11.07 after a stumbling start. A week before facing some hot M40s at the Indy USATF open meet (in a masters exhibition), Willie ran his tuneup at Moorpark College with little pressure (and only a dozen people in the stands). His season best remains 10.79 from Occidental College, a possible M45 world record. The equally amazing Linda Cohn upped her own W50 American record in the javelin for at least the third time this year, cracking 40 meters.

Merlene Ottey ran with the wind Sunday, clocking a maximum legal breeze (2.0 mps) 200 in 23.97 seconds in Donnas at the "Via col vento" (Go with the wind) meeting, reports Rosa Marchi, an Italian masters sprint champion. That demolishes the listed W45 world record of 25.56 by Phil Raschker in 1994. Also Sunday, Merlene, 46, ran the 100 in 11.49 -- but with an illegal wind (for record purposes) of 2.4 mps. The 23.97 is equivalent (on the WMA Age-Graded Tables) to an open mark of 21.27! Unreal.

Willie Gault, Stan Whitley, Doug Smith, Kathy Bergen, Greg Pizza, Jim Selby and others are shown in a small batch of shots that I took Saturday at Moorpark College (before and between my own events.) Many of these folks drove three hours through stop-and-go L.A. traffic to attend the meet on a day that reached the high 90s. It's called dedication. (Or insanity.) Whatever, we all had fun. (With the possible exception of meet director Andy Hecker, having a heck of a problem with results.)

Finally -- some imagination in a masters nationals. Gordon Edwards, director of the upcoming USATF nationals in North Carolina, says he's lining up some celebrity presenters - including several Olympians -- for the awards stand as well as providing dozens of prizes beyond medals for the best age-group performances. And the top male and female age-graded performers will get treadmills, Gordon says. Already vying for the oldest entrant is Trent Lane, 96, a Louisiana resident.

Legal action, together with a cane taken to someone's conscience, has led the Hayward Masters Classic to let Zell Brook run this weekend. Last year, the 59-year-old Corvallis woman, who is legally blind, was barred from competing in some middle- and long-distance events at the meet in Eugene, Oregon. The paper says: "Brook worked with three attorneys, including one for the non-profit Disability Rights Advocates, to challenge her disqualification in the 2003 national race and exclusion in the 2004 and 2005 Hayward Classics. In an April 14 agreement, however, USA Track and Field said Brook will be allowed to compete in any event the organization sponsors. She is to let them know in advance what races she wants to run, and they will contact the event organizer on her behalf."

Jeff Laynes, 35, made it to the semifinals of the men's 100 at the USATF Open nationals today in Indianapolis, running 10.29 in a heat that saw Justin Gatlin go 10.02 with a 0.4 mps aiding wind. Jeff ran 10.17 at Modesto, but his 10.29 at Indy should easily qualify as the M35 American record, bettering the listed 10.3 (hand-timed) mark of Ruben Whitney in 1980. In the semis, Jeff ran 10.44 into a 1.2 mps wind. In the 400-meter hurdles prelims, Sandra Glover, 37, was the fourth-fastest qualifier, at 55.62.

The clock is ticking on WMA. Today in Indianapolis, Willie Gault ran the fastest 100 meters ever by an M45, clocking 10.72 with a legal wind of 1.0 meters per second, and beat a field of M40s to boot. Now how long will it take for his time to be ratified as a world age-group record? No excuses. Willie's 10.72 (picked up by the major wire service) not only beat the listed M45 American and world record of 10.96 by Neville Hodge but also trounced the American M40 age-group record of 10.80 by Aaron Thigpen at last year's Hawaii masters nationals!

Pete Magill's bid for some M45 middle-distance world records have gotten the most attention, but an M65 spearchucker stole the spotlight on the first day of the two-day Hayward Masters Classic at Eugene, Oregon. The local paper reports that Gary Stenlund threw 56.92 (186-9) yesterday. That beats the listed world age-group record of 54.70 (179-5) by German's Wladyslaw Kowalczyk in 2002. (The listed American Record is 43.06 (141-3) by Robert Youngs in 2002, but Thomas Harasti threw 49.10 (161-1) in 2005.)

Bill Wambach, an 80-year-old from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, cleared 1.26 (4-1 1/2) yesterday at the Badger State Games to break the listed M80 American record in the high jump, reports his local paper. The old record was 1.22 (4-0) by Arizona's Virgil McIntyre set in 1991. The listed M80 world record is 1.3(4-4 3/4) by Austria's Emmerich Zensch in 2000. Don't hold your breath on Bill's mark being ratified as a record. State Games are notorious for not crossing T's and dotting I's on record attempts. (In fact, the results PDF says Bill cleared 4-1 3/4 -- slightly higher than 1.26. All marks need to be set and recorded metrically, and I doubt it was done here.)

The latest issue of Geezerjock magazine is online now, and the M45 high jump is a focus. The story is headlined: "Odd couple: Extroverted McBarnette and camera-shy Lewis set to square off in high jump at USA Track & Field Masters Outdoor Championships." And the author did his homework (phoning me, for instance, some months ago.) The news is that Bruce and Dennis both promise to show up at Charlotte. Cross your fingers.

M65 sprinter Paul Edens reportedly ran the 100 in 12.53 seconds at the Hayward Masters Classic over the weekend, but in the course of looking for meet results (still not posted), I came across a story that said Paul ran 11.99 at a June 10 meet elsewhere in Oregon. Here's what the paper reported: "Former Silverton resident Paul Edens broke the world record in the 65-69 age group for the 100 meters on June 10 in the Oregon championships at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham." No mention of wind reading, though.

The Winchester Star online reports that W40 Alisa Harvey -- somewhat quiet since her record-setting indoor season and the Penn Relays -- ran a road mile in 4:55 over the weekend. The story says: "Harvey, who was an assistant cross country at George Mason University last year, showed up and registered on the morning of the race, and was pleased with her performance." The listed W40 American track record at the mile is 4:54.0 by Laurie Binder in 1991.

Belgian sprinter Erik Wymeersch, who won the M35 title at 60 meters at the WMA world meet in Linz this past March, is being detained by authorities on drug-selling and doping charges (human growth hormone). According to reports on the Koops' site and elsewhere, Erik, 36, denies taking "forbidden" substances, and says he took only a "cough mixture." But a rival says Erik has been doping for a decade.

Results have been posted for the 25th annual Hayward Masters Classic, which again is one of the deepest masters meets in the country outside nationals. (The M70 discus had 10 entrants!) As expected, just-turned-45 Pete Magill of Southern California took down the M45 American record for 3,000 meters, clocking 8:37.52 to beat the listed age-group mark of 8:56.59 by Chuck Coats in May 2005. Pete also ran the 1500 in 4:07.58 -- seven seconds off the AR. Perhaps the best performer, through, was Jim Stookey, 75, who won the 80-meter hurdles in 14.05, the 300 hurdles in 54.76, the high jump in 1.30 (4-3 1/4), the long jump in 4.05 (13-3 1/2) and the triple jump in 8.94 (29-4). (He was just off three of his own M75 American records.)

Readers of this blog are amazing. Especially y'all out in Switzerland. Pino Pilotto, an M50 Swiss jumper, eagle-eyed a mistake in my June 19 post, where I wrote: "Also coming to our attention, belatedly -- a W45 world record in the hammer throw by Sydney Olympic discus champion Ellina Zvereva of Belarus (born Nov. 16, 1960), who spun the implement a gargantuan 63.20 (207-4) at the Blr Cup Brest meet on May 27, 2006." Uh, actually, that was a discus throw, not hammer (and short of the W45 WR), In the process, I said Ellina broke the W45 record of Mägy Duss.

Or ThrowBud or JumpBud. For those who have a leeeetle too much time on their hands, a new Web site offers the tools to create your own running-centric Web page. It's called RunBud, and it hopes to piggyback the popularity of our kids' (or grandkids') MySpace. Of course, this kind of exercise risks fracturing the already tiny community of online masters tracksters. But what the heck. Check it out, especially if you do the road thing.

Becca Gillespy, webmistress of polevaultpower.com, writes: "I just wanted to let you know that my high school (in Washington state) is hosting this summer's masters decathlon and heptathlon nationals. I made a website for the meet: It's nothing fancy but it has the info, and I am trying to keep entries updated. I have some more pictures of our facility that will be up soon. It is a gorgeous facility, and we usually have very nice weather this time of year." Another go-to masters deca site is decamouse by Gill's Jeff Watry.

M75 Hall of Famer Bud Held has a column in the current National Masters News about the disappearance of masters records involving phased-out implements. M35 Norm Deep, a relative newcomer, is calling for even more changes in the weights. (See his proposal.) But both are on the same page. They want more attention and respect given masters weightmen and women. Norm has been shopping his proposal for different weights for five years, he says. But his thoughtful ideas merit consideration. And they apparently will be given a hearing at the next USATF annual meeting.

After years of ranting, I see progress in USATF Masters Track and Field making good use of its own section at usatf.org. As part of the USATF Masters T&F Strategic Plan, a Web site liaison has been named to make needed changes. Specifically, the plans calls for "(appointment of) a USATF website liaison to interact with USATF webmaster and to serve as a gatekeeper for Masters web page format, content and submission of material." The lucky appointee is Jeff Brower of Texas, a national-champion M45 hurdler and pentathlete.