Masters Track News and Muse

A little over two days from now, 1,400-plus athletes will gather for that annual reunion of tribes we call the USATF Masters National Outdoor Championships. Our host will be Charlotte, North Carolina. Many will win medals. More will revive friendships and make new ones. And some will set records. Watching all this, and talking at the same time, will be meet announcer Pete Taylor, who does his best amid brutally long days and often harsh weather. Still, his enthusiasm never wanes. And his excitement is palpable in one of his recent notes to me.

Dr. Marc R. Grosso of Rochester, New York, has announced a new Web site with great implications for masters track fans. Called This Day in Athletics, it offers historical tidbits drawn from a gazillion authoritative track sites and publications. Although history is the focus, many of the athletes in his database (the stars of yesteryear) are the age-group studs of today. This helps more masters to appreciate the gent in the next lane. Best of all, it's free! (A Finnish site that I relied on for athlete bios used to be free, but no longer.)

Complete results of the USATF Western Regional Masters Championships of late July have been posted -- belatedly. But now I can confirm that M45 Lee Balkin jumped 1.65 (5-5) to win his age group. A month earlier, he cleared 1.64 at Moorpark. Lee is famous in Southern California as the teen who broke the school record at Glendale High School in 1979. The record holder before Lee? Kid named Dwight Stones. Lee's HS record was 7-3 1/4. Lee competed in the 1987 IAAF World Championships in Rome (going 2.21, about the same height.) His all-time best is 2.33 -- 7-7 3/4 in 1987.

USATF Masters T&F Media guru Bob Weiner, in a previous career gig, was the chief spokesman for Barry McCaffrey , the U.S. drug czar in the late 1990s. Now Bob has combined his interests in masters track and anti-doping with a timely column in today's Charlotte Observer. (Bob is too modest to mention that he's also competing this weekend -- in the M55 1500 and steeplechase.)

Organizers of the Charlotte master's nationals, who on Thursday cancelled afternoon events due to a heat emergency, were forced to cancel evening events today because of lightning strikes in the local region. Around 8:20 p.m. today, all athletes and officials in the stadium were ordered across the street into the safety of a parking garage. At 9:10 p.m., everyone was told that all of the uncompleted Friday night events would be moved to Saturday. Organizers said that local laws about weather hazards prevented them from resuming the meet.

Fed up with conflicts and kvetching, USATF Masters T&F Chairman George Mathews has resigned, effective in December, he told me tonight here in Charlotte. With two years left on his second four-year term, George will step down and let the Masters T&F Executive Committee (or a nominating committee) suggest his successor. Masters Vice Chair Suzy Hess, busy as publisher of National Masters News, has opted against taking over as chairman. The larger body of masters T&F delegates will pick the new chair at the December annual meeting, scheduled for Indianapolis.

With pacing help from masters miler Tony Young, distance star Pete Magill of South Pasadena, California, took 20 seconds off the venerable M45 American record for 10,000 meters on the track Aug. 2, clocking 31:27.30 at a Club Northwest all-comers meet in Seattle. The old mark was set in 1977. Pete writes: "I felt great the first 5000, coming through in 15:29. But then started to feel my lack of fitness (with all the racing I've been doing, I haven't done a run over 10 miles -- and only 3 or 4 of those -- in the last seven weeks)!"

Bob Weiner, head of the USATF Masters T&F Media Subcommittee, was proud of his group's operations at Charlotte nationals, generating some nice daily features in the Charlotte Observer (on Trent Lane, Phil Raschker, Kathryn Martin and others over the weekend). He also was tickled pink over broadcast coverage on Day 1 -- even if some of the news was about bodies broiling in the heat. But with my post on George Mathews resigning as USATF Masters T&F chair, Bob assumes the role of a news participant. He adds his insider perspective.

Mainstream media are noticing that Merlene Ottey is, like, old. But still hyperfast. The Associated Press reports from the European Championships in Goteborg, Sweden: " Injuries might be able to slow down Merlene Ottey. Age certainly hasn't seemed to have much affect. Making her European Championship debut at 46, Ottey appeared to have finally shaken off a string of health problems to equal her own 100-metre masters record. Born in Jamaica but now running for Slovenia, Ottey ran a season-best 11.41 seconds in her heat Tuesday to finish third and improve her previous over-45 record. No other women in that age group has ever run under 12 seconds."

Some guy named Ken Stone shipped an article on Charlotte nationals to Geezerjock magazine, and it was posted online today. USATF's Tom Surber also did a great job on his daily reports from masters nationals. I'll have my own detailed posts on the meet when I have time. (Last night I "slept" on a cot at Dallas-Fort Worth airport when my connecting flight to San Diego was canceled.) Also, W60 sprinter/vaulter Nadine O'Connor of Del Mar, Calif., was named USATF's Athlete of the Week. Still to come: winners of the treadmills for best age-graded performances (male and famel) at Charlotte. Scores are still being calculated.

Merlene Ottey missed the finals of the open 100 at the European Championships and was immediately pressed on naming a retirement date. Heck, she's only 46! One story reported: "She was in contention until 10 meters from the finish, when she ran out of steam. 'See you next year, Ottey said, indicating that she may be planning to compete at next year's world championships in Japan."

Jan Zelezny upped his own M40 world age-group record in the javelin to 85.92 (281-11) in taking third today at the European Athletics Championships in Sweden. What can you say but: Wow! The age-graded equivalent is 96.94 (318-0), which for once is roughly equivalent to Jan's all-time best of 98.48 (323-1) -- also the open world record. Jan earlier announced plans to retire this year. Now the big question is: Will World Masters Athletics certify his age-group record without the usual paperwork? Don't hold your breath.

Meet announcer Pete Taylor, recovering from four hideously long days of Charlotte excitement, has sent the first of several compilations of notes and quotes on this past weekend's masters nationals. Soon I'll share my own hideously voluminous recollections -- as well as photos and videos. Also in the meantime, send in your own favorite stories! Pete, BTW, was profiled over the weekend by Washington Times running columnist Steve Nearman, an M45 finalist in the 1500 at Charlotte.

Becky Sisley of Oregon, the active athletes rep on the USATF Masters T&F Committee, shares the process for picking a successor to George Mathews, who has submitted his resignation and will step down as Masters T&F chair in December. Becky writes: "For your information, as a member of the MTF L&L committee for the past 13 years, I am placing below the portion of our MTF Bylaws (Our Operating Rules) which related to "Vacancies."

Who knew? I just thought he liked to run fast. Turns out that James Lofton, a new M50 sprinter, has been eyeing Fred Sowerby's world-age group record in the 400 like a hawk. And a profile today in The San Diego Union-Tribune by my colleague Don Norcross says James wants the M50 long jump record, too. They'll have to wait until next year, however, since James is busy coaching the San Diego Chargers wide receivers. Masters champions James Chinn and Kettrell Berry contributed anecdotes to the article, and note the world-class photo.

So it seems, and that's just the way WMA Prez Cesare Beccalli likes it. As reported here earlier, part-time Brazilian resident Beccalli wants desperately to have his adopted home host the worlds. Now we have details on where exactly in that big ol' country. Pete Mulholland of Britain writes: "A bid is being prepared for Brazil and will be completed before the September 1 deadline. There appears to be no other bids in the pipeline. It will be based in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, so still a long journey for you and fellow Americans."

Now it can be revealed. The "air-conditioned" press box where Pete Taylor held forth for countless hours in Charlotte was barely that. He writes: "Yes, I used ice bags under my shirt on Thursday and Friday, and in the dormitory public room I credit Julie Hayden (ran a sparkling 5:06.64 1500 in W45) with saving me from a disastrous end (I was struggling from prolonged exposure to heat)." Pete hopes Orono in 2007 is cooler. Also hopes he'll be able to reprise his meet-announcing role. (Yes, he frets over being tapped to do the gig. Not to worry, Pete.)

It's up -- down and backwards, too. Haven't had time to put the shots in any story-telling order, or to add captions. But what the heck. Check out the gallery. Mine (with 180-plus fotos) is just one of several online albums from nationals. This professional got some great images. Field eventer Pam Swan of Maine, despite a leg injury, competed and shot nearly 500 pictures for her own shutterfly galleries. My best shot of the meet isn't of a human athlete. It's a little leaper overcome by heat (probably) on the track. That's how many of us felt, especially Thursday before the meet was suspended.

Heck, I could have beaten Merlene -- when I was 17 and if she were 46. But today in Glasgow, she was unstoppable, winning the Scottish 100 title in 11.34, her season best and another W45 world record. At the start of this season the listed world record was 12.25 by Germany's Karin von Riewel in 1996. Taking nearly a second off any 100 record is unheard of. Now hear this: Her 11.34 is the age-graded equivalent of a 10.12 for open-age athletes. Yup, time to redraw those tables.

Steve Nearman, the Washington Times running columnist, took fourth in the M45 1500 at Charlotte (but was the third American). For penance and play, he flew west after nationals -- to Boulder, Colo. It's a place where you can run yourself ragged. It's also great column fodder (and tax write-off?). Here Steve writes about the masters stars he encountered on the Rocky Mountain running trails. (Steve's secret agenda, BTW, is mentioning masters every chance he gets. Shhh. Don't tell anyone.)

It's been five months since Linz, but fallout continues from that world masters indoor championships. The latest news, published on the WMA Web site a week ago, is that M40 shot putter Sergey Rubtsov of Kazakhstan has been DQ'd for "rule violations." Which rules? Who knows? WMA doesn't say. We do know that Sergey is no schlub. He competed in the 2000 Athens Olympics and was world-ranked for many years in the shot.

A week ago Saturday morning, I was down on the track at Charlotte -- learning that meet officials had limited throwers and horizontal jumpers to four attempts instead of the usual six. This was the crunch day of the meet, when events that had been canceled Friday night (due to a lightning storm) were rolled over to the next day. The Games Committee decided that they had the authority to limit throws and jumps to accommodate the schedule. Well, the anger hasn't subsided. What follows is an exchange between Tim Muller, an M55 thrower, and Carroll DeWeese of the Games Committee.

Injuries are part of athletic life. We accept that reality and rehab for next season (or the next age group). But masters are especially expert at finding silver linings. A great example is W40 jumper/thrower Pam Swan of Bowdoin, Maine. She writes: "Charlotte was my dream meet, and although things didn't pan out quite like I visualized, the new acquaintances I made and the life stories they shared with me are treasures I might not have enjoyed otherwise." Pam won two medals. But most of all, she won the admiration of her less-injured competition.

I don't know who Sleepy7 is, but thanks! A gent with this handle shot some races at the Charlotte masters nationals -- and uploaded footage to YouTube.com, the video-sharing site. My own clips are still in my camcorder. So while I snoozed, Sleepy7 won the prize for quick uploading. One shows Bill Collins winning the M55 200 final by a country mile in 23.44. (That's me in the black shirt and white cap patting Bill after the race.) Here are some others. Also, check out video of M50 Gary Hunter's 15-1 American Record vault, shot by Doug "Bubba" Sparks -- a former 18-footer from Texas.

M40 shot putter Sergey Rubtsov of Kazakstan was disqualified at the Linz world indoor meet in March because he left the arena midway through his event, we've now confirmed. Why skedaddle? One private report said he feared being drug-tested. I've sent inquiries to several WMA amigos, and so far the only response is from Numero Uno -- WMA President Cesare Beccalli of Italiabrasil. Cesare writes: "I can not -- and I think no one can -- state that Sergey abandoned his event because he heard that he was going to be submitted to anti-doping test . But this is a fact -- he abandoned the event with a pretext and came back no more; he simply disappeared, also from the Hotel. As for other eventual rules violation, I do not know details."

Masters meet announcer Pete Taylor shares another in his series of Charlotte wrap-ups, this time quoting M40 sprinter champ Aaron Thigpen, who says: "The Charlotte meet was a good meet, setup nice, officiating seemed good, facilities great, accommodations good." But Pete saves special praise for the sprints and 800, saying:
"Sid Howard, the affable Hall of Famer from New Jersey, agreed with me that this was the best-ever talent in nationals for races of 800 meters on down. Not to say it was not brilliant elsewhere, but 800 and below rocked."

Terri Lowe knows heat and humidity. She lives in Elk Grove, near sizzling Sacramento, after all. But at Charlotte, this 36-year-old athlete encountered something worse: cold stares. Eyes rolled when she finished the pentathlon 800 in 6:48.22. (Her final total was 363 points.) Spectators snickered when she walked across the finish line of the short hurdles in 57.21 -- slower than the winning time in the M35 long hurdles. Terri's time in the W35 400-meter hurdles? She clocked 3:04.08. So what's the deal? How dare she make a mockery of these events? some folks thought. Therein lies a tale.

Oops. A few days ago, my tech-savvy brother upgraded my Movable Type software (which produces this blog) to version 3.3, and didn't tell me that now I have to manually "allow" comments to be posted. I've just published a couple dozen comments to various blog entries (especially the Charlotte throws issue). I apologize for not noticing the absence of comments until today. (Thank you, PT, for calling this to my attention.) I'll have my brother tweak the settings so comments are automatically published when typed in. The good news: With 3.3, I'll soon be able to complete a major redesign of this site. Stay tuned for some GREAT additions.

Whose fantasy is this? Since when do geezers from around the world buck U.S. visa restrictions and European hegemony to hold a world masters meet in the USA? Well, check this out: Between Aug. 1 and yesterday, more than 7,000 age-group athletes entered hundreds of events at several venues, winning a gazillion medals and setting numerous world records. The 11th FINA Masters World Swimming Championships just wrapped up in the San Francisco Bay Area. (Of course, masters swimming starts at age 25, unlike our 35.) But there is a point in all this. Why isn't America bidding for the 2011 WMA world meet?

Tonight in Zurich, Olympic champ Allen Johnson ran the 110 hurdles in 13.13 into a 0.9 mps wind -- his season best at age 35 and nearly a world age-group record. (The M35 best remains Colin Jackson's 13.11 in 2002. The listed M35 American Record is 13.26 by Greg Foster in 1994.) Czech spearchucker Jan Zelezny, meanwhile, failed to up his own M40 world record, throwing a pathetic 79.60 meters -- 261-2. (Hang 'em up, Jan!) He threw 281-11 earlier this summer.

Clubs are cool. They give you a uniform, a place to train, even coaching help. Teammates motivate and inspire. And scoring points for your club adds a measure of satisfaction. But club competition in masters track leads to ill will, too. For the past few years, the top scoring teams at nationals have included Brooks Fleet Feet Racing, and SoCal Fleet Feet (along with the Florida Athletic Club). But while Brooks and SoCal share a title sponsor, they diverge in member makeup. Brooks stays mainly local, and SoCal recruits nationwide. This hasn't gone unnoticed, and a founder of masters track is planning to do something about it. Bob Fine of the Florida AC writes me: "I am proposing a rule that would prevent recruitting outside of one's association for Masters T&F team purposes."

Mary Woo of the USATF Pacific Association (mainly Northern California) has posted a report on that association's results at Charlotte, with the spot-on headline: "Pacific Association Athletes Survive Nationals!" She also reports that team title winner Brooks Fleet Feet Racing raised a chunk of change for a club member. Mary writes: "With several pledges for both team points and personal records, more than $4,000 was raised for Dianne McCarthy and her daughter Brianna. 'I was really proud of our team. They competed hard for four days under difficult circumstances with the heat, humidity and schedule changes,' said coach Randy Sturgeon. 'Yet, they kept a very positive attitude and did all they could to help a teammate and her daughter.' " Any other association reports out there? Shoot them here.

The Eurovets Web site belatedly reports: "The German Athletics Federation (DLV) informed EVAA that on August 17, 2006, the DLV- Disciplinary Commission made the following decision in the above mentioned case: 1. the athlete Werner Schallau has committed a doping offence. 2. the athlete is declared ineligible for two years from the date of the decision with a deduction for the suspension served from July 13, 2006, that is, until July 12, 2008." But this is the new wrinkle: "3. the athlete has to bear the costs."

W45 national sprints/jump champ Joy Upshaw-Margerum has been named women's coach of the USA national team competing in the DecaNation team event this weekend in Paris. The event pits 10 male and 10 female athletes from eight countries in a team-scoring competition. (But it's not a decathlon event.) USATF recently posted the four-member staff. Coach Joy is no stranger to Europe. She cheered her jumper sister Grace on to 10th place in the Athens Olympics. Minutes before flying out of the San Francisco Bay Area, Joy wrote: "This is such an honor & I'm so excited!"