Late last week, “Simpdog” became the 300th member of our masters track Forum. Since that’s a nice round milestone, it merits some self-congratulation. But that’s not my style. Instead, I’d rather focus on the members themselves. So who is Mr. 300? I wrote him to learn more. He graciously gave up his anonymity. The gent is John Simpson, a 41-year-old sprinter living in Corsicana, Texas. His best M40 marks are world-class: 10.97 for the 100, 22.55 for 200, 15.76 for 110 hurdles and 54.07 for the 400 (which he promises “will come down later on this summer.”)

My Q&A with John continued:

How did you learn about the Forum?
Reading the blogs on masterstrack site.
Why did you register?
I saw my name in the 40-44M top 100m marks link that was posted and I wanted to get on board.
What do you hope to learn from the Forum?
Training tips, info and scoop.
What does the masters track movement need most?
Needs more coverage from the media. However, this is the USA — no blood, no contact, it’s not considered a sport like it is in Europe and other places abroad; we have a small fraternity in MTF.

John added some more biographical info:

I ran track and played football at Baylor University from 84-88. I was drafted by the Chicago Bears and bounced around the NFL, CFL, WLAF and Arena League. I was a two-time All-American at Baylor, anchoring some good 4×100 . . . . I was also the anchor leg for the USA Jr team in 1985 along with Floyd Heard, Leroy Burrell and Dennis Mitchell (39.00!) I was the no name of the group.
I finished with the third best time in the 100 last summer and finished a disappointing fourth in the 100 at nationals in Charlotte. . . . I had a nagging ham strain that never got fully healed. I have been running well thus far this spring and hope to give Aaron Thigpen a run for his money. . . LOL.

Me again:
The Forum has generated some momentum in various areas, especially members helping members with training, technique and injury rehab. I’m especially grateful to the prolific posters — the members who add the most and advance the discussion.
Easily the busiest writer is throws expert Tom Fahey, with 73 info-packed posts. I have 61 posts, and three have 30-plus posts. The Forum has a total of 870 posts on topics ranging from the 2007 Canadian masters nationals to “Should a sprinter train distance for that 20km fun race?”
The Forum also has provided athletes a venue for promoting their meets, Web sites and the like. And today came news of a swan song.Milton Girouard wrote:

I just wanted to say that I’m hanging up the throwing shoes to pursue other interests for the time being, but I also wanted to publicly thank Dave and Ken for starting and keeping this site the best there is in the world in getting rankings, results, and news about the masters track and field community.
A good deal of my motivation to train diligently was in reading Masterstrack.com rankings and seeing the marks others had put up and think about what I had to do to try and surpass them. Even though we have never met or competed against one another, Glenn Thompson was an athlete that kept me on my toes for years after seeing his marks in the rankings, which in turn, made me work hard to keep up with that standard of throwing.
Others I’d like to thank are here in Colorado, the Rocky Mountain region and some have since moved away but all have in some way, influenced and motivated me to work hard to succeed such as Tim Edwards, Jerry Bookin-Weiner, Kris Lettow, Bob Jones, Chad Lindsey, Paul Barrett, Casey Malone, John Kuemmerlin and Rande Treece to name a few of many.
I wish all of you athletes out there much happiness and success in your track and field endevours and I hope they are as much fun for you, as they were for me!

Well, you’re welcome, Milt. We’ll miss you at the meets. But don’t be a stranger on the Forum. Your wisdom and experience are always appreciated.