In July 2000, I took my family to the Sacramento Olympic Trials. Under a blazing sun, we saw blazing speed. In the stands I met Jimson Lee, a Canadian masters sprinter. Jimson, of course, went on to fame and fortune as founder of SpeedEndurance.com, the best sprint-centric site in existence. In March, we touched base again. He asked me to take part in a roundtable discussion (via email) on masters track. He was preparing an article for the IAAF technical journal called New Studies in Athletics. The English-language quarterly is produced in Monaco but printed in Germany. I was tickled to get the latest copy this week (Issue 1, vol. 30, mailed at a cost of 8 Euros!). And I was delighted to see the Q&A as part of a big package on masters athletics. I wrote to Vicky Brennan, the magazine’s editorial assistant, and she graciously gave me permission to post the seven-page Q&A called “The Future of Masters Athletics.” Here’s the PDF. (A website text version is below.)

My remarks are familiar. I talk about the need to reform the doping rules for masters. And I slam the recordkeeping system.

But you’ll be interested to hear from other panelists:

Click to read Q&A in NSA.

Paul Osland, president of Canadian Masters Athletics. He look part in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and in addition to coaching and continues to compete and has several Canadian Masters records to his credit.

Prof. Jörn Rittweger, an expert in human physiology who works as the head of the Space Physiology’ Division at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Centre.

Henk Kraaijenhof, a top-flight coach whose well-known charges over the years have included Nelli Cooman (NED) and Merlene Ottey (JAM). His current interests include mental coaching, in particular stress and stress management,
and he has a blog called helpingthebesttogetbetter.com.

And Kurt Kaschke, president of the European Masters Athletics Association.

Here’s my rephrasing of the questions we answer:

• What are the main benefits of masters competition?
• How can we encourage more elites to compete?
• Any emerging trends in training of masters athletes?
• What’s the next stage in the development of masters track?
• What are the main issues the masters movement must address?
• Thoughts on masters championships vs. World Masters Games?
• Opinion on therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs)?

How would YOU answer these questions?

BTW, the current issue won’t be online until 2017. But you can access older issues — from 1986 to 2013 — at this archive site. You also can buy back issues (and I assume the current one).

Here’s the text:

IAAF 2015 Masters Round Table – by Jimson Lee

1) What do you see as the main benefits of Masters Athletics competition?  In other words, why should someone take part?  How can we get that message to more people?

Paul Osland: Physical and Mental health. Research has found that people who exercise into 60’s, 70’s and beyond are able to maintain excellent muscle strength and endurance. On top of that exercise is a proven stress reliever at all ages So keeping active and fit into older ages is a huge benefit to the health and wellness of individuals throughout their life. Also people are living longer, due to medical breakthroughs however the quality of life is not that great for older people who have not been active in their later years. People these days are looking for a high quality of life, not just living longer. Besides, doing athletics is fun, regardless of the age and one of the keys to longevity is in having fun, in other words keeping that inner child alive for our entire lives. Getting the message out there requires more marketing and promotions at the club and local levels to let Masters aged athletes know that this opportunity exists. As well we need to communicate more with the younger athletes that Athletics can be for life and is not about hanging up the shoes when you have gotten to a certain age.

Henk Kraaijenhof: In my opinion, firstly, exercise is the most versatile anti-aging measure, preventing chronic disease and disability at a later stage in life. Simply because, of course dependent on what sport, one has the ability to modify all bodily tissues and organs. In other words: it is the best investment you’ll ever do, but most people only realize this when it is too late. The better health of Master athlete compared to their sedentary peers is not only the fact that they move, but also they often adapt a health-conscious lifestyle like not smoking, having a proper diet, know about weight management, etc. Competition, in most cases, gives people a goal to work for and a structure to reach that goal (regular exercise).

Secondly, regular exercise should become an even more integrated part of life like eating or sleeping. These are two ideas that should be brought forward on a wider scale.

Jörn Rittweger: There are three ways in which people benefit. Firstly, training has many known benefits for health and performance. Hence, older people can boost their independence and autonomy through training. Secondly, the brain is a clear target of training.  Importantly, exercise and competition schedules give a structure to people’s lives. This will be as important for the impact upon the brain as the direct physiological effects. Thirdly, many older people who engage in master athletics benefit from the social inclusion that comes by training and competition.
I see two effective ways to get this recognition across to more people, namely personal outreach, and also better coverage by the media.

Kurt Kaschke:  One of the main targets for being a master athlete and to take part in the competition is the social effect among the competitors. People of the age of 40/45 + are looking for their personal goals in life. One goal is the “quality of life” athletics give them a family to share the passion of training together, of being together during a competition, and to share friendship and hospitality. The “burn out” syndrome in this age group is getting higher and sport is one of the activity that can cure this disease …with being sportive and active and with camaraderie.

Ken Stone: Masters athletics allows experienced and first-time athletes to discover and improve their current fitness and potential in a safe, supportive environment. Unlike open or youth athletics, where coaches and schools dictate events and training, age-groupers experience complete freedom. Why do they call us Masters? Because we’re not slaves anymore! Track is among the most strenuous of sports, but the benefits from high-intensity training are great. Senior Olympic competition is lower-key and allows more people to tip a toe into the water. But the national and world circuits provide a taste of high-level competition. Fun like the olden days but with more friendship at the post-meet parties. How to promote this? Word-of-mouth works best, and exposing collegiate runners to Masters competition by encouraging older athletes to enter collegiate and other open meets.

2) Masters Track benefits from Elite athletes competing into their late 30’s and early 40s as open athletes.  Kim Collins and Bernard Lagat come to mind.  We also had Troy Douglas, Merlene Ottey and Kip Janvrin as role models.  What can we do to encourage this more?

Paul Osland: This is a tough one as many of the elite athletes are likely competing at a high level as long as they do because they are able to continue making money and supporting themselves through running. At some point they are just not going to be able to compete at the level that will be able to support themselves financially. Unless we somehow find a way to get people and corporations interested in Masters running, enough that they will pay for the elite’s then it will be difficult for elite open runners to continue into their Masters years as they need to find a new career to support themselves and their families. I think it is even harder for the elite runners that have competed into their late 30’s and early 40’s as they likely have not focused on another career like someone who retires in their late 20’s and starts up a career and is then able to start competing again in their mid to late 40’s. Ultimately if we could get corporations that are involved in athletics to understand that their biggest market comes from Masters age athletes, who have money, as compared to young athletes with very little disposable income then perhaps we could find a way to sponsor elite Masters age runners and make athletics a viable life long career rather than just a temporary career. A good example of this is Rosey Edeh who came out with my group for almost a year however she was just getting going in her new TV personality career and her schedule, getting up at 4am to get to the studio for 5am to prep for the early morning show and then again at noon made it too hard for her to train at night.

Henk Kraaijenhof: Fortunately these athletes don’t need another incentive than the intrinsic pleasure of sport itself. They are passionate about their sport far beyond the prospect of medals and records. Unfortunately, others might need sources of external motivation like winning, breaking records or monetary rewards. I think an important role of coaches is to educate athletes, even at an early age, not only about winning and breaking records but also teach them that their bodies are the best instruments they’ll ever possess and that it is worth taking care of, long after their peak performance age. We, as coaches and educators, have the best ability to do that! Whereas your parents and your doctors come second place.

Jörn Rittweger: I am quite convinced that more people would continue to compete beyond the 4th decade if they received the recognition they deserve for it. At the moment, master athletics is mainly un-professional. Broader media coverage, again, could be a key issue.

Kurt Kaschke: It is – from our point of view – the slogan that is keeping us on the track „athletics for life“. Give the young generation the possibility to be together with the different kind of generation … they all will benefit of being active, competitive, and integrated in the “athletic family”.
We had some positive examples during IAAF World Championships. There is “Kids for athletics” as a permanent project. There are competitions for young athletes during IAAF Meetings … why shouldn’t it be possible to integrate the Masters into IAAF events as well?

Top athletes should recognize that athletics doesn’t end after being 30 years old … we have to show them that it is possible to keep fit “for ages” (See the movie “Autumn Gold”)

Ken Stone: Olympians and other former elites have shown courage by continuing their careers as Masters. Their motivations vary. They no longer have financial inducements. And they bravely expose their reduced performances to public review (and “ridicule”). But many have learned that it’s a return to pure joy. It’s more fun now! Egos still rule, however. Olympic champions have been heard to say: “I won’t enter Masters meets unless I’m sure I can always win.” To encourage these folks to compete, they’ll need a kick in the butt from fellow elites.  Masters athletics may be the only sport where former world-record holders and Olympic medalists line up against people who barely made their high school track team. (You’ll never see Masters golf champions play 18 holes against duffers or Grand Slam tennis champions enter events with age-groupers.) We also can encourage more ex-elites to rejoin the sport by improving our records ratification system, so that they can be assured their efforts will get proper recognition. That’s not the case today.

3) What do you see as the next stage in the development of Masters Athletics, how does the sport grow or improve from where it is now?

Paul Osland: I see Masters Athletics issues as very similar to the issues at the younger levels, its all about grass roots awareness. That to me is where the clubs come into play. While the National and Provincial sport bodies are can much more in terms of providing awareness and potential funding support for Masters, the clubs are the ones that can do the most good through the addition of Masters programs to their other age group programs. Masters athletes need direction and coaching to help them achieve better performances, avoid injuries and to provide a community for connecting with other like minded individuals. Five years ago Chris Lemassif, Mike Sherar and myself started the Masters group within the University of Toronto Track Club. Today we have approximately 70 Masters aged athletes that are competing in sprints, middle distance, distance and even some triathletes who train with the group to help their running. This growth has been great for Masters athletics in Toronto, there is quite a friendly rivalry going on between a few clubs that also have Masters athletes in them. The growth has also been good for the younger age groups as they get an influx of money, through club fees, from the Masters that help fund much of the younger groups programs. Masters have money, so this is a good thing for the sport!
Get more clubs to start Masters groups and Masters Athletics will grow.

Henk Kraaijenhof: Masters Athletics is an expression and a part of athletics as a whole. Unfortunately athletics is a dying sport, for multiple reasons. A dinosaur nevertheless so the dying process takes a long time. It hurts me to say this since athletics are my roots, but reality will show that athletics no longer attract the audience and participants that it did in, let’s say the nineteen eighties and nineties. I am afraid Master athletics might suffer from the same fate. A positive point is the exploding attraction of long distance running, road races and marathon running. Just look at the number of participants.

Jörn Rittweger: Difficult to say. I guess that master athletics federations need to get onto the radar of politicians. The federations already have an important role, but too little attention is paid to older athletes by policy makers and funding bodies. In Germany, for example, the home office talks directly to the athletics federation (DLV), but not to the Master athletic organizations. This needs to be changed.

Kurt Kaschke:  Masters Athletics has to be recognized by the IAAF Federations all over in the world. Until now there are countries/federations that ignore the Masters. Masters must be part of the national athletic federations. We have to convince the governments as well, that Masters athletics has to recognized by the society – it keeps the people fit for life!

Ken Stone: Showcasing Masters athletics at the 2015 IAAF world meet is a great way to expose many people to the sport. (We’ll have a 50-plus women’s 400 and men’s 800 at Beijing.) But the best way to grow age-group athletics is via the grass roots — where local clubs and associations recruit members where they live and play. Media attention is nice as well. Many American Masters athletes weren’t aware of the USATF circuit of Masters meets until they saw coverage in their local newspapers or TV. Senior Olympics on the local level also provide a pathway to longer involvement.

4) What are the main threats or issues that the Masters movement must address?

Paul Osland: The Masters movement needs more younger people to get involved in managing and directing things. Most of the administrators and volunteers working on the Masters movement are in their late 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Doug Smith in Canada has been involved since he was in his mid 30’s and has been a tremendous force for growing Masters in the Province of Ontario. Doug has been instrumental at bringing in younger blood to help drive Masters in Canada. He convinced me to become the Canadian Masters Athletics President and he has brought in a number of other younger athletes in their early 40’s to help out on the Ontario Masters Athletics board. We need more energetic individuals like Doug to promote Masters athletics to inspire others to also get involved in helping grow the sport.

Henk Kraaijenhof: Main threats are: being dragged down in the negative sentiment around athletics in general, as indicated above. And in specific terms: the injuries that occur at an older age. One of the ideas is that older athletes want to train harder in order to compensate for their age, but in fact they can perform as well in absolute sense, they only need more time for recovery.

Masters should look more at age-specific training loads and methods, targeted towards the prevention of injuries which is the main limitation for good performances in most Master athletes.

Jörn Rittweger: Doping. Un-clean sports is un-fair at young age. It is a deadly game at old age.

Kurt Kaschke: Masters Athletics is a high-class performance. Competitors must be well prepared to take part in competitions. Our most difficult problem we have with the older generations (65+) that these athletes are not always well prepared or they have not skills to do certain events (pole vaulting, triple jump, hurdles, stipple chase). There are people of age group 90+ who are not able to run … they walk the distances. The image that might be transferred into the media: why do these people like to die on the track?

Ken Stone: Drug-testing protocols must be revised (even though it’s rare to face testing). Current rules cut both ways — discouraging some older athletes from taking part because of their need for medications on the banned list while weeding out only a tiny number of cheaters.  A one-size-fits-all doping system doesn’t work for Masters athletics. In the same way that 60-year-olds aren’t forced to run 42-inch hurdles, they shouldn’t be required to obey international elite drug rules as well. Drug rules should be modified to take into consideration common elder illnesses and conditions.

Onerous rules for record ratification must be addressed. USATF’s new records chair is carrying out reforms, but this needs to be done worldwide as well. No 90-year-old jumper should have to leap high hurdles to get paperwork filled out. Meet directors must be required to complete paperwork on behalf of athletes and forward it to records authorities. Sad truth: Dozens of national and world Masters records are in error — not reflecting true age-group bests.

Another issue is the increasing difficulty of finding affordable venues for meets. Many schools and colleges are charging higher rents for tracks, pricing some meets out of the range of local organizers. Instead, colleges should see meets as opportunities to publicize their role in community service.

5) Are there any emerging trends in training or preparation of Masters athletes that are likely to have a major impact?

Paul Osland: There is a lot more research that is starting to happen at the Masters level. There have been numerous studies on the physical impacts of training in older ages and I have even heard about one that is starting up to look at the impact of physical training on the brain functions. There are many health related issues like obesity, cardiovascular disease, dementia and Alzheimer that are linked to poor physical and nutritional states in the elderly.  There are also more and more studies that help Masters athletes to understand how to train smarter to avoid injuries and reach their optimum levels of fitness.

Henk Kraaijenhof: Master athletes do not differ that much from their younger colleagues. Or they do exactly what they did when they were younger (that made them successful) or they try to copy the programs, methods and techniques of the elite athletes. Of course nutrition and supplementation plays a larger role than before. In my idea Master athletes should pay even more attention to optimal individual recovery means and methods that work for them.

Jörn Rittweger: High intensity training has become very popular in general. We are lacking the knowledge whether it is as attractive for older people, or whether it is even deleterious.

Kurt Kaschke: Training in Masters athletics is one of the most important impacts for the future. There should be special coaches who get to know about the specialty of training in different age groups. Body checks and health passes should be required.

Ken Stone: Every new development in elite training finds its way into Masters athletics — from plyometrics and “core training” to yoga and high-intensity training. YouTube videos showing methods and equipment are common. Facebook and other social media share tips and techniques as well. We’re in a Golden Age of mentoring. Many Masters athletes fall back on their old-school training patterns, but websites and message boards abound with helpful advice and, most important, encouragement. 

6) What is your view on current organisation of Masters Athletics and the relationship between Masters championships and the Masters Games?  How would you like to see the situation develop?

Paul Osland: To me the Masters championships and the Masters games are complementary, very similar to the IAAF world championships and the Olympic games. Both organizations should be working together to help promote Masters athletics and Masters in general. Athletics is, and always will be the primary sport around the world. It is the most inclusive sport around as you only need a pair of shorts and running shoes and you can train and compete in athletics. Most sports require a lot more organization and financial capital to participate in. The two organizations should be working hand in hand to figure out how to grow Masters sports.

Henk Kraaijenhof: It is just too bad that Masters athletics never got the attention and support that Paralympic athletes got. There is an affective difference of the general public in the perception of the performances of Master athletes or Paralympic athletes. Personally I would like more attention at all levels for Master athletes and their performances, being promoted as role models of the healthy lifestyle, examples of what is possible despite their older age, examples of self-discipline and dedication, etc.

Jörn Rittweger: We probably need one playground for everybody, and another one for the elite of older athletes. One could be more inspired by the fun and social element; the other could be more driven by the achievement motif. World Master games could serve the former, and the Masters championships could be more suitable to the latter. Between the two playgrounds, there could be ‘friendly’ competition.

Kurt Kaschke: Masters Athletics has its autonomy and should to be closed related to the “family” (IAAF – WMA and EA – EMA). We don’t need to have the Master Games for Masters Athletics – to much offers for master athletes keep people away from participating in the World, Regional, National Championships. Masters pay all their expenses by themselves so they choose where and when to go.
The more offers, the less participants, the less money for the organizers and less benefit for the region, the country, the federation.

Ken Stone: Competition is good — even if it means diluting the importance of a World Masters Games or WMA medal. World Masters Athletics has moved to hold its outdoor championships in even-numbered years — to avoid overlapping with the quadrennial World Masters Games meet in odd-numbered years. But regional meets (by WMA or the International Masters Games Association) will continue to siphon athletes away from each other.  A profusion of opportunities gives athletes’ choice. And as boomers age, more meets will vie for their attention (and tourist dollar). 

All Masters meets (except National Senior Games in America) are basically all-comers meets. I’m against performance or other qualifying standards (which some seek as a way of elevating the status of world or national Masters meets). But it would be nice if national and world bodies found a way to reward top age-group stars by subsidizing their travel or lodging. Age-group gold medalists who meet certain performance standards should gain free entry to the next Masters championships. And certainly their national federations should give all team members free uniforms. 

7) What is your opinion on the TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption).  Every body is different with their medical use of drug use.  How level do we really have to make this a level playing field?

Paul Osland: This is a tough one for Masters aged athletes. There is no question that as we age our hormones are not what they once were. Women going through menopause can have a really difficult time balancing their hormone levels so they can lead a normal life. I’m not sue that what the medical community considers as normal levels of testosterone in men for instance is necessarily an accurate reflection for an individual person. A male 50+ person could have significant reductions in their testosterone levels that is causing them to feel very tired and may even cause other health issues that we may not even be aware of. However that same individual could be in the normal range for a person of their age. Does this mean that the person can’t take testosterone supplements and get a TUE. What about someone else who falls below the normal range but is quite normal for themselves and feeling fine, should they be allowed to take Testosterone even though their body does not really need it. There are so many unknowns when it comes to treating elderly athletes with very different problems based on hereditary and life style issues that it becomes very difficult to say what is acceptable and what is not. I would love to leave it up to everyone’s best judgement as to what is right and what is wrong, this will work for the majority of athletes, but there will always be a few that will do whatever it takes to win. For now those Masters are doing it to massage their egos, however if there was to become more funding for the sport with the chances of earning an income then it would become a much bigger problem than it is now.

Henk Kraaijenhof: There is no level playing field; there never was (only in Utopia, Shangri-La or Atlantis) that is the real essence of sports. TUE is a matter of taste only, there is not the slightest scientific proof of its value and the comparison amongst different medications becoming TUE or not.

Jörn Rittweger: TUE procedures are required both for reasons of health protection as well as for the sake of level grounds. Health becomes more important, really, than level grounds when you age. As does the necessity to prescribe drugs. Guidance is required for doctors who sign TUEs as to what upper limits can still be regarded as level ground.

Kurt Kaschke:  We should keep on our decisions to have drug tests in every regional and world championship. It would be a great success when national federation would be able to have drug tests as well in their own country. Information of “staying healthy without drugs” could be a possible slogan for the future in Masters athletics.

Ken Stone: TUEs are sensible in theory, but in practice many Masters athletes have found them difficult to get. A fair number have learned to their dismay that a TUE is no guarantee against a suspension. This situation is unsustainable.  Drug rules should be loosened. But since WMA is overly influenced by German authorities still ashamed and haunted by the East German doping machine, the current Draconian system is likely to stay. Even so, drug tests are rare in Masters track, and they tend to be targeted. (Random testing is expensive and ineffective; so many WMA tests appear to be of high-profile stars.) A level playing field can never be achieved via drug rules. Serious cheaters will always find a way. But I don’t believe the problem is that great. More of a concern is the lack of equal training facilities and coaching resources. 

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