Call ’em cocky. Call ’em dreamers. Just don’t call ’em late to the starting line (or the beer bash afterward). Soon-to-be M45 distance stud Pete Magill and M40 mile star Tony Young are quietly plotting assaults on the record books at the Hayward Classic masters meet in late June 2006, and are soliciting co-conspirators. Well, it was quiet until now. The targets: the M45 1500 and M40 2000.

In an email message to a Who’s Who of masters middle-distance running, Pete writes:
“Hi Everyone!
“First of all, let me say that some of you have been added to this email list with no advance warning as to what the hell it’s about. So here it is in a nutshell: some of us want to try for the Age 45-49 1500 record (American, maybe world) at this June 24-25 Hayward Classic track meet in Eugene, OR. (And some others of us just want to get together to run some very fast 1500s no matter what our age division.)
“Tony Young said he’d rabbit the first 2 3/4 – 3 laps at pace if I’d return the favor in his own 2K record attempt the following day…. In order to accomplish both these tasks, we need the Hayward meet directors to alter their schedule: move the 1500 from Sunday to Saturday, and then add a 2K on Sunday.”
Pete says he has contacted someone on the committee that runs the meet and “she emailed our request to a second committee member, and he really liked the idea of attracting top masters runners to the meet — even if it meant messing with the schedule.”
Pete concludes:
“So all is looking good at this point. The committee next meets in early January, and they’ll address our request then. So cross your fingers, and hopefully we’ll all be meeting in Eugene this coming June!”
In a follow-up note, Pete wrote:
“This isn’t a done deal yet. We need the committee’s approval for the event changes (moving the 1500 to Saturday and putting the 2K onto Sunday’s schedule) … the reason being that while Tony can easily pace me through 3 laps at age 45 1500 record pace, I couldn’t possibly pace him through 3 laps of his 2K pace on Saturday and have any hope of running well myself afterwards! Tony needs about 3:06-3:07 for his first three laps; I need 3:10-3:12 (a veritable jog for Tony!)…. One thing’s for sure: it CAN’T hurt masters track to have meets (like Hayward) show a willingness to adjust schedules to meet the needs of the athletes. Actually, it was Hayward’s willingness to do this in the past that caused us to target it for this summer’s attempt!”
Pete turns 45 on June 19, and he says: “Seriously, I’m running as well as I have since I started as a master, and I think 3:56-3:57 is within grasp.”
As far as a masters 2K record, Pete isn’t sure if one exists. (I haven’t found one either, but will make inquiries.)
“But whether there is or isn’t,” Pete writes, “I guarantee there’ll be a new one after Tony turns on the afterburners in Eugene!”
For the record, the listed WMA M45 world record for the 1500 is 3:58.3 by Peter Molloy of Great Britain on 8-9-95. The listed M45 American record is 4:00.53 by Ken Sparks on 4/24/90.
The best 1500s by Americans in the M45 age group last season were thus:
4:01.64 ANSELM LEBOURNE (492)
4:04.15 KEVIN PAULK (492)
4:09.46 GLENN MCISAAC (397)
The all-time best outdoor 2K is Hicham El Guerrouj’s 4:44.79, set in Berlin on September 7, 1999. The all-time best American at the more commonly run indoor 2K is 4:58.6 by Steve Scott in 1981, when he was about 25.
How ’bout getting Steve (now about 50) to challenge Tony?
Stay tuned.