Pete Magill, the best runner/writer in masters track, writes: “I’ve been following Ken’s recent posts on medications/PED use (Craig Shumaker’s positive result and the anonymous essay on health-related drug usage, including testosterone), as well as the numerous comments attached to each post. And I’m convinced that this is a major issue that masters track, road racing and cross country have to deal with. Simply put, this is the kind of issue that could tear our sport apart — just as pure PED use has had such a negative impact on open level competition.” He concludes: “If you’d like to participate in this column, please email me directly at: petemagill@hotmail.com”

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Nothing I say about drug-testing of American masters could be as eloquent as the following essay from an athlete who asked to remain anonymous. In a note to me, the athlete wrote: “I think for every Val Barnwell, there are many more athletes like myself. There needs to be a commonsense approach to drug testing for senior athletes. Holding us to the same standards as open athletes is asinine…. Hopefully the leaders of masters track will take notice and act, although I won’t hold my breath waiting.”

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Kathryn Martin is so consistently dominant in her age group that we (meaning I) take her honors for granted. Thank goodness, the folks at Indy recognize her every once in a while. Her latest eye-opener is described here: “Martin has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after setting an age-group American record at the USA Masters 5 km Championships in Syracuse, N.Y. on Sunday. Martin (Northpoint, N.Y.) won the women’s 60-64 division in 19:04 to better the previously listed record by eight seconds. Martin handily won her age group with more than a minute to spare over second place. In the age-graded results, Martin scored 100.35 percent, the best of any competitor male or female.” Nice going, superstar! Keep showing the kiddies how to run!

It’s time again for the annual Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah. Sanctioned by USATF, the meet at Snow Canyon High School began today and runs through Thursday. Field event results were the first to arrive, and track director Cindi Blevins will ship running results later, she says. This meet has character, and nostalgic events: “The Standing Long Jump for Men in the Huntsman World Senior Games Track and Field Event will take place on Tuesday, October 4, rather than on Wednesday, as was previously scheduled. Athletes should check the Sports Den in the Dixie Center or the Track and Field venue for updated schedules.” And here are Monday running results (just in).

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World Masters Athletics, led by Aussie President Stan Perkins, has named an Australian lady and New Zealand gent as IAAF Best Masters of 2011. WMA Secretary Winston Thomas of Britain writes on the WMA website: “Congratulations to all the entrants; this has been the most number of athletes nominated since the start of the WMA Best Master. Congratulations to the two athletes who are invited to attend the IAF Gala in Monaco on the 12th November 2011.” W50 racewalker Lyn Ventris and M70 steepler Ron Robertson are the honorees this year, beating out the likes of superthrower Neni Lewis and Canadian phenom Ed Whitlock. A year ago, Aussies Marie Kay and Peter Crombie got the nod. So do you see a pattern here? Check out the finalists for the top honor.

Craig Shumaker, who accepted a drug suspension after testing positive for banned substances at Berea nationals, says this is it. He’s done with masters track. His statement is below. It concludes: “As for me, I am sure my throwing days are done and hope that this country can someday have an intelligent discourse about masters athletics and legally prescribed medication usage. I will miss seeing all of my friends around the circuit and wish all of you good health.” So congrats, USATF. You’ve forced an athlete out of the sport. An M60 gold medalist in the shot and silver medalist in the discus is quitting for good. (Results have already been revised.) And why? Because USATF was bullied into matching the Eurovets as drug-paranoids.

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More details to come. But here’s the USADA press release. Appears to be someone who should have gotten a TUE waiver. USADA says: “Colorado Springs, Colo. (September 30, 2011) USADA announced today that Stephen Craig Shumaker of Glenmoore, Pennsylvania, an athlete in the sport of track and field, has tested positive for a prohibited substance and accepted a suspension for his doping offense. Laboratory analysis of a sample provided by Shumaker, 63, at the 2011 USA Masters Track & Field Championships, on July 28, 2011, in Berea, Ohio, resulted in an Adverse Analytical Finding for the administration of a steroid. Anabolic Androgenic Steroids are prohibited under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing and the rules of the International Association of Athletics Federations, both of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.”

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Hands down, this is the best single-athlete masters track video of all time! M65 world champ and record-setter Joe Johnston opened his “Joe Dome” in central Florida to Marc Middleton, founder and CEO of The (Growing) Bolder Media Group. See it here. Marc writes that he’s also Joe’s hurdle training partner and that he’s targeting 2012 masters indoor nationals in Bloomington, Indiana, as his first masters meet. Go, Marc! And thanks for this incredible display of masters ingenuity and determination.

Sandu Rebenciuc won’t say it, but I will: He had an easier time dealing with Romania’s dictatorship than USATF’s when it comes to records. I didn’t know Sandu from Adam until a couple days ago when, out of the blue, he informed me that he’s the rightful owner of the M35 American record in the 3000-meter steeplechase. In fact, his IAAF bio says Sandu recorded his all-time best at age 35 — clocking 8.30.45 at some obscure 2004 meet in Sacramento called the Olympic Trials. That’s better than the listed M35 AR of 8:38.8 by Mike Manley. So muchas gracias, Sandu! Without another horror story on the records front, what would I write about?

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Simply incredible. Check out this video of W50 freak of nature Merlene Ottey running an 11.84 for 100 meters September 20 at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial meet in Warsaw, where she took fourth. She tells a Polish interviewer that her start was bad, but thought a British girl caught a flier. “I’ll be back in Poland,” she says. “I’ll be faster next year.” So she’s obviously holding out hope of being on a Slovenian relay team for the London Games. Incredible. Her 11.84, BTW, corresponds on the Age-Graded Tables to a time of 10.02 seconds for an open athlete. She already owns the listed W50 WR in the 100 — 11.67 in July 2010. Many thanks to Jimson Lee for video link!