Former world-class sprinter Jeff Laynes — whose 10.50 in 2011 in the 100 should be an M40 American record (but isn’t) — is back for another go at indoor nationals. Last year at ABQ, he was edged in the 60 and 200 by Karnell Vickers, now M50 but not entered. So Jeff has M45 to himself. In 2016, he ran his heat in 7.10 and final in 7.26. This year, he thinks he’s faster. His submitted time is 7.02 — equal to the listed M45 American record held by Stan Whitley and Aaron Thigpen. (WR is 6.97.) Also ambitious are Rod Jett and Roland Khoo. Both submitted M50 marks of 8.50 for the 60 hurdles — when the listed world record is 8.47 by Walt Butler in 1993. I’m also looking forward to seeing 99-year-old Orville Rogers tackle FIVE events — 60, 200, 400, 800 and mile (where he’s the M95 WR man at 14:39.91). But as fast as everyone is, meet organizers are slow to post a precise time schedule. The meet is Feb. 17-19 and all we know are thegeneral events on given days. For shame.
Some great marks emerge in results of last Sunday’s USATF Southeast Region Masters Indoor Championships at JDL FastTrack in Winston-Salem. At 44, Jeff Mack should be biding his time for M45. But no — he scorched a 60 in 7.12 and 200 in 23.34. M70 record-holder Ty Brown had a great double in the 60 hurdles (9.72) and 200 (28.79), and M55 Karl Smith — a Jamaican Olympian — clocked the hurdles in 8.60, edging Courtland Gray’s listed world record of 8.63 dating to 1999, and the 200 in 24.93 — actually beating his seed time of 25.00 (most entrants were behind their submitted marks). Perennial quarter-mile champ Ben James beat his age in the M60 400, going 58.25. In the M40 3000, Musa Gwanzura ran 9:33.12 — close to 10-minute 2-mile pace. Lemme know if I missed any records or stuff.
In a sign that entries aren’t flooding in, Daegu has pushed back its entry deadline for WMA indoor worlds by eight days — to Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. Not a shock. Happens all of the time. So why don’t they just pick a drop-dead deadline to begin with, and not play this game? In any case, I take offense to this edict: “Qualification: men and women who were born on or before 19 March 1982 and who are physically fit.” So now we’re discriminating against athletes (like me) who aren’t physically fit? They should take the tack of the Senior Olympics: Join us from the rocking chair! If your competition plays a part in your decision to enter Daegu, here’s the list of entrants.
As of Jan. 24, 2017, the Eurovets M50 record for outdoor 400 is better than the WMA record.
Germany’s Roland Gröger broke 52 (his age) over the weekend in an indoor 400, shattering his own listed M50 world record of 52.39 two years ago. Daniele Biffi, Roland’s coach, sent video of the 51.92 Berlin effort on a banked track. He beat a taller kid in his mid-20s. (See results here.) I asked Daniel if Germany would ratify a mark from a two-man race, and he replied: “Yes, it is ratify also if you run alone.” But when Roland ran a would-be M50 outdoor 400 record 51.02 last year, it never showed on the WMA website. The listed record remains 51.39 by Fred Sowerby in 1999. Talk about alternative facts. WMA has one set, and the Eurovets have another. Who has the guts to fix this?
Chris Stone photo of San Diego Women’s March used in the The New York Times’ roundup.
Bob Weiner, recently re-elected as chair of the USATF National Masters Media Committee, also hangs onto his White House press credential. At Sean Spicer’s first full press conference Monday as President Trump’s press secretary, Bob asked two questions from the back of the room. His Social Security query (of interest to masters tracksters of a certain age) was excellent. But when Bob asked if infrastructure was still a Trump priority, Spicer took advantage of the unfocused wording. No matter. Good to see Bob (representing Main Street Radio Network) holding Sean’s feet to the fire. Two minutes on TV is a good day for Bob. Also worth noting — my lovely bride, Chris Stone, shot the San Diego Women’s Marchon Saturday (while I did video), and The New York Times asked permission to use one of her photos in its roundup of marches around the world. She said yes, of course. Also news: Multi-eventers Rachel Guest and Mary Trotto have been named co-chairs of the USATF Masters Awards Committee. (Mary had the job by herself in recent years.) Best of luck to both.
Kevin Burke, who was 43 in October, is entered in the masters mile at this coming Saturday’s New Balance Games in Boston. That’s not the news. The cool part is how much Kevin is cherishing his experience and how he came to get it. The Buffalo News reports that Kevin got a kickstart from his old Georgetown track teammateJohn Trautman (whose M45 indoor mile record is still listed as an American record but not a world record — because who the hell knows?) “Burke already is calling this the highlight of his athletic career, and he hasn’t even arrived in Boston yet,” said the story. On Dec. 31, after getting training advice from John, Kevin ran a 4:58 mile. “Trautman then offered to make a couple of phone calls on Burke’s behalf for the Boston meet, and Burke found himself with a spot in the field. …. He says he’s hoping to have a nice cheering section, including family members and Georgetown alumni, at the event. Burke knows that a 4:20 time for the mile will be needed to win the race, but he’s more concerned with 4:40 or so.” No matter what his time is, join me in welcoming Kevin back to the game — and for thanking John in helping make it happen. Great story.
Tom Hartshorne reports a “best ever” turnout at Saturday’s 50th running of the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Miles at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. But world record attempts by M65 Nolan Shaheed and W50 Alisa Harvey fell short, although Tom (son of the meet’s namesake) said the pair “were on pace to break records through the 800 meters but fell off the pace by a bit.” Results are here. They show Nolan’s 5:15.91 at age 67 was the top men’s age-graded mark at 93.3 percent. Alisa’s 5:16.27 was the top women’s age-graded mile at 95.7 percent. The times they were shooting for were 5:11.43 and 5:07.32, respectively. The fastest miles Saturday were recorded by M45 Peter Brady (4:30.09) and W40 Sascha Scott (4:58.47) — the only woman to go sub-5. Twenty women and 42 men competed. Congrats to all, especially Tom for reaching the half-century mark.
W50 multi-eventer Geraldine Finnegan of Ireland, a 2013 hep champion at Porto Alegre, is returning to indoor worlds in March for the first time since 2010 Kamloops. She’s promising herself not to buy any over-the-counter drugs in Daegu. The last time she did, at the British Columbia meet, she netted a two-month doping sanction for having ephedrine in her system. I wrote about it back in 2010. She’s entered in seven events at indoor worlds — 400, 60 hurdles, high jump, pole vault, triple jump, javelin throw and pentathlon. (Whew! I like to say.) She had to give up two medals at Kamloops, but could win many more in Daegu. The meet list of entries is slim in many events. And I note, so far, the oldest age group is 90–94, with just two entrants — James Sinclair of Australia and Suet-Ling Cheung of Hong Kong. (Usually, we have folks in their late 90s at worlds.) But it’s a long way for Americans and Europeans to travel. The craziest entry is Gudman Chala of Ecuador, whose M35 high jump mark is “180.00m” (or 590-6). Guess he meant 1.80 (5-10 3/4).
Next thing we’ll learn is triple jumping is balm for the knees. Gretchen Reynolds of The New York Times on Wednesday brought to our attention a study of runners’ knees. She writes: “In my many decades as a runner, I have frequently been told by fellow runners and nonrunners alike that I am putting my knees at risk. The widespread argument generally follows the lines that running will slowly wear away the cartilage that cushions the bones in the joint and cause arthritis. But there is little evidence to support the idea, and a growing body of research that suggests the reverse. Epidemiological studies of long-term runners show that they generally are less likely to develop osteoarthritis in the knees than people of the same age who do not run.” She later noted how the study of under-30 folks found that “sitting for 30 minutes also changed the knee, … which [was] not expected. Sitting seemed to make the knee biochemically more vulnerable to later disease.” So now we need someone to study geezers — to see if the same conclusions apply. But don’t ask me to resume triple jumping at 62 (even if one writer calls the eventthe most “Olympian.”)
Kenya won 10 medals at Perth, and now it looks as if they’re worth real money. According to Nairobi-based Mediamax Network, the mostly distance-runner group will be “considered in the government reward scheme that awards Kenyan achievers in international and continental championships.” That means world M40 half-marathon champion Francis Komu, M50 10K winner Paul Kibet Yego and M45 10K victor Joshua Kipchumba are in line for 1 million Kenyan shillings each. That’s $9,620 in U.S. dollars. Silver and bronze winners would get $7,215 and $4,810. Such a deal. I just hope they make a currency exchange or buy something fast. Kenyan inflation is above 6 percent a year.
Ministry of Sports Director of Administration Haron Komen (left) receives flag from Kenya’s team in Perth. Photo by David Ndolo.
Ken has followed track as an athlete, writer and web-master since the late 1960s, and saw most sessions of track and field at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also attended the 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Trials, the last three as a blogger and Patch correspondent. [More...]
In a sign that entries aren’t flooding in, Daegu has pushed back its entry deadline for WMA indoor worlds by eight days — to Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. Not a shock. Happens all of the time. So why don’t they just pick a drop-dead deadline to begin with, and not play this game? In any case, I take offense to this edict: “Qualification: men and women who were born on or before 19 March 1982 and who are physically fit.” So now we’re discriminating against athletes (like me) who aren’t physically fit? They should take the tack of the Senior Olympics: Join us from the rocking chair! If your competition plays a part in your decision to enter Daegu, here’s the list of entrants.
