Babe Ruth, whose legend included the “called shot” home run of 1932, might appreciate the plight. It isn’t easy to deliver on an athletic promise. After announcing that he’d go for an M45 world record in the javelin, Roald Bradstock reports that conditions failed to cooperate. “Well I did not throw anything earth shattering,” he writes after Saturday’s outing in Clermont, Florida. “It
was quite chilly, which was not really a factor, but the direction of
the wind was.  It seemed to push the javelins down rather then holding
them or lifting them.  Oh well.  My best throw was 67.02 (219-10) — (on) my first throw. From
looking at the video, which will be up on YouTube this week, it is very
noticeable how I am coming out of my power position too early. This is
very common the first few meets.  My goal was 70-72 meters (229-8 to 236-3) and another
3m with a really good wind.  I had not counted on a crappy wind.”

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Dear Marian: I suppose you’re a little busy this week, so just tuck this away for later consideration. When things quiet down at the White House — at least enough that Malia and Sasha are settled in their new school and routine — might you weigh a brief return to track and field?  I’ve read about your Senior Olympic sprint career, which ended only a few years ago, and I’ve heard about your dropping the sport after a painful fall.  “If I can’t do it fast, I’m not doing it,” you told a reporter. “You don’t run just to be running — you run to win.” That’s the spirit!  But it overlooks a bigger picture: Staying in the game can be more important than winning it. Look, your son Craig’s teams at Brown and Oregon State weren’t always favored to prevail, but they didn’t quit trying. Your son-in-law lost a House race in 2000, but look at him now! 

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 Our 18-day silence is over! The comment system of this blog was restored Sunday afternoon, thanks to at least three people. (Your checks are in the mail.) Now tell me about Bill Cosby at Penn, share your ideas for Six-Word Stories or send your congrats to Tom Gage on his amazing recovering from heart surgery. Truth be told, I missed your feedback!  (Some sent me private email, of course, but I much prefer public chatter on the blog.)  I’m not half as interesting as y’all, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts again. Thanks for your incredible patience. 

Revolutions come and go. Masters track lives on.  When last we checked, the Bangkok International Airport was a mess, and the 15th Asian Masters Athletics Championships had to be postponed. But yesterday, the five-day meet wrapped up in Thailand with no apparent bloodshed. Results are posted here for the meet, which news reports say attracted more than 1,800 athletes from 25 nations. “Thai politics is now back to normal and should be no cause of disruption or concern to visitors,” the results site reported on Jan. 5.  The 16th Asian Masters championships will be held in 2010, either in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or Tokyo, Japan. The decision was to have been made Jan. 15 in Chiang Mai during the  general meeting of the Asian Masters Athletics Association. Haven’t heard the winner yet. But we know a loser: Christina Tay, the W40 CEO of the Singapore masters track organization.

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Results are posted here for the first of a series of Thursday Night at the Races meets at the Armory track in New York City. The season debut of this annual indoor tradition was Jan. 8. Lots of familiar names showed up, including M40 Kevin Forde, W55 Kathy Martin and W45 Lorraine Jasper.  Kevin took third in the open race, with a wonderful mile of 4:28.1. Lorraine Beat Kathy in their heat, 5:27.8 to 5:33.6. Kathy set the W55 world indoor record two years ago with a 5:19.87.  Lorraine and Kevin also ran quick 800s — in 2:31.2 and 2:05.8, respectively. Kevin’s blog details his races. He notes “It wasn’t till the ride home w/ Scott and Chuck that I realized not only was this an indoor PR, beating my ’07 Hartshorne time of 4.29.12, but also my fastest track mile, eclipsing the 4.28.9. . . .  Only at The Armory!” All this whets our appetite for the Hartshorne Memorial masters miles a week from today at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Should again be a great meet. Kevin will be there.

At 46, Roald was the oldest male entrant at the 2008 Oly Trials.

Roald Bradstock is back.  Not content to outshine the youngsters at the Eugene Olympic Trials last year, our M45 spearchucker friend is predicting a world record Saturday. For himself. He posted a note on a throwers message board: “World Record Attempt this Saturday! After this past weeks’ training results, I have decided to open up this season NOW, well this Saturday in Clermont, FL., and yes I will be throwing a javelin. I have just finished the second of two twelve-week cycles.I have lost 40 lbs and now weigh 193.6 lbs — the lightest I have been in 20 years!”  The listed M45 WR is now

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Your prayers must have worked. Olympian and masters hammer champ Tom Gage had heart surgery last June. But he’s already back throwing heavy things attached to wires! A great article, reprinted below, talks of a December outing in Reno. The story reports: “He was originally planning to get back into competition in March for the national indoor masters championship meet, and he decided to attend the competition in Reno on a whim. I said, ‘Damn, am I ready for this?'” he said. “At the last minute, I said, ‘I think I’ll go, too, and see how this goes.’ I thought it was worthwhile taking a shot at it.” For the record, Tom’s marks in Reno are recorded here.  Way to go, Tom!

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I never saw this episode, but “The Cosby Show” segment re-running this week includes a story line of the masters 4×4 relay at Penn. It’s supposed to air 3 to 3:30 p.m. Friday on WGN, which is available on many cable systems. (But check your local listings for exact time.) Here’s the episode summary: “Cliff Huxtable is convinced to run a rematch of a masters 4×400 relay grudge match at the Penn Relays.” On the Wikipedia entry for Cosby, we learn: “His love for track has also been shown with his long time sponsorship, and on-track work with the Penn Relays. For many years, Cosby has been known to work the finish line at Franklin Field and congratulate athletes.”

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Over the weekend, Jeff Laynes made his annual pilgrimage from the San Francisco Bay Area to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He made the 50-meter final in a premier indoor meet, The Knights of Columbus affair. These results show him clocking 5.84 for 50 and 6.89 for the 60 against high-class open fields (on separate days). Jeff turned 38 in October. Last year, he ran the 60 in 6.67, so time is catching up with him. But Jeff’s 5.84 is the age-graded equivalent of an open (ages 20-30) time of 5.65, and the best on record is Donovan Bailey’s 5.56 in 1996. So Jeff is still smoking fast! He didn’t achieve his Beijing dream last year, but he still can show the kiddies how to run! My warmest thanks to M50 sprinter Dave Brown of Calgary, who sent me the results link.

After posting a doubt-tinged note about Michelle Obama’s mother saying she ran the 50- and 100-yard dashes in the Illinois Senior Olympics, I wrote some folks in Illinois to get details. They came today.  Deborah Staley and Selvarine Jones of the Illinois organization inform me that Marian Robinson, who is headed for 1600 Penn. Ave., ran meters, not yards. All is forgiven, Marian. No biggie. Also, in case you see references to a Mary Robinson in National Senior Games results, be aware that’s a different sprinter. Mary lives in https://www.sages.org/amoxil-amoxicillin/ Gahanna, Ohio, and is a few years younger than Marian’s 71.

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