M75 Doc Hanson ♥ masters track: It saved his life
Dan Girling, a stocky masters track friend of mine, has a stock answer to why he sprints: Because I want to stay alive! Lots of meanings there. Basically, he wants to stave off sickness and out-of-shapeness. But once in a while, I hear tales of how being a masters track athlete actually does save your life. Here’s one of them, care of M70 champ Wayne Bennett of the Dallas Masters Track Club.
Tony Young’s son, Mack, runs away with state XC title
Tony Young, our M45 masters mile legend, may have lost his status as Best Runner in the House. His son Mack, still only a junior, won the Washington 4A state high school cross country championship last weekend in the eastern Washington town of Pasco. Story and photo are here. Tony posted the news on the letsrun.com message board thread devoted to masters running in the previous week, saying: “He is numb, and so are his mom and dad.” Congrats to everyone in the Young home!
M75 thrower Tom Allison hospitalized in Eugene, Oregon
M75 multi-eventer Tom Allison, a throwing buddy of former National Masters News editor Jerry Wojcik, is reported to be very ill and “has been in the hospital and a rehab center for about five weeks,” reports Suzy Hess from Eugene, Oregon. “It’s Strep. B and quite serious. Please have him in your thoughts and prayers.” Tom, who has made friends throughout the West, can be reached by writing Tom Allison C/O South Hills Health Care Center 1166 E 28th Ave., Eugene, Oregon 97403. We hope he battles back and rejoins his pals in the ring.
Willie Venable’s killer gets relative slap on the wrist
In September 2006, we noted the tragic death of M55 sprinter Willie Venable, a much-beloved Seattle athlete. Now comes word that Willie’s assailant has received a five-year sentence for second-degree manslaughter in the case. David Summers wrote to masters champion David Ortman: “Just in case you were never informed, I forwarded to you a message I received from the King County prosecutor who handled the case against the young man who took Willie Venable’s life. The assailant, a 17-year-old named Cordero Duckworth, was charged with second-degree manslaughter.”
USATF treasurer ‘sets record straight’ on Hightower reply
Ed Koch is the elected treasurer of USA Track & Field and one of the organization’s most respected leaders. He was re-elected by acclamation in 2004. In 1999, he won the Robert Giegengack Award, given annually to a person “who excels in contributing to the excellence and high standards of the sport of Athletics.” So when he speaks, listen up. And now he’s hot and bothered by a statement made by USATF president candidate Stephanie Hightower in an email interview I conducted last month. Stephanie isn’t a saint when it comes to USATF’s money, he’ll contend.
Masters Age Records online, but still worthless junk
I was stoked. Giddy with anticipation. Hyper with hope. I saw this bombshell blurb on Page 5 of the November edition of National Masters News: “Masters Single Age Records Coming Soon. Peter Mundle has done and continues to do so many great things for masters track and field, running and race walking. Among his many contributions is his compilation of the records for each age in each event for 35 years and up. Soon, these single age records will be available on the National Masters News website. www.nationalmastersnews.com.” So I wrote to NMN Publisher Randy Sturgeon, asking when we could expect to see Pete’s work posted. Randy replied: “They are up and . . . will be updated later in the year or early next year when I get the new files from Peter.” Hooray! Pete has joined the 21st century, I thought. Then I found the records online and went: Crap! Same old garbage.
You’re getting relaxed, relaxed, relaxed. Now you’re fast!
Sean Callahan, the editor of Masters Athlete, has a column in the current issue about hypnosis. (Read it here.) He tried it since he was stuck at 86 on the golf course. So how did he do after his hypnosis session? He shot an 86. Maybe he should focus on relaxation during his event, and not just in a comfortable chair before it. That’s the point of this revelatory article by W60 runner Gina Kolata in The New York Times. We’ve all heard that relaxation makes us more efficient athletes. This article explains why (and how). Its best tip: Relax the eyes.
Inger Miller to be guest speaker at SoCal Striders’ banquet
![]() Inger won Olympic 4×1 gold in ’96, three years before 200 world title.
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The Southern California Striders’ annual banquet — where members dress up and chow down amid much frivolity — is Saturday night, Nov. 22, at an Orange County restaurant. In previous years, this masters-centric club has had such speakers as masters sprint legend Payton Jordan and USC track coach Ron Allice. This year’s speaker is world sprint champ and Atlanta Olympic relay gold medalist Inger Miller, whose late father, Lennox, was a Jamaican sprint legend and her godfather was Don Quarrie. You don’t have to be a member to attend the banquet (which has a price). For information, contact club president Brenda Matthews.
100-meter challenge race spurred employee to lose fat
You won’t see the names Frank Lynch or Antonio Douglas in masters track results, but their two 100-meter match races have gotten more press than many trackos get in their lifetime. Frank, nearing 70, owns a car wash chain in Atlanta. One of his favorite employees is Antonio, in his early 40s. But Antonio was going blimpo, and boss Frank teased him into losing weight by saying he (Frank) would be twice as fast as Antonio in a 100-meter dash. The story played out in fascinating fashion, and led to a rematch. The version I’ve seen doesn’t say what their final clockings were. But they raised tens of thousands of dollars for a cancer charity. Check out this story, with photos of the pair.
N.Y. Times article on warmup stretching is persuasive
OK, OK. I give up! I’ll confine my 30-second-per-leg static stretches to after a workout. The New York Times has weighed in on this oft-debated subject, and its conclusions make sense: You wanna do dynamic stretching (a.k.a. stretching while moving) to help prepare you for athletic action. Here’s the article. In July 2007, USATF launched its own stretching study. When will its results be divulged? I don’t know, but I’m guessing it’ll reach the same conclusions as that commie rag in the Big Apple.