Last week, we noted how indoor marks attributed to M40 sprinter Steve Bunn were faster than what official results showed. Those false indoor marks on mastersrankings.com have now been corrected, rankings chairman John Seto reports. In addition, a 10.98 time in the 100-meter dash claimed by Steve in 2006 has been changed to 11.0 hand-time, since it wasn’t fully electronic (FAT) to begin with.

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Julia Ann Dudley, producer of the T.R.A.C.K. Live reality TV show gearing up for production, says the deadline for entry is now May 10. Today she wrote current entrants: “We were in Mt. Sac in April where many people were excited about being a part of T.R.A.C.K. Live! So what we have done is taken off the deadline for the trial meet in Las Vegas. Instead we are charging an immediate fee of $20 for those who still want to sign up online until May 10th to be a part of the show.” Her note also hints that age-grading will help pick winners.

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Masters athletes are risk-takers by nature. Now they can take chances with their money as well. The Spokane masters nationals will hold the traditional athletes dinner at the Northern Quest casino, an arm of the Kalispel tribe. This isn’t a first, however. Gambling could be had at 2003 Puerto Rico worlds as well. The Friday night athletes banquet at Spokane has a limit of 600, so you might take care of that soon. (They’ll serve steak and salmon for $28. Chips are extra.)

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Track historian Louise Mead Tricard, a masters sprinter in her early 70s who also has run the New York City Marathon, is hospitalized in Florida and battling cancer. She has Internet access but has been very brief in her notes. Sunday morning, after I alerted her to a women’s decathlon debate on the Track & Field News message board, she wrote me: “in hospital/cancer surgery.” Later, I asked for a status report, and she replied today to the effect that she’s still in the hospital after having spent 14 days in a New York City hospital for “major surgery.” She said she came home to Cape Canaveral, “blood wacko — electrolytes not capable of sustaining life.” She required 4 units of blood, magnesium, potassium, etc and “things (are) better. Won’t be out of here for a few more days at least.”

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Barbara Jordan: longtime hurdles champion

Masters Hall of Famer Barbara Jordan is such a regular winner at masters nationals and worlds, people take her for granted. Fortunately, she’s properly prized in her native Vermont, where she recently was named Athlete of the Month. She was chosen (along with a male winner) by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. The 12 sets of monthly winners will be honored June 1 at the annual Vermont Athlete of the Year Banquet. Besides being a 2005 inductee into the USATF Masters HofF, she’s in three other halls of fame: her alma mater’s, Springfield College in Massachusetts; the Green Mountain Senior Games Hall of Fame; and the New England 65-Plus Runner’s Club.

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Larry Jessee’s M40 outdoor world vault record is no more. Jeff Hartwig, 40, officially erased Jessee’s supposed 5.50 (18-0 1/2) M40 world record Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. Jeff wrote me: “Took care of it this weekend up at Drake. We had terrible conditions with cold and really strong swirling winds, but I jumped 5.51, enough for 2nd behind Derek Miles’ 5.61. I will move back to my long run and next is Modesto in two weeks.” It was inevitable that Larry’s much-doubted mark would fall to Jeff, since the Arkansan had jumped 5.70 (18-8 1/4) indoors last February in Germany. Now it’s on to Modesto and Eugene. Go Jeff!

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Willie Gault turns 48 in September, but forget about him biding his time till M50. At the Tiny Lister Classic on Saturday at Cal State Los Angeles, he ran 200 meters in a legal 21.80 seconds, demolishing Kevin Morning’s listed M45 world record of 22.13 set in 2002, when Kevin was 46. Men’s results here show that Willie’s race had a wind of 0.6 meters per second. Willie also ran a wind-aided (2.8 mps) 100 in 10.76. (He holds the M45 WR of 10.72.) Nice running, Mr. Gault!

Herb Jones writes: “I’m the assistant track and field coach at Mills College in Oakland, and we are finishing our first season and hosting our first open meet this Saturday, May 3, in Oakland at Skyline High School. Could you send this email to any OPEN – MASTERS level athlete to let them know that they can compete in our Mills College Open Invitational? We have 12 female athletes that cover most of the events, and would appreciate the opportunity to have any athlete compete at our open meet.” Consider it done, Coach! Best of luck.

Flotrack has posted videos of pretty much all the masters events at Penn over the weekend, including Sprint Force America’s M70 4×100 world record. A monster field of men and women ran the 4×4 together, with several WRs (including an announced leg of 54.3 by Jearl Miles-Clark). The M75-plus 100 video is here. The crowd reaction to Joe Summerlin’s win is incredible. At least two entrants go down about 30 meters into this M40 heat. John Simpson’s victory in the main M40 heat is here. Bill Collins’ 11.44 race is posted here. Bill waves to the crowd on his jog back.

Cornell Stephenson captures masters track in new novel.

Cornell Stephenson, who five years ago won four M40 sprint medals at Puerto Rico worlds, made masters history this spring. He didn’t run a relay leg or set a record. (In fact, he had two knee surgeries in 2007 and hopes to make a comeback this summer.) He wrote a novel. Called “That Masterful Season,” it is the first work of fiction to revolve around masters track. Like the 2005 documentary “Racing Against the Clock,” which I reviewed here, Cornell’s book does justice to the masters track experience. But my freshly posted review nitpicks the novel from a literary perspective. Don’t sweat it, Cornell. You’re a hell of a better author than I am a quarter-miler.

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