German high jumper Thomas Zacharias, who retired and then came back a few years ago, is closing in on an incredible feat — 6 feet at age 60. In recent weeks, he’s cleared 1.77 (5-9 3/4) and 1.78 (5-10) for M60 world outdoor records, beating the listed WMA record of 1.72 (5-7 3/4) by American Phil Fehlen and an unratified 1.76 by Finland’s Asko Pesonen. Thomas’ 1.77 on March 24 at Arrecife, Spain, is described on an Italian Web site. The site sez his all-time best is 2.22 (7-3 1/4) from 1971. He jumped in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. According to a high jump record site, Thomas jumped 1.84 (6-0 1/2) at age 59 in January 2006.

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On a pea-soup foggy morning at San Francisco State University, 43-year-old Jeff Mann of Reno, Nevada, ran like a red-hot chili pepper to win the masters mile Saturday, reports Michael Fanelli, event maestro. Mike writes: “Some of 2007’s top 40+ outdoor performances to date were born out by great competition. . . .Jeff Mann set a nation leading 2007 masters standard with his exceptional 4:28.39, a fully solo effort over the final 600 meters of this inaugural event. In an effort to level the playing field, awards were determined by using the recently revised Age Graded Scoring Tables. The age-graded winner was 55-year-old Tom Bernhard with a sensational time of 4:55.12, the open age equivalent of 4:07.75 at 89.85 percent.

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A couple weeks ago, as Lad Pataki was struggling with brain cancer, thrower and former USATF Masters T&F Chairman George Mathews sent a note to Lad via Lad’s close friend, Ed Burke. George wrote: “I have just returned from the Indoor Championships in Boston. I need to tell you that your presence was sorely missed. I know you have been unhappy with some of the treatment you have received from USATF and we are truly sorry for that. We want you to know that your fellow athletes love you and appreciate the tremendous contributions you have made to all of us over the years.”

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Olympian Ed Burke has shared this sad news: “It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of the passing of our friend and comrade in sport, Dr. Ladislav Pataki. A memorial will be held on Wednesday , April 11, 2007 at 2 p.m . Location is Oakhill Cemetery, 300 Curtner, San Jose. Chapel of Roses. ph. 297-2447. God Bless us all.” I don’t have details on the date of his death. I expect his obituary will be world news. His battle with brain cancer was described earlier.

Bill Murray, a world-class M50 decathlete and high jumper, gives us a heads up on the Web home of this summer’s USATF National Masters Decathlon/Heptathlon Championships. The event is June 9-10 at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama. Bill appears to be in charge of the event. He must likes a challenge. He’s the defending M50 champion. Here’s how he looked later at Charlotte.

Anyone who’s ever seen Ben James run the quarter knows he’s tough. We didn’t know the half of it. While others were sweltering in Charlotte last August, he was sweating his own mortality — having just learned he had non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a form of cancer. Columnist Peter Glavin of the Messenger Post newspaper wrote a revealing piece. In it, Ben says: “I have a new respect for cancer patients. The body changes were brutal. The 14-pound weight loss, the hair loss, the nose bleeds and the nausea made for a long winter.” Then came Boston. Now 50, Ben did the incredible.

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Hey, we can YouTube, too! M55 sprinter Rick Riddle provides a link to a 3-minute video featuring introductions and the race of seven masters sprinters, ages 42 to 70, at a March 31 meet at University of Texas-Arlington. What a show! Rick takes the race, but the masters movement is the big winner. This shows how we can preserve our moments of fleeting fame. Rick writes: “The age-graded race was a crowd favorite. If you watch the video you will hear the crowd roar as the young guys try to reel in the older runners with the head start.”

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Henry Rono ran the Carlsbad 5000 on Sunday, and got the main masters ink and photo coverage, but Nolan Shaheed of Pasadena quietly went about his business of kicking butt in the M55 age group, finishing a quarter-mile ahead of Henry, the former Kenyan distance God aiming for a world record in the mile this year. Their times: 16:31 and 17:48. Unfortunately, Henry writes that he didn’t get a chance to meet Nolan beforehand, or “my race could have been a lot better.” Meanwhile, our track friend Pete Magill (from South Pasadena) won the M45 age group in 15:12.

Happy birthday to runner Bob Weiner, our mediameister! Today he enters the M60 age group. Over the weekend, Bob had a party that included the reading of well wishes from such masters no-names as Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and one of Bob’s longtime clients — retired Gen. (and U.S. drug czar) Barry McCaffrey. Bob not only sold the Boston indoor nationals to media outlets but he also assembled a great collection of articles (with photos). Below are a few of the letters he got.

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Carla Hoppie of the mom-and-son track pair in Oregon struck gold in Boston last week, winning the W50 pentathlon at nationals. Not long after returning, she completed a questionnaire I sent her a few weeks ago in the middle of exams at Eastern Oregon University. Here she confirms that she’ll compete at the Riccione world outdoor championships in September — a meet that many masters will miss because of conflicting work schedules at schools. But Carla will have a note for her professors: “Sorry, I was away in Italy getting extra credit.”

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