After winning her heat in 8.11 seconds, 40-year-old Gail Devers took fourth in the final tonight in the 60-meter hurdles at that Paris indoor meet. She clocked 8.00 seconds. But her 7.86 at Millrose still ranks as second-fastest of the season worldwide. It’s looking doubtful that she’ll compete Sunday at Boston open nationals, since she hasn’t declared yet for her event. And declaration deadline has passed.

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Ron Wells of Alpine, California, retired from teaching in June and, according to Union-Tribune writer Don Norcross, “started a fanatical training program in August” that included pushing a wheelbarrow with sand up and down hills. That led to a third-place finish at the USATF club cross country nationals in San Francisco. Ron ran 10K in 38:36. Not bad for a 60-year-old. Don’s article further says: “His 2007 goals: win his age group at the Carlsbad 5000 (and) break the 60-64 national 5K record on the track (17:19, set in 1980).” The listed M60 world record, though, is out there: 16:12.57 by Holland’s Adriaan Heijdens in 1999. Still the 17:19 American record (by Clive Davies) isn’t chopped liver. Best of luck, Ron!

In the new edition of GeezerJock magazine, publisher Brian Reilly writes that the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s Athletes for a Cure program “will partner with several Masters organizations, including USA Track & Field.” That was news to me — and USATF press honcho Jill Geer. I suspected that he meant to say “USA Triathlon.” So I gave ol’ Brian a heads up, and he replied yesterday: “You are correct.” He said he would shoot an apology to Jill and others, “and let them know we’ll be running a correction.” No sweat. The overall magazine is a T&F thriller this month, with pieces on Sumi Onodera-Leonard (comeback from near-fatal crash) and a photo spread on some masters track stars. It’s a keeper — even with the flub.

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From a reliable masters mole comes this amazing report: “Even more World and American Records at the New York Road Runners (Thursday Night at the Races) meet at the Track and Field Center at the Armory in New York. Kathy Martin (W55) started off the night with her third world indoor record at these meets this year, in the 1500. She smashed the record with a 4:58.7. Then in the next heat, Marie-Louise Michelson (W65) of the Nike Central Park Track Club (who set an AR a few weeks ago in the 3000) broke the world indoor record with a 5:57.0. Kathy then came back a very short time later, and set another world indoor record, running 2:32.1, running faster than her pending AR of 2:34.0 from 2 weeks ago.” By my count, Kathy Martin has set FIVE world indoor records this season. Yowza!

Gail Devers, 40 going on 25, will run the 60-meter hurdles tomorrow night at an indoor meet in Paris. Guess she found her sugar daddy after all. But here’s the really amazing part: After competing in France on Friday, she may fly back to the States and run at Boston nationals Sunday! Here’s what USATF’s Tom Surber (who covered the Charlotte masters nationals) reported today about the Boston meet:

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According to the Status of Entries page at USATF, 20 masters entrants (10 men and 10 women) are good to go in the exhibition 800s slated for the USA open indoor nationals this Sunday in Boston. If the seed times are any indication, the races won’t be close. Alisa Harvey will easily take the women’s race, and Peter Hegelbach will win the men’s. Of course, races aren’t run on paper (or blogs), so we’ll see who might challenge these front-runners. My main interest will be seeing whether Alisa (who ran an American record 4:42 mile two months ago) can improve on her own W40 indoor AR at 800 — 2:07.23. (The indoor WR is outtasight: 2:01.59 by Russia’s Yekaterina Podkopayeva in 1994.)

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The latest edition of Pete Mundle’s “Masters Age Records” — single-age track and field bests that he’s compiled for decades — is now online here as a PDF document. I scanned the 60-page booklet to goose my wiki age-records project. How do I get away with posting this? Glad you asked. First off, MAR (as it’s known) is not copyrighted. Doubt it ever was. Second, I wrote to MAR’s publisher, Randy Sturgeon at National Masters News, and got the green light. After I wrote Randy about my hopes of posting the MAR, he replied today: “I think it is a good thing.”

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First reports from across the Pond said that Val Parsons had lowered her own W60 world record for 60 meters to 8.79 seconds. Check that. She actually ran two records — first an 8.81 and then 8.75. Running against teen-agers at Brunel University’s Sprints Meeting on Saturday, February 17, Val pipped the 8.83 she ran January 7 in Windsor. That’s the meet where an official refused to believe Val was 60. The Brunel meet was contested under UK Athletics rules, so record ratification should be no problem. The Age-Graded Tables say 8.75 is equivalent to an open time of 6.85.

Well, 43-year-old Sir Charles beat 67-year-old referee Dick Bavetta in the NBA All-Star Game sideshow footrace. Drat. But Charles wouldn’t stand a chance against any top-tier M65 (or even M70) sprinter. Sports Illustrated has a picture of the start. Dick attempted to put a positive spin on the defeat, saying afterward: “”I think it’s wonderful that we’re talking about this instead of some of the other crazy things that are going on in the world today.”

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My masters moles are working OT. From Alan Sigmon: “The Spanish Federation’s Web page . . . reports that Jesús Borrego Llamas has broken the M45 world indoor record for 3000 with a time of 8:34.58 at Seville on Feb. 11. The RFEA listed Klaus Goldammer’s 8:36.64 of 1999 as the old record, but Craig Fram (USA) ran 8:35.40 at Boston on Feb. 14, 2004.” From sprint champ Kettrell Berry comes news that Robert Thomas Jr. broke Dr. Ray Blackwell’s M40 American indoor record for 400 meters Friday at the Hoosier Hills Invitational at the University of Indiana in Bloomington.

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