Online results can be mystifying. Latest example: the South American Masters Championships list an M55 mark for 800 meters that’s pretty mind-boggling — a 2:03.09 by Brazil’s Julio Quirino in Rio de Janeiro. Annette and Robert Koop in Germany seem to consider this mark legit. They say it beats the listed (hand-timed) WMA world age-group record of 2:03.7 by South Africa’s Stan Immelman in 2001. But Martin Gasselsberger of mastersathletics.net lists the 2:03.09 as questionable. (Putting ??? before the time.)

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This coming weekend in Indianapolis, USA Track & Field meets to do its annual business — mull rule changes, elect officers, honor the stars of 2006. One lesser-known function is picking U.S. candidates to various bodies of IAAF — the Big Kahuna of track and field. One of the hopefuls is our own Rex Harvey, a veep in WMA. Rex, an Ohio resident who still holds the M45 decathlon world record, wants to join the IAAF Masters Committee. It’s a prestigious gig.

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A 60-year-old Rocky Balboa? Boxing an elite champion? When I first heard this scenario a year ago, I was intrigued (but a little worried). Now that Sly Stallone’s latest sequel is almost out — scheduled for release Dec. 22 — my fears are being allayed by early reviews. Here’s the nut graf in one preview: “In ‘Rocky Balboa’ . . . Stallone seeks to undercut the absurdity of pitting an ancient boxer against a young champion by casting the showcase bout as an exhibition fight, and by approaching the script with self-awareness and humor.”

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The National Senior Olympics — held in odd-numbered years — is one of the few events for 50-plus athletes that requires “qualifying.” I’m unclear what the standard is, other than simply recording a mark in an official qualifying State Games or State Senior Olympics during 2006, but that’s the drill. In 2007, the track meet portion of the National Senior Olympics will be held in late June and early July at the University of Louisville (they split the meet into two parts: 50-64 and 65-plus.) The news is that only one qualifying meet is left: the Florida Senior Games State Championship.

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How do masters records get ratified? It’s a mystery of the universe. In my 10 years of watching the sport, I’ve frequently vented on the cruddy work of those who profess to be the guardians of age-group bests. Pete Mundle was The Man for decades, but he became The Mess. Pete passed the baton to Sandy Pashkin as records chair, and now she has fumbled it. Three cases in point: the M50 outdoor 4×400, the M50 indoor sprint medley relay and the W55 superweight throw. Despite credible applications that contained officials’ signatures, these records remain unratified.

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Turkey Day isn’t known for gift giving, but Texas hurdler Jeff Brower provides a big honkin’ present on this delicious American holiday — world and national masters outdoor championship results from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s! (He links to our USA results from 2000 to 2006). With permission from National Masters News to post the results online, Jeff says he spent well over 100 hours the past two years scanning results from the back of the papers and creating searchable PDF files. “I was lucky to do three in an hour,” he writes. Jeff invites donations to defray expenses, and my check is in the mail. (Really!)

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My pouty post on the PTFA, in which I referred to the anonymous emailer as an entity, did the job. I got the sender to fess up. And I was right. It was indeed M45 American recordholder Tom Gilliard of Georgia. He wrote me yesterday: “I am doing well, but I no longer run. My feet gave out on me at the 1997 Masters Outdoor Nationals. I haven’t run since then. It hurts when I try jogging on a trampoline. My mind and heart still want the thrill and fun I enjoyed in running, but my feet have come up with their own agenda. I do moderate swimming for physical activity now.”

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Steve Boman has the bug. And no wonder. As co-founder (with his friend Sean Callahan) of GeezerJock magazine, Steve can’t help but be moved by the folks he writes about as editor-at-large. But in the latest edition, November, Steve takes a leap of faith with a column headlined “Back on track.” Steve says he met up with an old college friend and track teammate, “Don M,” and found himself betting that he (Steve) could again run a sub-25 200-meter dash. “The bet was major,” Steve writes. “The loser buys the winner one cold beer.”

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If you ever start a professional track and field association, check your spelling and syntax. That’s my advice for the entity who sent me email today. The subject line said: “Track and Field for the less able-bodied people.” The message began: “Hello Track and Field die heart. If you know of any individuals who are interested in track and field but on a lesser scale than the one you perform on, perhaps you can tell them about the Professional Track and Field Assoc. (PTFA). We would appreciate it, much. Thanks.” A survey page is vague on its mission on starting a pro track league.

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Yolanda Gail Devers, the ageless Olympian who still strikes fear into fellow hurdlers’ hearts, turned 40 today. She hasn’t competed since early 2006 (partly because she became a Mom for the first time in 2005). But she also vowed she would utter the R-word (retirement) only once, and she still hasn’t. A return to the track in 2007 is expected. Gail is acutely aware that her archrival in sprints, Merlene Ottey, is still going strong at age 46, so don’t close the book on our new W40 kid. Go, Gail!