Bill Collins didn’t expect to break his friend and Houston Elite teammate’s indoor world record for 200 meters a couple weekends ago. But Charles Allie’s M65 mark fell anyway at Texas A&M — in 25.25 seconds out of lane 2. “This was a practice meet for us, and I had no idea we would run this fast,” Bill told me via email Sunday. It also was his first race since turning 65 in late November. Amazing. Even more incredible is that he doesn’t consider himself fully recovered from his frightening bout five years ago with Guillain-Barre syndrome. This I learned in a quickie Q&A with Bill, gracious in again putting up with my interrogations.

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Lapping a runner on the last of eight circuits, Mark Williams conquered a storm-weakened field Saturday to win the M40 elite race of the 49th Hartshorne Masters Mile at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Clocking 4:33.04, Mark, 43, stretched out his lead every lap as Peter Taylor narrated the race. See results for all races and lap splits courtesy Leone Timing. James Derick won M50 in 4:46.73. But the top age-graded male time was superblogger Kevin Forde’s 4:47.27 at age 52 (90 percent age-graded). Kevin described in gruesome detail his ordeal getting from Philadelphia to Upstate New York. He was a lucky one. Some entrants didn’t make it to the starting line. “We lost about six-eight competitors due to the big snow storm that came through the states just to the south of us,” said meet director Tom Hartshorne. Winners of the W40 and W50 elite races were Sascha Scott (4:54.55) and evergreen Alisa Harvey (5:14.25) — not far off the AR of 5:08.5. (WR is 5:07.32.) But Coreen Steinbach, 64, won the age-graded title with her 6:20.08 — a 95.7 percent age-graded score. Mazel tov to all. Hope y’all made it home OK.

Masters Hall of Famer Bill Collins quietly turned 65 in late November. But he made a big noise on Jan. 16 at a Texas A&M indoor meet, lowering the world record for 200 meters held by his friend Charles Allie. The listed WR is 25.41. Bill clocked 25.25, which age-grades to 19.68 as an open mark. The actual indoor WR is 19.92 by Frank Fredricks. Charles holds the M65 outdoor WR at 24.65, so that’s in jeopardy in this world meet year. Unfortunately, Bill’s incredible race got lost in the commotion over a freshman kid named Donovan Brazier, who ran an 800 at the same meet in 1:45.93, and got named USATF Athlete of the Week. Donavan’s first 200 was 25.20. Bill would have beaten that had he not eased up at the end. Welcome back to the WR scene, Bill.

Aaron Yoder once ran the equivalent of a 4:13 mile at Fort Hays State, but didn’t really attain four-lap glory until this week, when he posted a video of a mile he ran in 5:54.25. Backwards. At age 30, on Nov. 23, he broke the backwards mile best of 6:02.35 set by D. Joseph James in 2002. Think about that. He averaged 88.5 a quarter-mile, or 44.2 for 220. Try it. Not easy. More details at Runner’s World. Saturday morning, running forward, dozens of masters will test themselves at the Hartshorne Masters Mile in Ithaca, New York. Thankfully indoors. Meet director Tom Hartshorne writes: “We lost five or six from our elite races due to the storm coming across the country and hitting lower Pennsylvania and Virginia. New York State has been spared the brunt of this storm. … Nolan Shaheed called in tonight to wish us well. We miss you here in Ithaca, Nolan, and hope to see you soon in warmer venues.” All the best to those braving the weather, especially Alisa Harvey, now 50. Time for some records.

As Peter Taylor noted in comments, John Trautmann’s M45 indoor mile of a year ago is listed as an American record but not a world record. But M55 Anselm LeBourne, who also beat a listed WR indoor mile (twice), isn’t listed for any record. What’s up with that? A clue is Jeff Brower’s Google Doc of 2015 record applications. Anselm ran 4:37.08 on Jan. 16, 2015. He ran a 4:34.79 on March 10. The first mark is denoted “surpassed.” The second is “waiting,” pending submission of a zero-control test, or ZCT. But why wasn’t the 4:37.08 approved? It crushes the listed WR of 4:42.89 by our friend Nolan Shaheed. But Jeff’s list of masters records submitted for approval at the annual meeting includes the 4:34.79. So Houston, we have a snafu. Stay tuned.

Did Frederick Monesmith jump 1.65 meters (5-5) on Jan. 16? Probably not, since 1.65 would beat the listed American record of 1.62 by the legendary Jim Gilchrist. (And Fred has another listed jump of 1.22 (4-0), also on mastersrankings.com. No biggie. But of greater concern are USATF masters records showing 0000-??-00 for dates of most performances. The database has gone daft. (See the list.) Hope this is fixed soon.

In an amazing story out of the UK, we learn how W55 star Sue Frisby won the Lyon heptathlon bronze despite diabetes. “Competing in seven events over two days is grueling by anyone’s standards, but Sue had the constant pressure of having to monitor her sugar levels constantly throughout. … Despite suffering her first hypo – when blood sugar drops too low, leading to dizziness and blurred vision, and, in severe cases, sufferers can fall into a coma – in several years during the event, Sue says it was ‘more than worth it.'” She also won gold in the 4-by-100, silver in the 300 hurdles, bronze in the 80 hurdles and bronze in the 4-by-400. Sue says: “While I was in Lyon I never met or heard of any other diabetic competitor at that level, so I do wonder if it is unusual. … I was just one of many in the trade, so to speak. Nowhere did sports journalists mention my diabetes and that felt brilliant. I never want it to be ‘poor me.'” Your secret is out, Sue. But no poor you. Good on you!

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Joe Biden, get a cancer cure. We’ve just learned of another victim. Our California sprinter-jumper friend Fei-Mei Chou, returning home from Taiwan, reports that she’s been diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. “It has spread and there will not be surgery,” writes Christel Donley. “She will start chemo on Jan. 27. … It was the most devastating news for me and I am sure for all of us. … Fei-Mei has been a friend for so many years; we have not only run relays together, but enjoyed each other, including her husband. The two relays we ran together in Lyon were a highlight for all of us. Running a WR in each race adds to our greatest memories. We all shared an apartment in Brisbane and she was a witness to my great gift: ‘finding Jerry’ (though Jerry and I knew each other for years.)” Christel is asking for prayers and good wishes. She has them here. See Fei-Mei’s credits on mastershistory.org, especially at nationals.

Carl Wallin, the famed retired Dartmouth track coach and 1989 masters world champion, is carving out a new legend — his recovery from prostate cancer. I spoke with him Sunday to learn his status after George Mathews gave me a heads up on Carl’s return to throwing competition at the Dartmouth Relays indoor meet. Last August, he learned of his high PSA count, and it eventually reached 4.6. A biopsy revealed his cancer was rated 9 on a worst-case scale of 10. But thanks to hormone therapy and radiation, his PSA is now 0.0. He’s cancer-free. The downside: He has no testosterone, which really cramps his style. He’s had a great attitude, though: “I met more nice people going through these treatments.” Now 74 and an inch short of his Army height of 6-3 1/2, Carl continues to coach high school kids and at Thor’s Stone Athletic Club. He lives in Hanover, N.H., and hopes his testosterone levels rise naturally. He won’t dope. He just wants to throw. “I really enjoy competing, whether I win or lose,” he said. “I want to get back.” Carl says he’d be happy to share his experience with anyone else facing prostate issues. Lemme know, and I’ll connect you.

A friend sent me a wonderful blog post by Kathy Camp, daughter of former world-class M70 sprinter Dick Camp, now about 80 and battling Parkinson’s. She wrote that her dad ran masters in his 60s and 70s because of Dave Sime. “My father’s heart hurts today,” she wrote the day Dave died. “Life is a little bit lonelier – a little bit sadder when you lose your person. David and Dad were best friends for over 70 years. Best men in each other’s weddings, the first phone calls made at births of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. Their weekly phone calls were the most animated I’d seen my father. Talking about old friends, old plays on the field, old memories that bound them together for 50, 60, 70 years. Dad prayed that David would know Jesus. That he’d trust Him. That he’d offer his life to Him. I hope he did. I hope they will see each other again.”

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