Hotrod legend Bill Burke dies at 97; was masters pioneer in 1970s
Athletics New Zealand reports Bruce Clarke death in shot accident
The news we were hoping not to report has come to pass: āA Hamilton man has died after a shot put struck him on the head during an athletics meeting at Mt Smart Stadium,ā local media reported Monday. Bruce Clarke, 77, was competing at the North Island masters track and field championships late last month when the accident occurred during the warm-up for the 75-79 years shot put. He died 10 days later. Clarke won gold at the New Zealand Masters Games in Wanganui in February in the 75-79 discus, hammer and javelin throws, and silver in the shot put. Athletics NZ chief executive Linda Hamersley said the thoughts of the governing body, and the entire athletics community, were with Clarkeās family and friends. New Zealand Masters Athletics and Athletics Auckland are investigating the accident.ā

Bruce (second from left) is shown in 2012 with members of the Lodge Frankton Athletic and Harrier Club. Photo by Shane Morton
How Dr. Tissenbaum healed thyself, returned to top of sprint world

Superstar sprinters and friends Charles Allie and Bill Collins accompanied a grimacing Allan Tissenbaum off the track at Olathe nationals in 2013.
Go, Vera, go! But your W80 beer mile WR could fall anytime soon
Beer milers are getting older. The record may be held by Elvira āVeraā Montes of Texas. The headline on her feat caught my eye: āTexas grandmother, 81, smashes beer mile, says she could have ārun a lot fasterā drinking scotch.ā One local report says Elvira of El Paso beat her 47-year-old daughter Renee Reynoldsā time in the 2015 FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships in Austin on Dec. 1. Montes finished at 20 minutes and 24.62 seconds, a newspaper reported. Reynolds came in just behind at 21 minutes and 15.67 seconds. Montesā son-in-law didnāt finish. āIām not a big beer drinker,ā Montes told the El Paso Times. āI like beer when the weather is real hot and thereās nothing else to drink. Iām really a scotch drinker, Chivas if itās available. If it was scotch we were drinking instead of beer, I would have run a lot faster. ⦠I donāt have any secrets, I just wanted to prove to my daughter that I could run and drink beer.ā I gotta think we have lots of lady milers who can crank out a sub-20 after four suds.
81-Year-Old Elvira Montez completes beer mile
81-Year-Old Elvira Montez completes beer mile #FloBeerMile ā> http://bit.ly/21ylTpM
Posted by FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships on Thursday, December 3, 2015
American W35 relay team awarded Lyon bronze after Brits are DQ’d

Pre-DQ results of relay show the Brits just ahead of the Americans. Congrats to LaTisha, Rachel and Danelle as well. I know how you feel.
Masters events set for IAAF indoor worlds: 800s in M60+ and W55+
WMA has announced details of the masters exhibition events at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon. (See the application form.) This is great news for the older age groups: āThe events are the 800m for men 60 and over, and the 800m for women 55 and over. Invitations will be extended to the top six athletes who have met the qualifying standard. The standard for men is 2:20.00 and women 2:46.00. The qualifying performance must have occurred between 01/01/2015 and 15/01/2016 and can be either indoors or outdoors. Your age is as of 19/03/2016. WMA will assist in the cost of accommodations and provide a small per diem.ā But for foreign athletes, this may be a major wrinkle: āAthletes should be prepared to meet their own travel costs. The arrangements for accommodations, travel, accreditation and associated matters will be made available as they become finalized. The deadline for the submission of your application is 23 January 2016.ā Mastersrankings.com lists the top M60s here. (None of the top M65s are under the standard outdoors.) Here are the top W55s. A handful of W60s have met the standard. Iām hoping USATF can help Americans with travel expenses, especially the likes of Nolan Shaheed, Horace Grant and Lesley Chaplin.
Bragging rights to whoever is first to identify this handsome gent
Dave Albo shot the USATF Mid-America Masters regionals in late August, and one of his best images showed a shot-putter at moment of chalky release, wearing a T-shirt that read āI Throw ā Therefore I am.ā Itās a beaut, and it graces the cover of the current issue of National Masters News. Unfortunately, the publishers couldnāt track down the name of the thrower. Anyone know this handsome fellow? The meet was in Fort Collins, Colorado. He looks to be in his 50s. (But could be older.)
Small pot of money will subsidize USATF masters entered in Perth
Great news out of the Houston annual meeting: āA relatively small amount of money has been set aside to support potential [masters] medal winners who would not otherwise be able to afford to go to Perth,ā writes throws coordinator Jerry Bookin-Weiner. āThere will be an application and selection process with final decisions made by the MTF chair, the team manager and [possibly] affirmed by the MTF officers. The money is to be equally split between males and females with a total of $5,000 available.ā Thatās been a goal for decades ā moving us closer to the respect our elites deserve. Itāll be interesting to see how this plays out at 2016 worlds. But itās a start. Stay tuned as details are shared on how to apply. USATF national masters Treasurer Carroll DeWeese also provided a budget document, which shows Marketing going from $8,000 to $10,000 and Media from $12,000 to $15,000. It will be interesting to watch these as well ā and make sure weāre getting the best bang for the buck.
Drug-testing coming to regional meets, masters record-setters
Age-division awards in masters track, LDR revealed at Houston
Iām still waiting on the names of the USATF Masters Hall of Fame Class of 2015. (I know of one so far, since he emailed me.) But the slate of age-division Athletes of the Year was announced Saturday at the Houston annual meeting. They include three of my Striders teammates: Rita Hanscom, Linda Cohn and Brenda Matthews. (Kathy Bergen already is a MTF AOY). USATFās complete list from the awards breakfast is here.