Pat Manson isn’t that old — a mere babe at 42 — but he thinks it would be “neat” to say he vaulted 18 feet in four different decades. The 2010s are in his sights now, thanks to the confidence boost he got at the Air Force Academy last weekend. Pat says: “They tell me the 17-7 jump was perhaps enough for an 18-footer, so that is
encouraging. I was on the right poles to go higher, anyway.” In a wide-ranging interview conducted by email, Pat shows he’s lost no enthusiasm for the event. (Actually, I shot him five or six questions, and he went to town.) Most interesting reply of all: “Perhaps soon I’ll try some other events for fun, but not now.” (That’s like Liberace saying he’d like to play trombone.) Anyway, check out his note to me from Superior, Colorado.

Pat is so old they didn’t have color film when he was elite.

Here’s what Pat wrote a few days ago about his Air Force Academy 17-7:

Yeah, it was a fun meet. It was early season, so you never know what to expect. But I felt pretty good going in. They tell me the 17-7 jump was perhaps enough for an 18-footer, so that is encouraging. I was on the right poles to go higher, anyway.

There are several details that lead to recent marks of 17-7″ or mid-17s: pole selection and pursuit of 18 feet.

First, for poles I am gradually getting on smaller poles every several years, and I recently went off the bottom of my 5m line of poles. (16-5) I don’t have a 16-foot line of poles, so my next good line is 15-footers. I have a 15-190 I can make 17 feet on all day (I weigh 160), but not consistently much more.

It is a big jump to the 5m poles from the 15-footers. Usually, I am not fired up or warmed up enough to try the 5m poles in warmup so I have been stuck the last several years trying to switch up mid-meet with mixed results. This year I decided to work on speed a little more so I can hopefully get on the bigger poles right off, and it worked at AFA this time.

Second is the pursuit of 18 feet. Last year was the worst case of it. I tried 16-17-18 progression all indoors with so many close tries at 18. Near the end of indoors I realized I might end up with only a 17-footer so I tried a 16-2, 17-2, 18 progression. I (almost?) never tried a mid-17-foot bar, I think. So this year I decided to be more patient and try a mid-17 bar.

In Reno in 2008, when Jeff (Hartwig) and I first had shots at the (M40) indoor WR, I set it first at 5.25 or something, but they weren’t sure it would be ratified (maybe not enough qualified witnesses to the measure or something) so I felt I should try the next bar rather than 18, which I made. I missed my 18-foot tries that night.

Eighteen is a nice
number, and it qualifies for indoor nationals. Someone pointed out that if I can make 18 this year that would be an 18-footer in four different decades, which would be kind of neat to do.

No injuries so far, but as you know that is the challenge. I find that as I age the stress
of full-tilt vaulting causes injuries more consistently than it does as a younger guy. I rest more from meets and hard workouts. The last several years some small injury has typically been the reason for stopping the high jumps for the year. But I think stopping has also allowed the injuries to heal and be 100% for the next year.

Also, I coach in the spring and summer, and it is just very difficult to train while coaching. The spring weather here in Colorado makes it tough to count on any good meets or training, as well. I often jump easy all summer to demonstrate things and try out technical theories in
practice. And it’s just plain fun!

I’d like to go to Reno for the Vault Summit and jump well. I’ll see what happens after that, but the expense and time away from my family makes it hard to justify travel for meets when there are good opportunities here in Colorado.

I’ll be in the Rocky Mountain Masters
meet in February, though I travel home from a clinic in Michigan the night before. Hopefully I can be rested because Air Force Academy is a great place to vault. All the good folks at that meet make it really fun, too. If I qualify, I would consider (USATF indoor) nationals in Albuquerque, since I can drive it.

Track and field is such a great sport, and the people are so nice; it makes it easy to train and go to meets. It’s all about doing the best you can on that day. Some days (or some years) an injury keeps the big marks away, but that doesn’t make it less fun to be out there.

As my
wife and I joke, if we train really hard and go for some big goal and fall short, we still end up in better shape and having had more fun than if we hadn’t gone for it!

Perhaps soon I’ll try some other events for fun, but not now. I used to long jump and sprint and things. But my body only has so many hits in it these days, and for what I am trying to do in vaulting I need to save those impacts for vaulting and training. Besides, I see the marks
being put up in other events, and I have immense respect for what’s being done.

I am probably better off just vaulting rather than getting my tail whoooped in something else by some guy 10 years older than me! (which is what would happen!) 🙂