Peter Taylor announces his Landover predictions (sort of)

Peter Taylor will call the races this weekend at Landover. And since he’s been studying up on the fields, I asked him to dope some of the more high-profile events at masters nationals. Showing how smart he really is, he declined to pick the winners. He also didn’t bite on some more controversial issues. But his outspoken personality shines through in my quickie Q&A and he does forecast how many M95 American records Leland McPhie will set and how many events Phil Raschker will win.  Be sure to support Peter during the meet. He usually goes without a break.


Here’s my interview:

Masterstrack.com: You’ve been a longtime cheerleader for high turnouts at masters nationals.  Can our nationals get too big — too hard to squeeze in all the heats and flights needed for a three-day meet?

Peter Taylor: Well, Ken, we could run 1,500  athletes through if we cared to — that would be nothing for Penn Relays.  But one would need the hours to do it.  In the present case (I believe we have 964 entrants for Landover), given the schedule that has been published, we will have to be very fortunate to finish on time.

 In short, 3 days is long enough for 950 to 1,000, but I don’t think we have the hours needed.  Would probably need to do something wild, like run all the 400s on Friday.  There is virtually no overlap between 400 and 3,000, and it could be done.  Of course, it won’t happen this year.  As you may know, the 400 will present the biggest challenge of all for this meet in terms of keeping within the hours allotted.
    
As meet announcer at many recent nationals, you’ve seen how things are run up-close. What are the biggest problems to overcome?
     
(1)  Determining in an expeditious manner which age groups need trials and which do not in the 60, 60 hurdles, and 200 (and then drawing up the heats).  As you may know, I do not believe in trials for masters hurdles, but they will be part of the meet (I believe in having timed finals unless there are more hurdlers with demonstrated competence in their event than there are lanes.  This has never happened in my experience.)

(2) Conducting field events while not interfering with other field events that are occurring simultaneously.  

(3) Counting laps when there are 17 or more runners in a field.  This seems to be a special problem after the leader has finished.

You generally know something about every masters athlete you see at nationals. But do you ever pine for unknowns — total newbies who come out of the woodwork?
     
Yes, I like a newbie if she/he is someone I have anticipated.  In other words, I have discovered them on my own and get the satisfaction of announcing them in an authoritative way.  More than that, I like the “emergers.”

These are people I have announced very few times (if at all) and who may be full-blown stars, but to me they are “emergers” in that I haven’t announced them much.  They would even include someone like Joan Benoit Samuelson (have announced her just once), Pete Magill (announced him once), or Rosalind Sheppard (All American at Maryland who will be in W40 — this must be her first indoor masters). 

Also would include here the impossibly fast Everad Samuels (M50 sprinter), who is the world outdoor recordholder in the 200 for M50 at 22.53.  By the way, we have a field events announcer for Landover, and thus I am mentioning only the track events here.  Even someone like Lisa Valle of New Mexico (won two events at Spokane and helped me with pronouncing her last name) would qualify.

Masters nationals rarely help underwrite travel expenses of athletes. What do you think of Steve Nearman’s revelation in The Washington Times that “officials at next weekend’s USATF Masters Indoor Championships . . .  are flying (Henry) Rono here so he can compete in the mile . . .  and the 800”? Is this fair, when better athletes pay their own way? Or does the Rono publicity justify this expense?
     
I don’t have any details on this question and thus will not answer it.

Records set at masters nationals are generally a slam dunk for ratification. But other masters meets don’t make it easy for athletes to get the proper paperwork filled out. What can be done to  streamline or ease the record-ratification process in masters track?
     
Certainly one solution would be to go to a tiered system.   Tier A would include Penn Relays, Drake Relays, Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) Relays, Hartshorne Mile, Hayward Masters Classic, Southeastern Masters (Bob Boal Memorial), etc.  If you set an American or world record at a Tier A meet you are in (no application). 

For example, if they have a masters high jump at Penn Relays and Bruce McBarnette sets an American mark for M50, that’s it.  He has an American record. In this case the meet director (Dave Johnson) or his designate simply informs the masters record chair as follows:  “At the 20xx Penn Relays, four American or world masters records were set.  They were in the following events:  high jump, 100, etc.” 

That’s the end of the story. If the meet director doesn’t know which records were set, the masters coordinator for the meet tells him.  Any questions go directly from the masters records chair to the meet director (the athlete should not be involved).

In Tier B meets there would be an application, but it would come from the meet director and not the athlete.  Anything that was relevant for the application would be on the form (as you know, the present form doesn’t even contain the word “sanction”).  All correspondence about the record would be between the meet director and the masters record chair.

 Athletes should not be involved in applying for records (only thing they need to supply is proof of their age, but if they are an unknown person they will not set a record, as we have seen over and over again).  They should be in some sort of database.
     
 Tier C meets are smaller meets with hand timing.  I don’t really like hand timing, even for 1500.  Small meets should not be eligible for the setting of records.

If you were a world-class masters athlete, which event would you attend this year — WMA worlds in Finland or the World Masters Games in Sydney? And why?
     
I would go to Finland because I’m a track and field person.

Predict the winner of these men’s events: M40 200,  M60 200, M65 200, M55 800,  M65 weight throw.
     
I will give you first, second, and third, but I will put the answers in code so you don’t know which I am actually choosing for the three places.   

    M40 200 Aaron Thigpen, Robert Thomas, Khalid Mulazim.

    M60 200 Don Neidig, Stan Whitley, Charles Allie.

    M65 200 Robert Koontz, Steve Robbins, Alby Williams.

    M55 800 Nolan Shaheed, Horace Grant, Joe Burno.

    M65 weight throw Thos. Gage, Geo. Mathews, and Bob Cahners
     
    Note that this is in code; only I know which person I am picking for first (changes by event).

Predict the winner of these women’s races: W40 400, W55 200, W45 800.

    W40 400 Maryline Roux, Alisa Harvey, Charmaine Roberts.

    W55 200 Sharon Warren, Jacquie Board, Kay Glynn.

    W45 800 Martha Merz, Lorraine Jasper, Joan Hunter.
     
    Again, I am giving you the top three, but only I know the code of which person is first (and it changes for each event).

How many M95 American records will Leland McPhie set at Landover?

    Three

  How many events will Phil Raschker win at Landover?
     
    Nine

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March 18, 2009

7 Responses

  1. Bill Pontius - March 18, 2009

    Peter and Ken,
    Thanks for the Landover info–very interesting as usual; since I’m not going, I’ll be watching for results closely. Just a couple of comments: first, I watched Karla Del Grande looking relaxed as she lowered her Canadian 200m record on Sunday, so barring injury she’ll be in the W55 hunt, and, secondly, the men’s hurdles for the same age group has–as of right now–more “competent” hurdlers than I’ve ever seen in a masters track entry list.
    Good luck to all in what looks like its going to be a tremendous meet!

  2. peter taylor - March 18, 2009

    I think Bill Pontius got me twice. First, on the W55 200 — this shows the problem with not listing the non.-U.S. competitors on the USATF.org “status of entries” or whatever it is called.
    As an announcer, this has always been a source of frustration for me. In this case, I responded to Ken so quickly that I did not bother to go to a separate Web site where the Canadians and other “furriners” are listed. My new picks for the W55 200 (in code):
    Karla Del Grande
    Sharon Warren
    Jacquie Board
    On the M55 hurdles: Bill is right; there are a lot of “competent” (probably a bad word — it means “pretty good or better”) hurdlers in that field. For perhaps the first time ever in a masters championship we may have more of that level of hurdler than we do lanes (we have 8 lanes for hurdlers at Landover). Of course, we have to see what we have in terms of scratches. Again, I beg forgiveness, as (as Ken knows) I went through his questions with extreme speed.
    The larger point, of course, is that masters T&F is known for “trialing its athletes to death.” Perhaps once every 5 to 10 years we will need trials in the hurdles; that does not mean they should be scheduled routinely (at least in my opinion).

  3. Liz Palmer - March 18, 2009

    I always enjoy Peter’s insights, and his suggestion of “tiered meets” for record-setting purposes has real merit. I’ve wondered why the onus of completing an application for a new record is on the athlete. The athlete’s job is to train and perform at a high enough level to set the record. I know we are not open elite athletes, but can you imagine Tyson Gay or Christian Cantwell running around a meet attempting to obtain signatures after setting a new American record? If we want to enhance the reputation and participation in masters track and field, we need to conduct every aspect of our sport as professionally as possible.

  4. satch - March 18, 2009

    I will set a record on my first throw

  5. Weia - March 18, 2009

    In my country the athlete always has to run around with the record form. Sometimes the officials of the meet have record forms but to be sure I always take my own (too often they are not needed). It are national forms, international forms are filled in by the record committee, we do not have to bother about that. On European and world championships we do not have to fill in anything, but on national championships we have to. You get used to it…

  6. peter taylor - March 19, 2009

    Thanks for the international perspective, Weia. The problem we have in the U.S. is that at a larger meet with substantial participation by masters (such as the Penn Relays), the athletes are not permitted to walk around with a form (they will be stopped by security personnel). Thus, unless they get extraordinary assistance from someone who is not an athlete they will lose their record.
    In a smaller meet, it may be difficult for the athlete to get everything required for ratification, as officials may be too busy conducting the meet.

  7. Kathy Bergen - March 19, 2009

    Peter
    I think your idea for tiered meets is excellent. I lost two records in the past because of sloppy paperwork and inattention to detail by the meet directors. I believe there should be some kind of confirmation right away that the record has been submitted and sanctioned. If a nominal charge was submitted with each application, it would pay for the cost of mailing a postcard.
    Now after a meet, the status of the application sometimes falls into a black hole and you don’t find out until the following year that your application has been lost.

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Peter Taylor, announcer/survivor, shares Orono stories

If Peter Taylor announced your event Sunday at Orono, you have even more to appreciate. He almost didn’t make it to the track. Peter spent Saturday night at the Eastern Maine Medical Center, and was released at 6:50 a.m. in time to call the first race at 7:40 a.m. — the first of the 1500s. Peter writes: “I had stroke-like symptoms but did not have stroke.” Earlier, an athlete wrote me: “He had awoken in the night with a ‘dead’ and useless arm and had called the emergency services who took him to the hospital and tested him.” Now back home in Virginia, Peter is sharing a series of reports on the meet, beginning with “How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Part I)”

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August 9, 2007

8 Responses

  1. nolan shaheed - August 9, 2007

    Pete, you are the best T&F barker in the world!!The nationals would not have been complete without you. Along with Pete, the unsong heroes are Bob Weiner who go us on the FRONT page of the local newspaper.Dave Clingan who not only competed well but took care of stats AND hadled the awards ceremony and Ken Stone who took photos,tons of notes and made suggestions to help make the meet run smoothly. Thanks Cats, Nolan Shaheed

  2. saladin allah - August 9, 2007

    Pete,
    Your voice is the sound of Masters track & field. Don’t ever forget that. I hear few sounds when I’m competing, but always here you. You stay on top of your health, sir, cause we all care for you dearly.
    Sal Allah

  3. michael Labay - August 9, 2007

    got lots of compliments from loved ones about your wonderful color commentary that accompanied the webcast.
    AAMOF, at one point on Saturday, the video portion of the webcast stopped functioning, but the audio (slightly distorted) continued to webcast thru our computer speakers. Several of us athletes continued to listen in to Peter’s “fireside chatting” with no picture. It was like listening to an AM radio play-by-play, ala Houston Astros on KTRH.
    Peter’s voice reminds me of the p.a. announcer from television’s “M*A*S*H”

  4. fred roughton - August 9, 2007

    As an old retired competitive long distance runner who happens to be the father of a brand new 44 year old masters competitor this year, Robin Judice, and having watched your work at both Duke in May as well as Orono via webcast, I just want to tell how very, very much your efforts contribute to the whole masters experience. Absolutely tremendous! And tireless!! Watching the webcast without your work would have been a far lessor experience. Many thanks.

  5. al cestero - August 10, 2007

    you’re not only a first class announcer, but a first class gentleman as well. on friday morning at 7:15ish i asked where i could find a trainer to tape my ankle before i high jumped. you knew my hometown and my name, pronounced it correctly, pointed me in the right direction, and wished me well.i hope that you are around a long time to continue your masterful and knowledgeable emceeing.my wife jackie, who, despite being married to me for 27years,is a very hard sell.she looked forward to the events being called by you.your voice lowered the heat index by 10 degrees, and put a smile on all our faces…thanks and god bless you…albert

  6. Mary Harada - August 10, 2007

    First class job by a first class gentleman. Glad you survived the heat, the health scare, and the lack of access to breakfast at a reasonable hour. It is always fun to run a track competition with Pete announcing, even if I did not make his hit parade of those with a beautiful style. Next time Pete – how about announcing style points for running form- yes I know I will get a 1.0- lands on heels, does not swing left arm, left shoulder much higher than right,barely get feet off the track, fast turnover but no knee lift, sprints as well as frogs fly. You are the best Pete – stay well.

  7. Liz Palmer - August 10, 2007

    I give Pete Taylor a “10” for announcing style.

  8. Shemayne Williams - August 10, 2007

    Hey Pete Taylor. I did not compete at Nationals this year as I am diligently preparing for Italy. However, watching the athletes compete this weekend in Orono via the webcam and your wonderful announcing made the meet that much more exciting to watch. You are a true professional and the Masters circuit is very lucky to have you.
    And of course I am pleased to hear that you are feeling better!
    Shemayne Williams
    200/400 40-44 age group

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