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site history

Site History

In February 1996, Ken Stone of San Diego County took advantage of America Online’s plant-your-own home-page service and launched the precursor to masterstrack.com. Inspired by a Listserve post by Canadian hurdler Jess Brewer, Ken aimed to provide a place for masters to meet, encourage each other and pursue age-group PRs.

Ken also sought to foster respect and recognition for older athletes. He called his site the Masters Track and Field Home Page. It grew and grew, added news, opinion, a few yucks, a page of links and an athlete database called the Webmaster Track Club. But it lacked a substantive meet calendar. And results were skimpy.

Dave (left) and Ken in January 2000
Mousepad depicts 2001 home page.

Enter Dave Clingan of Portland, Oregon. A world-class masters middle-distance runner, Dave merged his own masters rankings site with Ken’s site in November 1999, and proceeded to develop the most extensive international meet calendar and results source in any masters medium — a Herculean task. Ken and Dave now strongly believe this site can help promote the movement faster than any other time in its young history.

Word spread. Traffic grew. A photo gallery was added in 2004, and then a message board called the Forum in August 2006. Even a store. And now mcom (as Ken and Dave call the site) is visited by 10,000 unique users a month.

But more important than anything they do is what you do. Get in shape. Enter a meet. Break your own recent records.

Make friends. Have a blast.

Be the track star you once were — or imagined you could be.

How can we help? For starters, check out our FAQ page — an introduction to the masters track program both in America and overseas. Review the masters records to appreciate the best of our amazing brethren (and sisteren). Read and post to our award-winning blog.

Home page design from March 2005.
Dave with Mighty Micros teammates John Morton (left) and Pete Magill after winning 4×8 silver at nationals.

Like our track careers, this site is perpetually under construction. We also have families, full-time jobs and household chores. So this site has areas of “great promise.” (We just request great patience.)

Also be aware that this site is completely independent and unofficial. We have many friends in USA Track & Field and World Masters Athletics and link to many of their services, such as USA masters rankings and the sport’s online museum (mastershistory.org). But we aren’t an arm of these groups. Masterstrack.com is the voice of the masters athlete — you.

Although mcom is a hobby, Ken and Dave welcome potential advertisers. You can view our site traffic by clicking here. For information on rates and stuff, contact Ken at TrackCEO@aol.com. To see how your meet can be featured on our calendar, contact Dave. 

Ken at 1997 nationals with Payton Jordan, the No. 1 masters sprinter of all time.

Welcome to masters track. Enjoy masterstrack.com!

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