WMA and USATF are the Big Boyz of masters track — and I hold them to the highest standards when it comes to records. Translation: I cut them no slack. But I’m peeved when even a Little Boy stumbles. That’s
Does Kenya have masters track? It certainly has masters-age track stars. Friday night, a day before 22-year-old Meseret Defar of Ethiopia set the world record in the open 5,000 in 14:24.53 in New York, Kenya’s Edith Masai (born April 4,
W50 trackster/roadster Diane Sherrer writes a running column for The Ithaca Journal in New York State. In her current offering, she says point-blank: “Track and field has been the heart and soul of running for centuries, and yet the prospect
Got confirmation today that the South American Masters Athletics Championships in November are open to athletes north of the equator. Gilson Fernandes, South American Masters president and head of the local organizing committee, writes: “Dear Ken, All masters athletes are
In pointing out that WMA (and probably USATF) list dozens of plain-wrong age-group records, I got some people thinking. One thoughtful note came from masters meet announcer Pete Taylor. He wrote: “I’m more interested in US records than I am
With no fanfare, except a brief note on the WMA Web site, WMA Records Committee chair Sandy Pashkin has updated the official world indoor and outdoor age-group records. They are now all updated as of “May 19, 2006.” Yeah, right.
Yes, they have masters track Down Under. And I’m talking about South America, where their track season is topsy-turvy like the Aussies’ and Kiwis’. Phil Raschker sent me this link to the South American Masters Athletics Championships set for November
One of the kicks we get as masters is competing on tracks (and fields) used in major open meets. Like the Olympic Trials and NCAAs. Two meets coming up in California offer such thrills. First is the Pacific Association USATF
Nadine O’Connor and Bud Held generally take turns setting records. Yesterday at the San Diego-Imperial USATF Open Championships at San Diego State University, the couple from Del Mar, California, both set world age-group records — improving their own marks in
Had to leave the San Clemente masters meet before the javelin was done, but I saw folks on a grass field north of the track chucking spears. One was Linda Cohn, who a week earlier at Long Beach State set
I saw Valeri Brumel jump today in San Clemente, California. Yeah, I know he’s been dead for three years. But the form of the Russian high jump god was being channeled by a 65-year-old Superior Court judge from Ojai. When
My friend Gerry Davidson of Fallbrook — an hour north of San Diego — doesn’t look fast when she’s chugging around the track. But the clock doesn’t lie. At 85, she may be the best female distance runner in the
