Leland was a long jump star for SDSU in the 1930s.
Poor Champion Goldy. With a name made for track celebrity and an age (97) apt for veneration, the Rev. Goldy should be the star at Boston indoor nationals next month. Alas, he’s been upstaged. Four days before the meet starts March 14, Leland McPhie of San Diego turns the big 1-0-0. Absent from big meets since 2011 Sacramento worlds, Leland appears poised to set at least one M100 world record at Boston. According to the Status of Entries, Leland is entered in the shot, weight throw, superweight throw and high jump. The legendary Everett Hosack holds three WRs in the throws. But no high jump best is listed. Also expect a record rush from W80 Irene Obera, making another comeback on the national stage. She’s entered in the 60, 200, 400 and shot put.
Tim (shown in 2013) walked till he dropped his own M40 WR.
Nate Sickerson ran 7.14, the fastest 60-meter dash for an M40 American since 2009, in winning the masters exhibition at the USA Indoor nationals Sunday in Albuquerque, and Lisa Valle ran the second-fastest 1500 for a W45 American this season in taking that event in 5:12.45. But the best masters mark at open nationals (besides Bernard Lagat’s AR for 2K) was by Olympian Tim Seaman, a 41-year-old racewalk legend. He shattered his own M40 world record in the 3K walk with a winning performance of 11:40.75. Tim had extra incentive. He’s now retired. At Millrose, he was DQ’d in a mile walk on the way to a 5:55. Sunday, he avoided getting red-carded. Tim coaches distances at Cuyamaca College, a two-year school where I train. And before he left for Millrose, I told him: “Sub-11:50!” Mission accomplished. Anyone have links to videos from nationals? Or eye-witness reports? Read the rest of this post »
Bubba doesn’t gump. He jumps, wins national and world titles.
Clinics for high jumpers, throwers and runners are common these days. But how often do you see a symposium and competition just for vaulters? OK, maybe at Reno. But what if it’s free? That’s the plan announced this week by Southern California’s Doug “Bubba” Sparks, who has access to Dana Hills High School facilities. Bubba writes: “I will be hosting the first annual Masters Pole Vault Symposium and Meet on Saturday, June 28, 2014, in Dana Point, California. Yes some may have to travel, but remarkably nearly 2,000 vaulters and coaches find their way to Reno each year. Where would you rather go? Reno in the winter or the beach in Southern California in the summer? Discussions on training, technique, equipment and injury management will be 9 a.m. to noon, with a meet to follow at 1. BBQ and party at my house afterwards. Dana Hills High School always has an afternoon tailwind and summers at the beach are not hot. Cost of entry is $0 – NADA – NOTHING! Experience and fellowship – PRICELESS!! Reasonable rates are available at the Dana Point Marina Inn.” Read the rest of this post »
Me leading a shuttle hurdle race at Tustin Relays about 1970. Good height, Ken!
Steve McGill, a hurdles-loving coach in North Carolina, has profiled me in his online magazine, Hurdles First. His 3,200-word article is rife with factual accuracy. (He cheated by letting me check it first.) But I forgive him for making me out to be a better hurdler than I am. Loved his choice of anecdotes, such as: “One of his craziest memories from his sophomore year is that of running the 4Ă—120 shuttle low hurdles at a few invitational relay meets. Instead of the modern configuration in which four teams run at once, with one lane of hurdles facing one way and the hurdles the next lane over facing the other way, they ran in all eight lanes. “The first and third legs [ran] with the hurdles and the second and fourth legs [ran] against the hurdles. I was anchor every time, and Valencia won most races.” Check out his site, including a message board devoted to the best events in track (the kind where you jump over metal and fiberglass thingees).
Last time I shared this shot was 2004. So it’s time to hurdle down memory lane. This was a 4×120 shuttles race at 1970 Shorty Smith Relays at Santa Ana High School. I anchored. My Valencia High School team won.
Winner Susie Buchanan lifts runner-up Toshi after the W40 5000 at the first world masters championships in 1975.
“Queen of the Roads” Toshiko “Toshi” d’Elia, considered one of the greatest masters distance runners of all time, died Wednesday at age 84 of a brain tumor, according to reports in her home state of New Jersey and around the world. A pioneer on the track who was part of the first Masters Hall of Fame class in 1996, Toshi competed in the first world masters track championships (Toronto 1975) and survived cervical cancer in her 40s. She was honored by an obituary in The New York Times by legendary track writer Frank Litsky. New Jersey papers added wonderful lookbacks as well. Runner’s World covered her passing, as well as USATF. She competed last year, but hasn’t been on the track for a while. Her presence at races was hailed. See some of her marks. I wrote about her last in 2006. This video captures her essence:
She put the 6.6-pound shot 9.20 meters (30-2 1/4). She spun the 12-pound weight 15.23 meters (49-11 3/4). And she heaved the 20-pound superweight 10.22 meters (33-6 1/2). So say posted results for newbie W65 Myrle Mensey at the USATF Illinois Indoor Open and Masters Championships on Feb. 15 at the Westwood Sports Complex in Sterling, Illinois. How good are these marks? WMA doesn’t keep records for the superweight, but all her marks exceed the listed American indoor W65 records — shot of 9.17 (30-1) by Mary Roman in 2001, weight of 13.72 (45-0) by Carol Young in 2008 and superweight 8.10 (26-7) by Carol in 2008. But she demolished the listed weight throw WR of 14.72 (48-3 1/2) by Germany’s Gudrun Mellman in 2007. The listed W65 shot WR is still outtasight at 12.00 (39-4 1/2) by Russia’s Tamara Danilova in 2006. Throwing for the Soviet Union,Tamara took fourth in the discus at the 1972 Munich Games. Myrle ended 2013 as USATF Masters Female Athlete of the Year after setting a bunch of W60 records. Wait till she gets rolling in 2014.
Myrle displays her implements, record forms after Ides of February meet.
USATF honored a masters athlete this week. At 39, Bernard Lagat set an American indoor record in 2K — and was named Athlete of the Week. While some may object to his being called a masters athlete, face it: He’s older than 35. That makes him a master. Yes, he’s open-elite class as well. But why not celebrate age? “Lagat … had previously run the event just once indoors and twice outdoors before attempting to overtake Steve Scott’s 4:58.6 mark set in 1981. Lagat’s time of 4:54.7 not only broke Scott’s record, but it also served as an encore to his two-mile American indoor record set at the Armory in 2013,” USATF said. Bernard, who will run the 3K this weekend at USA nationals, added: “When you go after something, sometimes you want to believe you can do it, but you never know until the race ends. It was a really big honor and a special night for me. I knew what I had to do. I ran, and I didn’t want to disappoint as I went for the record.” Stay strong, BL. M40 records are yours for the taking starting Dec. 12, 2014.
March 2014 issue of NMN is first under new ownership.
Meet the new owners of National Masters News: Tish Ceccarelli and Amanda Scotti. They’ve graciously consented to spilling the beans on their backgrounds and plans for the iconic monthly publication. Tish grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, studied art in college and worked as a graphic artist and later as a freelance children’s book illustrator. Worked for NMN since 2007. A self-proclaimed “mental health runner,” Tish has been running since 1980. Amanda was born and raised in Oregon, ran track in the 1970s for a successful high school program and attended Clackamas Community College on track and journalism scholarships and was a key member of the 1978 NJCAA Championship squad. She eventually transferred to Auburn University where she met her future spouse OlympianBrian Abshire. Amanda moved to California in 1988, and also lives in Folsom with her two teen sons and “a very eccentric boxer.” Tish adds that several years ago she began competing in the 800 and 1500. She met the All American standard in the 5K. She lives in Folsom, California, with her husband, twin teen sons and two dogs — a collie and a sheltie.
WR-setters (from left) are Joan Hunter, Julie Hayden, Lorraine Jasper and Debbie Hoffman.
So you think setting a relay world record is hard? Try doing it after facing the Polar Vortex. Weather issues were a major hurdle for the Athenas shooting for a 4×4 record at Millrose last Saturday, we learn from team member Julie Hayden. Also due admiration is Chuck Shields. He videotaped the Athenas setting the W50 world indoor record. It helped establish the splits in their 4:26.18.Debbie Hoffman led off with an announced 65.49, followed by Lorraine Jasper’s 67+, Julie Hayden’s 69+ and Joan Hunter’s 64+. Chuck apologizes for messing up at the end of Joan’s leg, since “somebody at trackside bumped into me.” All is forgiven, Chuck. Meanwhile, Julie and Joan replied to my shameless questions, revealing how they just managed to assemble at the Armory starting line.
Are relay records infectious? Seems so on the East Coast, where the day after the Athenas ran wild at Millrose, the Shore Athletic Club’s Harry Nolan, Spider Rossiter, Ron Granville and Tony Plaster reportedly lowered the M60 world indoor 4×800 relay record with a 9:55.96 at the USATF New Jersey Indoor Championships. That averages 2:29 per leg. Results from Sunday are not yet online. But the reported time beats the listed WR of 9:58.0 by fellow Americans Jim Aneshansley, Dan Hamner, Norman Goluskin and Sid Howard in 2002. Nice job, gents! Less of a surprise was news that Myrle Mensey, two days after turning 65, set some world and American records in the 12-and 20-pound weight throws and the shot over the weekend at the Illinois Masters Track and Field Championships. I’m awaiting official results.
Not sure of left-to-right, but this Shore AC team celebrated WR 4×8 at John Bennett Indoor Athletic Complex on Sunday in Toms River. Splits, anyone?
Ken has followed track as an athlete, writer and web-master since the late 1960s, and saw most sessions of track and field at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also attended the 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Trials, the last three as a blogger and Patch correspondent. [More...]
