New Year’s Day brought a revelatory story about Joy Upshaw, the W50 multi-eventer and record-holder in jumps and hurdles. A quarter-century after starring for Acalanes High School in the East Bay town of Lafayette, California, Joy is coaching there. “So why has a world-class athlete and coach returned?” the story asks. “The answer lies in her fondest memory.” Joy is quoted as saying: “The best feeling was having the baton on the relay leg in the [Foothill Athletic League] championship and winning as a team for Acalanes. (Lamorinda) is a just a great setting … a nice community … I want to give back and see Acalanes do well again.” The story skips much of her life, including her years married to former Chicago Bears and S.F. 49ers receiver Ken Margerum. But she’s moving onward and upward. Joy’s older daughter Sunny Margerum, a standout at Gunn High School, is a senior at Cal on a track scholarship. Her younger kidlet, Windy, is a freshman on the track team at Acalanes. But check out Joy’s marks in high school. Windy has her work cut out. Loved the 1979 shot of Joy leading a hurdles race:
In 1979, Joy (far right) was in her usual position — leading a race.
Mark Wetmore’s staff at Colorado imparts training wisdom. You can, too.
Drew Morano is a sprints coach on the staff of Colorado University coaching legend Mark Wetmore.Heather Burroughs is another Wetmore assistant in Boulder. In a seeking-secrets column by Mike Sandrock, we get some interesting ideas on how to train. Morano says: “Run some fast 150s,” a workout the CU athletes do, and he advised to run them at 80 percent effort — six the first week, the next week eight, working up to 10. Burroughs says: “One key is to get fitter to run faster.” Say what? she’s asked. “What’s your heart rate with 400 meters left? You want to be less tired than your opponent with 400 to go. … That is the dreaded secret non-secret.” Masters tracksters have been giving each other advice since the sport’s inception, but we can always learn and share more. What’s your “secret non-secret”? Most of us are self-coached, so 2014 can be a season of greater success if we help each other out. One way is posting to the Forums, where many tips exist. Or just post a comment here. Don’t be shy.
Former sub-47 quarter-miler Dan Radiff has been to eight world meets, including the 1993 biggie in Japan. At Porto Alegre, the M60 hurdler hoped for more than his silver medal on the American 4×4 team. But he pulled a hammie in his first race (the 100) and was handicapped in his individual events. “It was my most challenging meet, but I’m not giving up,” he told his local paper this week. “Life goes on. I learned from this meet that you never, never give up.” He has been close before, including a fourth-place finish at 2007 Riccione worlds. “I was winning (the 400 hurdles) but hit the last hurdle and went down and they caught me.” Sometimes the losses are as inspiring as the wins. I’m keeping Dan’s example in mind in 2014. He won’t give up either. “I’ve rubbed elbows with some of the world’s best and I’ve had some really good experiences. … I want that first gold and to get on the podium. I didn’t leave it out there on the field. It is something I have to get.”
Age Is No Barrier, a colorful history of masters track in Australia by Bryan Thomas, is a book published several years ago. It’s now online as a 154-page PDFwith lots of photos. Bryan draws on earlier works by Jack Pennington and Gloria Seymons. Lots of ground covered. It notes the “fun runs” of the early 1960s involving older “joggers,” which helped inspire the American running boom when Bill Bowerman paid a visit to Arthur Lydiard. The book notes the intersections of Aussie and U.S. masters track, especially David Pain’s track tours in the early 1970s. In 1968, however, Aussie distance star Cliff Bould stayed with David at the first American masters nationals in San Diego. (Cliff won the 3- and 6-mile runs and the marathon in the over-50 division.). “In 1969,” the book recalls, “Richard Nixon, USA President, gave the veterans’ movement valuable credibility when he said in a letter supporting the 2nd U.S. Masters Championships in San Diego: ‘It gives men over 40 the opportunity to engage in athletic competition …Age should be no barrier in the pursuit of excellence’”
Olga is flanked by coach Harold (left), Christa (right) and granddaughter Alesa Rabson, 23.
Bruce Grierson, an exceptional writer based in Vancouver, first contacted me about Canadian masters legend Olga Kotelko in 2010. The resultant New York Times Magazine piece was titled “The Incredible Flying Nonagenarian.” But Bruce didn’t stop there. He began research for a book on Olga (and interviewed me again this past April). Now the world is licking its chops for “What Makes Olga Run? The Mystery of the 90-Something Track Star, and What She Can Teach Us About Living Longer, Happier Lives.” A taste was served Sunday in Parade magazine, which claims a circulation of 32.5 million and readership of 63 million. No matter the numbers, it led former USATF masters national chair George Mathews to exclaim (via email): “Best publicity for our sport I have ever seen. No cost.” The article also mentions 2013 IAAF Best Master Christa Bortignon and M70 legend Harold Morioka, Olga’s coach. Olga is far from a glory hound, but I hope she’s eating up her latest moment in the sun. Bruce’s book is due out in mid-January.
I once asked a multi-eventer friend of mine why he did masters track. He said: “Because I enjoy it.” But I was too shy to ask why. For me, the enjoyment comes via self-discovery. I tell people that masters track gives you a chance to test yourself and, with luck, surprise yourself. My test in 2013 was resuming a hurdle career in hiatus since my 2007 ACL surgery. I ran the 400s twice — in San Marcos (pictured in the stamps below) and at Olathe nationals. My times (each in 1:32) were submediocre, but at least I overcame my fears and paid tribute to my late brother’s courage. My surprise was in medaling in nationals. But I’m more interested in your story. Whether you’re a veteran or newbie, what moment gave you the biggest buzz this year? Remember that you don’t have to be a superstar to get supercharged by competition. I’m the poster child for that.
My wife turned her San Marcos hurdle shot of me into a Christmas gift. I’ll have to add 3-cent postage starting Jan. 26. But it’s all good. (I look good!)
The biggest early meet of 2014 isn’t in Budapest or Boston(corrected from earlier reference to Landover). It’s in Bendingo, Victoria — a town not far from Melbourne in southeast Australia. Bendigo will host the biennialOceania Masters Athletics Championships. Results will appear here starting Jan. 4, 2014. About 500 athletes (mostly from Australia but with a scattering from New Zealand and other countries) are set to compete, according to this Bendigo newspaper account. “”Because it’s staged over eight or nine days the opportunity’s there for athletes to do quite a number of events,” said Terry Hicks, Athletics Bendigo secretary and a competitor. “One … from Canberra is set for an action-packed championships after registering for almost 10 events in the 85-89-year-olds age group.” (Actually, the entrants list shows 86-year-old Yugoslavian émigré Rad Leovic in a dozen events, including the pentathlon and decathlon. His races range from the 60 to the 5000. Yowza!) Best of luck to all downunder, especially Rad! And congrats to Oceania Masters Athletics, a pacesetter in masters track.
Several weeks ago, a Bulgarian reader sent me a link to a 1996 article about a Norwegian marathoner named Tor Aanensen. The Bulgarian — Ventseslav “Ventsi” Ivanov — wrote me: “[Tor] trained patiently for 25 years till he became a world [10K] champion at the age of 55. … This story about patience and persistence can definitely serve as an inspiration for many novice runners, so please post the link on your website.” Because I tend to shy away from roadies (who have plenty of websites), I asked Ventsi if Tor had any track credits. Turns out he ran for Norway’s bronze medal M40 4×4 team in the 1981 Scandinavian veterans championships. I also was wary of rehashing an old story. But Christmas is all about old stories retold, so why not? And Ventsi even wrote to officials in Kristiansand, Norway, and determined that Tor is still alive (at 73). Moreover, Tor’s story is told by Texan Stephen Seiler, whose website in the late 1990s was among the few that focused on masters sports. (I linked to his MAPP site on my original masters page.) So as a tribute to Tor — and Ventsi’s determination to air this story — I’m reproducing it below. Merry Christmas, and have a 2014 as wonderful as Tor’s in the mid-1990s.
Hammer legend Ed Burke won’t be carrying the American flag at the 2016 Rio Games, but his appetite for throwing is still Olympian at age 73. In a wonderful three-part interview with hammer guru Martin Bissinger, Ed remarks: “I must admit my competitive juices began flowing as I read that Boris Zaitchouk and Arild Busterud had just broken my age 65 masters world mark in Brazil. I would like a chance to meet them head on. I’m trying to beat myself all the time. That’s always the quest, but it could be more fun!” He also tells how he came to throw in masters: “Well by that time I had retired [after the 1984 Games], sold my sports club, and had time on my hands. I love to throw as you know. I heard of the World Masters Games in Edmonton in 2005 and It turned out I had fun … It’s not a matter of wanting to compete against other throwers, rather just meet or beat my best mark.” See Part 1 of the interview (The Beginning), Part 2(The Comebacks) and Part 3 (Youth Development and Carry the American Flag). Great stuff!
Ed holds the M70 world record in the hammer and will be shooting for M75 in 15 months. He lost his M65 record recently.
When Germany’s Wolfgang “Wolfie” Rittejumped an M60 world outdoor record of 4.32 meters (14-2) in May, it seemed only a matter of time before the indoor WR fell as well. On Dec. 15, in his first indoor meet of the year, Wolfie delivered. According to a German report, he cleared 4.10 (13-5 1/4) at Paderborn on Dec. 15 — topping the listed WR of 4.05 (13-3 1/2) by American John Altendorf in 2010. Results show he took fourth in the event, which was won by his M30 son Dr. Thomas Ritte at 4.80 (15-9). Doug “Bubba” Sparks calls Ritte the “masters Bubka” for having set so many vault records. In fact, we should start referring to Bubka as the “Kiddie Ritte.” Born in January 1953, Wolfie already holds both M55 world records. His 4.10 at age 60 is equivalent to an open mark (age 20-30) of 6.06 meters (19-10 3/4). The record jump:
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...]
