Added benefit of Andy Hecker meet: video from the finish line
Andy Hecker’s annual Southern California Indoor Championships — Outdoors is a February staple of the SoCal masters calendar. Two weekends ago, Andy added a wrinkle: video of the finishes. See a sample below and the rest on his results page. Andy writes: “I set up a hi-def camera on the finish line, just recording the meet. It was kind of an experiment to see how much video I could get on the memory card. Because nobody really noticed the camera, during the distance races people kept standing in front of the camera, but I was able to put together youtube quality videos of the sprint races.” Cool, man. Great idea! (Andy has shot the Olympic Games, but these clips are automated.)
Godbout, Scotti claim masters exhibition titles at USA nationals
Mike Godbout at 2009 Lahti worlds
Sign of distress for National Senior Games? Deadline extended
This happens every time: The National Senior Games looks at its numbers and sends out an appeal for entrants, extending the deadline. If the Houston event (actually the meet has been shifted to Humble) is worried about turnout, the reasons are mainly two: Sacramento and heat. If you’re not affluent with lots of vacation time, attending both worlds and national Senior Games is a no-go. Not to mention Cleveland nationals.
Silly season turns serious: Seed times at Sacramento under scrutiny
Rex Harvey (right) knows his stuff.
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Joy Upshaw honored with Pan Am Games gig, not London 2012
Many people have been congratulating Joy Upshaw on her selection as a national coach. But not the kind of coach a USATF news release suggested. Contrary to context, Joy isn’t an assistant with the London 2012 team. But she is thrilled to be a multi-events maven for another major team. She writes: “Yes, I have been selected to be on the staff for the Pan American Team. It is a great honor. The Pan Am is one of the ‘Big 3’ (other two being World Championships and Olympics).” The Games are Oct. 23-29 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Joy, next to Peter Grimes, and other masters friends at her 50th birthday party.
Chronicle needs contact info for locals competing at Sacto worlds
A friend of mine writes that he knows folks at the San Francisco Chronicle who may be interested in doing a feature on the upcoming world masters championships in Sacramento, “but they need a local angle. I know there are a whole slew of masters stars down there in Southern California, but do you know who from San Francisco or the Bay Area might be competing in Sacramento?” So don’t be shy. Post a comment below or send me email suggesting names of athletes who might merit inclusion in the article. Please provide contact information for the Bay Area athletes. Write me privately at TrackCEO@aol.com.
Relay legs scrambled at USATF meet, cost masters team ‘record’
USATF and WMA championships don’t contest the distance medley relay, but that doesn’t stop teams from trying to set “records.” But one masters team, according to a message board posting on letsrun.com, was robbed of a record by an officials’ error. “(It was) the last event of the USATF New England Championships (Sunday) at Harvard U,” the posting started. “It is the DMR. Pretty simple order of relay legs (1200, 400, 800, 1600). So it seemed. the 1200 went alright, the 400m went alright, the 800m….the official had the 1600m leg get on the track for the relay exchange with only 3 laps completed for the 800m leg. therefore the 1600m leg had to be an 1800m leg.”
Ida Keeling profiled on ABC Evening News as fastest W95 in USA
ABC World News, apparently tipped off by this article in the New York Daily News, ran a feature Sunday night on W95 sprinter Ida Keeling. Great stuff. But of course, what’s not to love about a “4-foot-6, 83-pound bundle of wonder”? She apparently became the oldest female sprinter in world history last week at the New York Armory, when she ran the 60 in 29.86. Not bad for age 95, since the listed W90 American record is 31.20 by Grace Foster. (But Grace also ran a 26.95 at age 91 at a 2009 USATF championships in New Jersey, so there’s another absurd omission in the record books.) In any case, Ida (who shares the first name of my late paternal grandmother) is a superstar now, and well-deserved. No world records exist for W95, indoors or out. Until now. Keep on trucking, great-great Grandma!
Ida and daughter Shelley are the picture of joy. New York Daily News photo.
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Sacramento worlds making provisions for shade in the stands
Shade was lacking at 2010 Sacramento nationals — unless your club set up tents. At worlds in July, Sacramento organizers are making it easier to find respite from the sun. Besides the three-hour afternoon break (previously reported), the Sacto LOC now advises: “To assure comfortable conditions for athletes and spectators, Sacramento 2011 organizers have arranged to cover a large section of the west, or finish line, grandstands at Sacramento State, the main competition venue. National teams will be able to rent 10-foot-by-10-foot tents between the main track at Sac State and the practice track.” Details will be forthcoming in future newsletters of the LOC. Here’s the latest newsletter, which also reveals schedule changes for the throws pentathlon. Good work, guys! Shade is absolutely essential. (They didn’t even provide shade at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Trials.) Now we can watch our friends compete without dropping from the heat.
Dueling records: Two claim M75 American indoor best in shot put
Dr. Jim Oglesby
