masterstrack.com

Older, slower, lower: Ken Stone's hobby blog for showcasing and watchdogging adult age-group track and field

WMA needs to sort out holy mess that is Indian masters athletics

Last year and this, we wrote here about the competing masters track overseers in India. The WMA affiliate is acting like a banana republic, dictating who can attend major international masters meets. Of course, a little money will grease the skids. Well, nothing has changed. As proof, check out this story about Indian athletes trying to enter the Asian Masters Athletics Championships in Malaysia. It’s titled: “Athletes caught in clash of officials.” So where is WMA? It should straighten this out ASAP. Instead, they’re AWOL. Such a shame.

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October 5, 2010  5 Comments

Gary Patton’s goal: Be best M65 runner and eventually top M95

Michael Brauer of the Sioux City Journal wrote a nice profile of M65 middle-distance runner Gary Patton, only a week after Gary underwent hernia surgery. Good for Gary. That’s in the rearview mirror as he preps for Sacramento worlds. Gary says: “My kids are thoroughly convinced that when they’re in their 60s and semi-retired, they’ll have to haul their 95-year-old dad off to track meets. And that’s what I’d like to do. I’d like to be one of those guys out there, plodding around the track when they’re 95 years old.” Now that’s the essence of masters track. The winner is the oldest guy running. But his wife, Barbara, is a secret to his success: “She cheers so loud at meets, she’s been known to convince entire sections of complete strangers to join in cheering for her husband.” Classic.

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October 4, 2010  6 Comments

Club offering its national-rankers a cheaper ride to Cleveland

With that most imaginative headline — “Going for the gold” — the Charlotte Observer tells the story of the Carolinas Track Club and its plans for masters nationals in 2011. Not much noteworthy except this little nugget: “For the first time, (the club) will charter a bus and split the cost with its athletes. For those athletes who are ranked nationally in the top eight in their event, the club will provide additional financial assistance.” Very interesting. Incentives for being good! Charter bus to Cleveland nationals is cool, too. But Gordon Edwards, the team’s coach, didn’t endear himself to USATF at 2006 nationals. Rex Harvey of the Games Committee that sizzling hot year said: “His actions, in my mind, bordered on the criminal.”

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October 3, 2010  8 Comments

W30 sprint champion at Sacramento masters was banned once

Two-time Olympian Natasha Mayers competed as a guest at Sacramento masters nationals. She won the W30 100 by nearly a second. But she’s being shadowed by a doping suspension that led one masters sprinter to send me an article about her two-year sanction. Natasha, an NCAA champion for USC and an Olympian for the Caribbean

October 2, 2010  5 Comments

‘Autumn Gold’ masters track movie coming to U.S.; Oscars next?

Jan Tenhaven writes from Berlin that “Autumn Gold,” the masters track documentary that follow five entrants to Lahti worlds, will screen in California this month and, better yet, “will be the only German documentary eligible to run for the next Academy Award in the the documentary category!”

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October 1, 2010  7 Comments

‘No pain, no gain’? Better yet: ‘Hear a pop, you’d better stop’

Former GeezerJock magazine editor Sean Callahan delivers some nice information in his latest article involving masters tracksters. He quotes M60 thrower Mike Thomason and sprinter Allan Tissenbaum, an injury expert and surgeon, who said: ” “Any time there’s swelling, that’s an injury. Stop the game, stop training, stop what’s going on. And anytime you feel a pop or hear a pop, that’s something to be paid attention to.”

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September 30, 2010  8 Comments

Live from La Mesa! It’s La Mesa Patch! (Ken’s online newspaper)

Eight weeks in the making, La Mesa Patch went live at 7 this morning. Please check out the website I populated with too many helpers to enumerate. Biggest thanks go to my wife, Chris. Her contributions and support would take a terabyte hard drive to list. Suffice to say, Chris kept me from going nutso. Three months ago, I was laid off at my workplace of 24 years. Today I get to prove I still got game. In track, my perpetual goal at masters nationals is to beat someone — anyone — in my age group. Not get last. With Patch, my goal is to be the best. Give it a look-see, and post some relevant comments. (Mom, it’s not necessary to remark on every story!) Thanks for all your support.

September 29, 2010  9 Comments

Dallas Kloke dies in climbing tragedy; M70 national steeple medalist

The Associated Press reports the death of Washington State’s Dallas Kloke, M70 silver medalist at Sacramento nationals in the 2,000-meter steeplechase. He was subject of a search, according to local paper. “Kloke was just short of one of the east summits on the Pleiades at 7,320 feet with a five-person climbing party Saturday when he fell more than 300 feet down an almost vertical rock wall. Kloke grabbed a rock that sheared away from the ground, according to the Sheriff’s Office. An air team searched for Kloke on Monday until about 11 a.m. The search was hampered by clouds that covered the peaks at 1,000 feet.” Our deepest condolences to his family.

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September 28, 2010  4 Comments

Happy birthday to Willie Gault — pledging Boltlike WRs at age 50

Willie Gault, former NFL superstar and certified freak of nature, turned 50 on Sept. 5 and I missed it. Oops, sorry. A story in Fanhouse, however, reminded me that Willie is ready for an assault on the record books. We learn from reporter Michael David Smith: “Willie Gault, who recently turned 50, says he can go to a track right now and run a 10.6-second 100-meter dash. The world record for people 50 years or older is 10.95 seconds, so the next time Gault competes in a Masters Track meet, he expects to break a 100-meter world record by a larger margin than Usain Bolt ever has.” Well, maybe. You tell me!

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September 28, 2010  7 Comments

Daddy Bush, wife have honorary roles at National Senior Olympics

Interesting report from NSGA:. “We are thrilled to announce that President and Mrs. George H.W. Bush have agreed to serve as honorary chairs of the 2011 Summer National Senior Games presented by Humana in Houston on June 16-30. ‘The Bushes embody the spirit the National Senior Games celebrates — two individuals who have remained very active well into their 80s and who are seen regularly around Houston,’ Dan Wolterman, chairman of the Houston Local Organizing Committee, said. ‘We feel privileged President and Mrs. Bush agreed to serve as the Honorary Chairs for the 2011 National Senior Games.’ ” I wonder: What can Poppa do in the 100?

September 27, 2010  2 Comments

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• About Ken Stone

  

  Ken Stone

  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...]
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