Nolan Shaheed, M35 relay barely miss world records at Mt. SAC
Nolan Shaheed
Willie Gault thinks he can run 10.5 at 50, mulls NFL comeback
Willie Gault at 2009 Mt. SAC Relays
Oregon couple added to throws legend at Kamloops worlds
Kamloops medalist Doug Watson, featured yesterday, isn’t the only Oregonian to make a strong showing at worlds. Our attention is pointed toward a neat profile of a married pair who both brought home hardware from Kamloops. Check this out. It’s about M60 Todd Taylor and strongwoman wife Joy of Molalla, Oregon. And get this: “The grandparents of four now have more than 25 national championship titles between them.” Can any couple in the throws approach that figure? Didn’t think so.
The couple that throws together wins medals together. Todd (center) took M60 hammer gold, and Joyce (right) claimed W55 weight throw bronze.
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World medalist elevated to world champion? It’s OK! We got pub!
Doug Watson at Kamloops.
According to Oregon’s Blue Mountain Eagle newspaper, M60 thrower Doug Watson is a world champion. But in the very next two sentences, writer Sandra Gubel notes: “Watson won two medals in the World Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships, held March 1-6 in Kamloops, Canada. He earned a silver in the men’s discus, and a bronze in the men’s javelin.” Under that logic, I’m a world champion, too! Cool! But no more jokes at the Eagle’s expense, since the paper graciously printed a helpful link! (Check it out beneath the photo of Doug throwing the javelin.) So all is forgiven! In any case, I like what Doug has to say: “Unless you’re an elite athlete, most people eventually give up. You don’t have to. . . . (Masters track is)В a good addiction.”
Wind robs Kathy Bergen of W70 world record for 100 meters
Dang wind! If the breezes weren’t so stiff Sunday at the John Ward Masters Games, Kathy Bergen would have smashed the listed W70 world age-group record for 100 meters. According to results from the Santa Ana College meet south of Los Angeles, Kathy clocked 14.60 for 100, but with a 2.2 meters per second tailwind. That’s just over the legal limit of 2.0 mps for record consideration. The listed WR is 15.16 by New Zealand’s Margaret Peters in 2004. (The USA record is 15.57 by the legendary Irene Obera at Hawaii nationals in 2005.) Still, I’m betting this is the first time a women over 70 has run the 1 sub-15 in any conditions. Amazing!
Kathy was in command at last year's National Senior Olympics -- when she was 69. (Photo by David Paul Morris for the S.F. Chronicle)
Myrle Mensey puts weight behind foundation: Throwing and Growing
Myrle Mensey, the top W60 thrower in the United States, picked up a handful of medals at Kamloops but is now rehabbing tendinitis and bursitis in her shoulder. No matter. Her prime focus now is a nonprofit group she founded a year ago that offers girls 10-18 “mentoring, physical training, education and nutrition information in an effort to encourage a balanced life through participating in the throwing sports: shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw.” Now that’s different! Most track clubs in the 501(c)3 world cater to runners — skinny kids who need a little push. Myrle’s organization — Throwing and Growing — perhaps gives heavier gals a chance at success.
Myrle (left) poses with some allies (and beneficiaries) of her year-old Throwing and Growing Foundation in the St. Louis area.
Support a great masters coach, retailer at RunningWarehouse.com
Coach Joe Rubio, who once guided masters miler Aeron Arlin Genet, is “about my favorite coach on the planet,” writes Pete Magill, my favorite ex-distance blogger on the planet. Joe shares Pete’s priorities in life: “Family first, career second, running third, beer a close fourth.” In Joe’s case, coaching is but one of his gigs. He’s also co-owner of the online retailer RunningWarehouse.com. (It also includes a message board where Joe shares training and racing advice) Pete’s readers at Younger Legs for Older Runners benefited from Joe’s shop — they got a 10 percent discount on online purchases. Now Coach Joe is granting the same discount to readers of this blog. Dave Clingan and I are honored to join his team of affiliates. Even if you’re well-shod, check out Joe’s wisdom on 800 workouts and cross-country training. Joe once ran a marathon in 2:18 and competed into his current 40s. Give his site a try!
M60 mile record-holder McManus mulls entering Sacramento worlds
Tony at the 2009 Sydney World Masters Games. (Photo from Judi McManus)
By his own admission, Tony McManus hasn’t traveled to many meets. No wonder. Air fares from New Zealand can bite. But after setting an M60 world record in the mile this year and nearly taking down the 1500 record as well, Tony is pondering a little trip in July 2011 — to the exotic locale of Sacramento for the 19th World Masters Athletics Championships. He doesn’t say it, but his biggest challenges (in his age group) are now overseas. “I run and race for enjoyment,” Tony wrote in reply to some questions I sent him. “My true love is cycling and I try to cycle once a week although it is seldom over 40k. Christchurch is a city made for outdoor sport such as running and cycling -– we are extremely fortunate.” But he also loves matching up with younger runners. I asked him what motivates him now that he’s at the top of the age-group heap. Tony wrote: ‘”One of my main reasons for running is comradeship. I run mostly in groups consisting of mainly 35- to 45-year-olds and they keep me honest. Our workouts are competitive and no quarter is given.”
Throwing, sprinting and 5K’s are just warmups for my photog wife
Chris, my wife of 29 great years, runs sprints in masters meets, trains with some world-class masters throwers in San Diego and ran the Carlsbad 5000 for the fifth time Sunday. But as she once told an opponent: “This isn’t the most interesting thing about me.” In fact, Chris takes spectacular photos. Latest batch from our Arizona vacation are now posted on Flickr. As reported earlier, we drove 2,300 miles and brought home 2,300 pictures in our three digital Nikons. We visited the most colorful spots of northern Arizona and southern Utah. Check out Chris’ shots (and a few of my own)!
Chris and our son Bobby looked for the best light and sandstone at the upper canyon of Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona. (Photo by Ken Stone)
Kip Janvrin struggles with competing loves: work, family, decathlon
In mid-March, under everyone’s radar, Olympic decathlete Kip Janvrin resumed competition in the 10-event grind at age 44. He’d made a deal with the combined event athletes he coaches that he’d enter the dec at a meet in Texas if enough of them did well at indoor nationals. They did, so Kip went back to work. Results of his first decathlon in more than four years are here. He scored 6,657 points at Angelo State in Texas — a preface to his 6,807 last week at Emporia. A couple days before posting his Emporia result, a masters mole informed me that Kip was back. So I sent Kip a bunch of questions. His reply is below. The bottom line: Coach Kip is conflicted. He loves doing the decathlon but also has work and family obligations (wife and two sons). He also has high standards. He doesn’t want to compete if he’s not as good as he’d like to be. So resumption of his masters track career is “cloudy.” But what an amazing story.
In 2007, Coach Kip (center) posed with his Central Missouri 4x400 relay team, which won silver at the NCAA DII Championships.
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