Pete Magill buries old slur about masters athletes once and for all
Pete Magill
Dang if Pete Magill isn’t the most thoughtful writer on masters running (while at the same time being a superstar in his age group). His latest contribution to the genre: a defense of masters running against those who insist that geezers should hang up their spikes and help nurse the next generation of athletes. This issue goes way back — and across the Atlantic. About 10 years ago, a debate raged in the pages of a leading UK track magazine. As I recalled in 2003, “Malcolm Arnold, a famed coach, told the magazine Athletics Weekly: ‘I don’t like the idea of coaches of athletes going into veteran athletics. I have a personal hatred of vets athletics. I feel someone of my age should be doing something better with their lives. We are losing a lot of people that way.’ ”
Masters 100m exhibitions at U.S. open nationals: SOSDD
Google that acronym. That’s what the 100-meter men’s and women’s masters exhibitions at Des Moines nationals amount to. Details of these races, just announced, are now posted here. Men have to be under 11.4 and women under 13.6. But why always the younger age groups (M40, W40, etc.)? We’re seeing the same sprinters every other year (sorry, Willie Gault), and it’s time to give the older age groups a chance on the biggest USATF stage. At the Penn Relays, the oldest race (M75-plus) gets the biggest cheers. Why not invite the best M60-plus and W60-plus sprinters to Iowa in late June? Why not get the likes of Nadine O’Connor, Phil Raschker, Kathy Bergen and Irene Obera on the same track? All superstar Hall of Famers. Same for the men. How about Charles Allie, Stan Whitley, Steve Robbins? It’s not too late to right this injustice.
Top-notch chiropractor offers massage to U.S. team at Kamloops
Greg Summers' logo
Dr. Greg Summers, a chiropractor in Washington State with a solid background in sports massage, will travel to Kamloops, British Columbia, in March to help his client Michael Waller, the world-class M50 sprinter. But he’ll knead you, too. This week, he offered his help (basically for free) to Team USA. Today came the reply: “The USA Track & Field Masters Committee accepts the offer of your services at the WMA World Indoor Championships in Kamloops BC with great appreciation,” said a committee rep in a letter shared by fellow Washington athlete George Mathews, the thrower. “Vice Chair Robert Thomas and Team Manager Phil Greenwald are available to help you through any details that may come up.” This is fabulous news! It’s the realization of a dream that sprang from a group of American athletes organized at Lahti last summer by Anselm LeBourne.
Masters sprinters are serious focus of Finnish dissertation
In our never-ending quest for only the most current, timely and up-to-date masters track research, here’s a study that, um, came out eight months ago. No matter. It’s news to me. It’s an “academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by permission of the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences of the University of Jyväskylä, in the Building Villa Rana, Blomstedt Hall, on June 27, 2009 at 9 a.m.” The author is Marko T. Korhonen, and I hope he got his doctorate. Good work done. The full report is posted here as a humongous PDF. Make some tea while it downloads. My nickel summary: You gotta lift weights to be a good masters sprinter. Running alone won’t do the trick.
Here's how some Eurovets sprinters were analyzed. Cool, huh?
Only 3 men entered in 1K exhibition at Albuquerque open nationals
Is it the 5,300-foot elevation? Too many big meets going on (Kamloops, Boston)? Too stiff a qualifying standard? For whatever reason, only three men are signed up for the 1,000-meter masters exhibition race at the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the end of this month in Albuquerque. Fortunately, eight women are entered in their masters exhibition: the 1500 (with great names involved). See the entries here. According to the entry info page, the deadline to sign up was February 12. On the informal side, the masters pole vault and masters shot exhibitions are rarin’ to go, as detailed in recent months. Meanwhile, the USATF Status of Entries page for the kids (open), indicates “No entries” for the masters races. That’s lame. They should fix that pronto. In any case, I’ll bet Mark Cleary (the masters invitational coordinator) could sneak some more men into the 1000 if you contacted him.
Darren Scott tells goals: break records, become a legend
Darren Scott isn’t being arrogant. Just a little impish — and wickedly fast. After lowering the M40 indoor world record for 200 twice this season, the Scottish phenom returned to mere-mortal status last weekend at the British trials for the IAAF World Indoor Championships. He ran a 22.12. “Got lane 2 in the final, so time was OK from that tight inside lane,” he says. “I am delighted to have run two world 200 indoor records — 21.81 then 21.71 — then running a British record for the 300 in 35.87 in December. Also running my fastest 60 for some time in 6.98. My next goal is to run a 400 this Sunday and then on 7th March another 300, where I hope to smash my British record — and that will be my last indoor run. Then my thoughts will be on the outdoors.” My thoughts? We don’t know enough about this gent, who turns 41 in March. So I contacted him via a local reporter and shot him some queries.
Darren was 39 during this meet in July 2008. (Photo by Tom Phillips)
Masters Hall of Famer Bert Morrow dies at 97; was oldest hurdler
Bert Morrow with his Masters Hall of Fame plaque in Canada
Bert Morrow, my hurdler friend, died last week in Canada, reports Norm Green. He was 97. Although this news is saddening, I’m relieved to learn that Norm was able to ship Bert’s Hall of Fame plaque to him while he could still appreciate it. Bert’s last meet may have been the San Diego Senior Olympics in September 2004. Norm’s note is all I know at the moment: “I received word today that Bert Morrow, Masters Hall of Fame old-timer class of 2009, died in Canada on Wednesday, February 10. We were able to deliver Bert’s MHOF plaque to him before his death as evidenced by the attached photo. Please pass this word to the Masters community, many of whom will have fond memories of this exceptional competitor.” I haven’t seen an obituary, but it would take 10,000 words to do him justice. When he lived in north San Diego County, he was a great friend, even gracing my 50th birthday party. His dream was holding the M90 world record in the short hurdles. He fell short. But I’ll always remember him as a smiling guy, “the world’s oldest human hurdler.” I’ll miss him terribly.
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Italy’s Carla Forcellini again lifts W50 indoor vault world record
Poor Nicoletta Incerti and Miriam Galli. They no-heighted at an indoor meet yesterday in Florence, Italy. But worse yet — they lost to a woman three decades older! W50 Carla Forcellini broke her own pending world indoor record in the vault with a 3.30 (10-10) jump. See results here. Carla opened at 2.80, clearing on second try, then passed 2.90. She cleared 3.00 on her first try, passed 3.10 and then made 3.20 and 3.30 on first attempts, going out at 3.35 (10-11 1/2). Carla still has a ways to go to reach the W50 outdoor WR of 3.40 (11-1 3/4) by Aussie Dawn Hartigan. Give her time.
Carla could be jumping 11 feet soon, at her current rate of progression.
Darrell Green’s claim of being fastest 50-year-old is utter hokum
Darrell Green
Darrell Green used to play football, got paid lots of money. But his claim of being the fastest boomer and $2.25 will buy him a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Read this nonsense. On Monday, Darrell turned 50 and said, via his Twitter account, that he ran a 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds. “Quick update from the Birthday Boy:),” he tweeted. “I think today I became the fastest 50 year old in the world! . . . I’m guessing that makes me the fastest baby boomer!”
