Mary Harada gets Boston Globed for Hall of Fame induction
Mary Harada in 2006
. |
Mary Harada, the mouse that roars, is featured in today’s Boston Globe as well its online site. Under the headline “A lifetime of running,” writer John Vellante notes her recent induction into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame and quotes Mary (a frequent visitor here): “I’m really not sure how one is supposed to feel at 74. I think it all depends on attitude and physical condition. I’m fortunate to be physically healthy, and I think I’m still in my right mind. A Canadian runner, Earl Fee, who’s 80, once told me that the trick is as you get older to age more slowly than your competitors.” Cathy Utzschneider, Mary’s coach, says: “She respects that process and is careful to adjust her training when
she feels her body is talking to her. She is an inspiration to all
women athletes.”
2010 U.S. meet calendar updated; all-comers sked up, too
|
Dave Clingan, our Masters Hall of Famer to be, has updated the 2010 USA masters meet calendar on this site. Here it is. Dave plans to post international meets in the next few weeks. And Andy Hecker writes: “I’d like to announce that the Winter edition of the North American All Comer Meet Directory is finished and posted. (Here it is) . . . I am finding new stuff to add to it every day. I hope I’ll hear about more meets after posting on masterstrack.com. Its always nicer to have somebody else at a meet to compete with you.” Andy’s list even includes meets set for today!
Horton who? Bay Area running club never heard of dreamer
Responses are dribbling in to my queries about Chris “I’m gonna set world records and win Olympic titles” Mitchell-Horton, whose logic-defying story I told a few days ago. One came from Ken Grebenstein, president of the Tamalpa Runners Club. On his Web site profile, Chris says he’s a member of this club. But Ken writes: “I do not believe he is a member. I have never heard of him and I don’t see him on our membership roster.” Another club member, David Bronstein, wrote me: “I don’t recognize the name and Tamalpa really doesn’t have much, if any, of a sprints program as we are really a distance-based club.” But I found a rootin-tootin financial supporter of Mr. Mitchell-Horton, and he’s not happy with my reporting.
All we want for Christmas are some PBs (and maybe a record)
M55 vaulter John Carmony in Colorado has sent a charming little Christmas greeting to friends — a takeoff on Twas the Night before Christmas. It ends perfectly. (See it below.) We’ve also gotten word of another masters age-group record. This time it’s at a USATF-sanctioned Senior Games. Dr. James E. Oglesby, an M75 thrower, writes that he put the 4-kilo shot 13.08 meters (42 feet 11 inches) at the December 12 Florida Senior Games, beating the listed American record of 13.01 (42-8 1/2) by Arnie Gaynor in 2006. (Results are here.) “I am a member of the USATF and the meet (was) run in accordance with USATF rules,” James writes. “There were two field judges who used a steel tape for two separate measurements and the weighing official weighed the implement before and after the event.”
Pete Magill’s site picks Fleetest Feet among masters for ’09
Pete Magill’s YLFOR site wraps up its boffo debut year with some courageous picks for its 2009 American Masters Awards. I’ve thought about doing this, but I’m way too lazy. Pete has energy to burn, though, so he came up with some great categories and choices, including masters track stars Sabra Harvey and . . . himself. (He’s the top age-graded man, a well-deserved honor). But he goes out on a limb by naming (with sprinter input) the Fleetest male and female masters, naming W45 Renee Henderson and M50 Michael Waller. I concur in these picks but hate to overlook older sprinters. In any case, Pete merits congrats for his wonderful site and his most recent title — top M45 runner at club cross country nationals.
German thrower launches amazing masters multi-event site
Here’s a holiday present for masters multi-eventers everywhere: a Web site just for you! Check out the incredible work of Germany’s Bernd Rehpenning, a world-class M70 thrower. The site, featuring all-time world lists for major multis in all age groups, was announced yesterday on the Eurovets Web site. Thusly: “Bernd Rehpenning (GER), one of the master minds of the new WMA age grading factors, has published his own website. On this website he informed about the world’s best ever combined event athletes.” It’s in English and German and appears authoritative. Give it a gander and tell me what you think. Photos on the home page appear to include M55 decastar Bill Murray hurdling and M70 world champ Emil Pawlik taking his victory lap at Lahti worlds. The stats on the site are based on the 2010 WMA Age-Graded Tables apparently, so Bill’s M55 American deca record of 8087 points is rendered as 7774 in Bernd’s rankings. And Rita Hanscom’s W55 hep WR is shown as 6059, rather than the listed 6382. Such recalcs are done when the Age-Graded Tables are revised, I think.
Bernd’s site represents hundreds of hours of work, with thousands of data points.
Driver who struck Bob Fine, running in road: ‘I am so sorry’
Bob Fine
|
Bob Fine was a cantankerous old coot — and one of the giants of our sport. I considered him a friend despite our disagreements. He truly was a founding father of our niche. So when he was struck and killed during an early morning run in Reno a year ago, it was a stunning shock to fellow delegates at the USATF annual meeting. Gary Snyder, our national chair, recalled how he had just seen Bob on the Tuesday night before his Wednesday death. The traffic accident was a short news blip, and gave sketchy information: He was out running. He was struck by a lady driver who didn’t see him. End of story. The coverage bothered me, and not just because it didn’t relate the importance of the victim. None of the reports dealt with the complexity of the incident or the driver’s reaction. So last month, I sent away for the official accident report, a public record of the Reno Police Department. It came last week — a 12-page photocopy costing me $9 — and it completes an account of Bob’s death that deserves to be known.
Driver’s statement to Reno police just hours after the accident December 3, 2008.
Delusional or deceptive? Chris Mitchell-Horton’s crazy goals
Chris Mitchell-Horton of Napa, California, has modest goals: compete in the 2010 Vancouver and 2012 London Olympics. Become the first person to claim gold at 400, 800 and 1500 in the same Games. And “set the world and Olympic records at 400 meters . . . set the world and Olympic records at 800 meters . . . set the world and Olympic records at 1500 meters.” And all while staving off age. He turns 40 next month. Yeah, just another delusional dreamer? Well, in March 2007, when he first popped up, I noted his Olympic Trials ambitions and promptly forgot about him. Now he’s back, and this time he deserves a little more scrutiny.
Chris Mitchell-Horton’s Web site went online as early as August 2007.
Kay Glynn’s Christmas greeting: ‘Oh boy, I have a tailwind!’
It’s been a brutal weekend for our Eastern and Midwestern masters track friends (weather-wise, not Christmas shopping). So here’s something to warm you up. W55 multi-eventer Kay Glynn shares the third in a series of annual Happy Holiday shots of herself ignoring the Iowa winter. Replying to my queries, Kay writes: “I missed a few workouts in the past couple weeks while I shoveled snow. . . . This is my ‘conveyor belt over cement sidewalk’ runway with my hand-me-down pit that’s in my yard! My husband, Mike, is my photographer and when it comes to taking Christmas card photos, he always says, ‘Now let’s hurry up ’cause it’s cold!’ My other caption for my card would have been, “I only wanna do a few swing-throughs from 3 lefts!” There was a warm, south tailwind, but with temps in the 20s, nothing was warm!”
Kay Glynn won’t let a little Iowa snow interrupt preparations for nationals.
Ray Feick on Hall of Fame selection: ‘Just a big surprise’
Ray Feick, an M75 thrower and newly minted Masters Hall of Famer, was profiled in his local paper a few days ago, and said: “I enjoy competition. I went into a diet contest one time and they said I’m so competitive, I would cut my arm off to make sure to win.” And he’s a gamer, too, reports the Pottstown Mercury in Pennsylvania: “He had his right knee replaced a year ago, took a few months off to heal before coming right back throwing like his old self. And he has no intention of slowing down.” Certainly not for the next couple years: “I’m hoping to get to Kamloops, Canada, in March for the World Masters Indoor Championship. And then in 2011, they are going to have the World Outdoors in Sacramento, California.”
“After 30 years of masters track, that’s just the icing on the cake.”
