Oshkosh nationals may see oldest shuttle hurdle team ever
Becky Sisley of Oregon is set to make hurdling history. On Sunday, July 12, at Oshkosh nationals, about 3 p.m., she and three other women in their 70s will team in the 4×80 shuttle hurdles — a back-and-forth relay championed by Jeff Davison of Southern California. Jeff writes: “It looks like we will have a women’s 70-79 shuttle hurdle relay team led by Becky Sisley’s efforts. Also we will have men’s 60-69, 50-59 and 40-49 teams. This will be the first time that a W70-79 and a M60-69 shuttle hurdle relay has ever been held. Sample shuttle specifications are on the website.” Becky (shown below) writes: “(Here is) perhaps a good photo to advertise hurdles, with my skinned up knees. Left (knee) was from the hurdles, but the right was from leaning across the HJ padding while I was officiating later the same day! The singlet is from the 1989 WAVA meet that was in Eugene — that’s how I learned about track and got started to compete.”
Click on photo to learn more about Becky: Woman of Willpower.
Southern Assn. USATF masters meet changes venues to LSU
Coach Byron Turner of the USATF Southern Association writes that “this weekend’s South Region/Southern Association Masters Championships has been moved from Southern University to the Bernie Moore Track Stadium at LSU.” He adds that online entry will be extended through Wednesday. Byron also writes: “To accommodate the LSU track team’s practice schedule, we were required to move the running event schedule to a 2 p.m. start. Field events will retain their 9 a.m. start. Please make your preparations accordingly. We apologize for the late change and any inconvience this may cause, but due to logistical issues at Southern University, we had no choice but to move the meet.” Another problem is that the individual online entry page is a dead link. (Coach Turner says he’s aware of it and has sent a note to USATF to fix it.)
USATF COO Mike McNees to continue comeback in Oshkosh
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When a USATF press release revealed yesterday that USATF Chief
Operating Officer Mike McNees “enjoyed a successful and somewhat painful return to track and field competition over the weekend,” I couldn’t resist shooting him a note. First the basics: “McNees won the men’s 200 in his age-group (in Terre Haute, Indiana) despite pulling a hamstring with 30 yards remaining. He jogged to the finish in 29.53 seconds. (See results here.) Not bad for a guy competing in his first track meet in 21 years. The principal USATF staff coordinator and advocate to the Masters Community, McNees is thrilled to be competing again. ‘USATF Masters events give old track and field athletes like me the chance to compete again, and it’s a lot of fun,’ said McNees. “The most important thing is to get out there and enjoy competing and seeing what you can do. I look forward to competing much more in the future.” Mike graciously replied to my quickie Q&A.
Scott Hartley’s double in Colorado: 1:58.81 and 4:13 (1500)
M45 middle-distance star Scott Hartley, who won at Landover and Drake this season, had a superduper double Saturday at an open meet in Fort Collins, Colorado. He burned an 800 in 1:58.81 and a 15 in 4:13.01. The world and American record in the 800 is 1:54.18 by Sal Allah in 2005. Complete results are here. Scott also is the subject of a profile by Parker Morse in CrossFit Journal. “(Scott’s) story about rediscovering competitive athletics, and masters track in particular, almost sounds like a surrealist movie,” Parker wrote me. “I’m doing another article for Running Times from this research, which will probably run mid- to late-summer.” Here’s a teaser of the CrossFit piece. Also, results have been posted from Sunday’s USATF open meet in San Diego, which included a sensational 25.72/58.2 double by Jai Black, 47.)
Scott Hartley, 46, trains less than 20 miles a week, Parker Morse says.
Jim Sorensen on Portland mile: Wasn’t sure of his shape
Jim Sorensen was my pick to win the Portland masters mile last Saturday. But Jim wasn’t as sure. Having run only once in January and once in April, Jim said he had butterflies before the evening race at Lewis & Clark College. But the video of his last lap, which I timed in 57.8, showed he was plenty fit. Jim graciously responded to my quickie Q&A (basically the same interrogation I did of Tony Young). He still has plenty in the tank this year, which will include Oshkosh nationals in July. Best of luck to both mile superstars.
Info needed! Has anyone jumped clubs outside association?
Need your help. For the past three or four years, my wife and I have been dues-paying members of the Southern California Striders, a masters track club based in the USATF Southern California Association. But Chris and I live in the USATF San Diego-Imperial Association. And even though we pay $50 a year, attend the annual dinner banquet and proudly wear our Striders uniforms, we aren’t Striders in the eyes of USATF. Instead, we’re listed as “unattached.” The Striders don’t need our points in nationals, but we’re not even allowed to count. Why? It appears that SCA and SDI have a philosophical aversion to granting athlete requests to jump clubs outside their home association. And yet I’m told by friends that nowhere else in America is this roadblock set up. So here’s my appeal: Post or send me details on how you or someone you know got permission from your home association and destination association to change clubs.
Sprinters fight fierce headwinds at Pacific Association meet
With strong headwinds in the sprints and great tailwinds in the jumps, the Pacific Association Masters Championships was a mixed bag Saturday in Folsom, California. Results are posted here. But the studs all delivered, with perhaps the best mark of the day being the 11.95 by M50 Marty Krulee in the 100 — into a 1.5 mps wind. Marty, the defending M50 world champion, beat comebacking Kevin Morning (12.12) and Byron Duhon (12.4). Byron ambien zolpidem had a headwind in his 14.48 short hurdles race as well.
Marty, shown at Folsom, doesn’t know the meaning of cialis price headwind.
Carmen Troncoso sets W50 American record in Portland 3K
Carmen Ayala-Troncoso
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Pete Magill’s blog and a Portland Oregonian blogger (with confimation by meet results) report that Carmen Troncoso of Austin smashed the W50 American record in the 3000-meter run Saturday night at the Portland Track Festival. “I spoke to Carmen before the race and she said the last time she raced at (Lewis & Clark) she set the AR for 40-44 women at 3K. So maybe she should run here more often,” a race organizer told one blog. Trina Painter won at 9:56.26, followed by Christine Olen in 10:03.25 and Carmen in 10:10.01 — which beats the listed AR of 10:19.3 by Kathryn Martin in 2002. The listed world record is 10:08.83 by Britain’s Paula Fudge, also in 2002. Here’s a video of Carmen (who sometimes is known as Ayala-Troncoso) being interviewed in 2008. Carmen is a coach and exercise physiologist who at age 41 took 14th in a 5,000-meter heat (in 16:05.68) at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento and also competed for Team USA at the IAAF world cross country championships in 1999 and 2000. She was third in the W45 800 at Spokane nationals last year.
Tony Young on Portland mile race: Wanted to go sub-4:15
Tony Young responded to my quickie Q&A request about Saturday’s masters mile at the Portland Track Festival, which you can view online below. (Jim Sorensen should see my email when he gets home to San Leandro.) Tony was expecting a rabbit to help with pacing in Portland, but says the rabbit was a no-show. So he went out front himself. Tony also had hoped for a sub-4:15. But conditions and lack of pacesetter conspired against that as well. Still, Tony thinks he’s in shape to push his M45 world record down to near 4:10. (It’s currently 4:16.09, which he ran at the same meet last year.) Anyway, what an effort! And thanks for being first to reply! (Gotta beat Jim at something!)
Jim passed Tony about 50 meters from the bell, then sprinted a 57.8-sec lap.
Director adds details on masters track film under production
Jan Tenhaven, the Berlin filmmaker behind the masters track film mentioned here, has provided more details on the documentary under production. Recently, he’s been in Italy “filming one of our athletic heroes,” he writes. “We are almost finished with the first phase of our shooting . . . interviewing the master athletes at their homes in their everyday life. We are now all looking forward to Finland were we will follow our protagonists with up to five cameras.”
