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Richard Askwith reveals secrets of masters in ‘The Race Against Time’: Why, how we still run

Maybe the mountains had grown. Maybe the Earth’s gravitational pull was stronger than before. Or perhaps there was something wrong with my legs. My muscles felt not just weak but empty. Richard Askwith is obsessed with hills and mountains — real and metaphorical. (The word “Obsession” even appears in the subtitle of his 2004 book “Feet in the Clouds,” about trail running.) But the Englishman’s fourth tome, “The Race Against Time,” is stunning for his climb through the clouds to seek the wisdom of true-life gurus — elite masters runners, trainers and scientists. Instead of asking the Secret of Life,…

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Olympian, masters star Willie Banks back smiling on Zoom after December bout with COVID-19

Monday’s Zoom session featuring Dick Fosbury, Linda Cohn and Willie Banks was happiness and light, with lots of helpful and inspirational nuggets. But my head snapped at one point when Willie, smiling and upbeat, matter of factly mentioned in passing that he had COVID-19 in December. Say what? He never returned to the subject, so I wrote him the next day. Did I hear you correctly? Yup. With symptoms of light fever, headache, body aches and cough, he was tested Dec. 11, 2020, and heard his results — positive — two days later. He has no clue how or where…