Pete Mundle, a member of the Masters Hall of Fame, was a world-class masters distance runner back in the day.

Obituaries July 5, 2020

Pete Mundle dies at 91; pioneering M40 record-setter put world masters marks on the map

Peter Mundle has passed, and our sport’s Mount Rushmore must make room for a shy man with prodigious running and recordkeeping talents. According to an obituary in Sunday’s Eugene Register-Guard, Pete died May 7 — about two weeks short of turning 92. No cause of death was listed. Nor where he passed. Unsure why word was delayed. Pete would have been a stickler for such details, since his legend was made not as a record-setting runner — who won the 3- and 6-mile races at the first USA masters nationals in San Diego in 1968 — but as the compiler…

Rants June 21, 2020

Virtual Masters Challenge, USATF Masters budget, NMN health on my mind

Last month, several athletes including Florida-based M65 thrower Guy Dirkin, launched an effort to replace 2020 Toronto worlds with something they call the 2020 Worldwide Virtual Masters Challenge. It’s being run out of John Seto’s mastersrankings.com site, charging 2 Euros ($2.35) per event. If I enter the M65 short hurdles now, I’m in the running for a medal. If I enter the high jump, I could win gold. I’ll pass. (See Status of Entries.) But WMA Prez Margit Jungmann of Germany has given the event her seal of approval. She writes: “I wish this initiative great success. I encourage you…

Me with Payton Jordan at 1997 San Jose nationals when he set M80 world sprint records.

International May 23, 2020

Don’t count on any WMA world meets until 2024, or when The Beast is busted

WMA has awarded 2021 outdoor worlds to Tampere, Finland, and delayed other world meets down the line. The scrambled calendar has led to much gnashing of teeth and griping about meet conflicts and other inconveniences. Others cheer the changes. My reaction: Yeah, right. Don’t count on ANY major international masters meets going off as scheduled. Not in 2021, 2022 or even 2023. As I’ve noted in social media, until we have herd immunity globally via a widely used and effective vaccine, ain’t nobody going nowhere. (And who wants to run timed finals at 100m using only lanes 1, 5 and…

For some reason, the track stadium at North Carolina A&T is wasted on football.

General May 14, 2020

Greensboro meet decision expected Friday; 2022 nationals sites announced

Interim national masters chair Jerry Bookin-Weiner made some big announcements Wednesday in his latest update. And in a Facebook post today, he said: “The [masters] Outdoor Championships in Greensboro have not yet been cancelled. The notice about the future of that meet is scheduled for tomorrow.” Other highlights: Lexington, Kentucky, will host 2022 masters outdoor nationals and Spokane the 2022 indoor nationals to be held in the city’s Spokane Sportsplex currently under construction in downtown Spokane. Both were the only bidders. “The Anti-Doping and Substance Abuse Subcommittee announced at the closing Executive Committee meeting that out-of-competition drug testing for masters…

General April 14, 2020

Stanisław Kowalski turns 110, could be first athlete ever in that milestone age group

Lift a glass for Stanisław Kowalski of Poland. Tuesday he turned 110, potentially becoming the first masters trackster in that virgin age group. Although a Polish masters track post on Facebook indicates that he is “no longer in competition,” it says he still has a “lot of positive energy and sense of humor.” That’s enough to give me hope that someday, when The Beast is vanquished, he’ll enter a sanctioned meet and set as many M110 world records as he wants. Someone once told me that the oldest master wins. Period. That would make Stan our sport’s ultimate champion. Just…

Stew Marshall won gold in a 2016 Perth relay and took home three titles at 2018 Malaga worlds.

International April 13, 2020

M35 world champ Stew Marshall puts COVID-19 in rearview mirror, updates WMA site

In 2016, Stewart Marshall of Great Britain competed in his first world masters meet — in Perth, Australia. It didn’t go well. He entered the 200 and 400 but “made the quick decision” not to run the deuce due to injury the week after his nationals. Then in the 400 final, he was DQ’d. But he came home with two M35 golds in the 4×1 and 4×4 relays. And in 2017, he further showed his dedication to our niche sport by becoming the website manager for World Masters Athletics. In 2018, he made up for Perth by winning the M35…

Jerry Bookin-Weiner and his wife, Hedy, chat with the late Rex Harvey at Michigan nationals banquet in 2018.

Rants April 4, 2020

Question for national chair Jerry Bookin-Weiner: What out-of-competition drug testing?

Reno is a good bet for improving masters communications. Following the 2008 annual meeting there, national masters chair Gary Snyder launched a blog. It didn’t last long, but it showed the way. Later, he and Rex Harvey used National Masters News to report to the masses. And Rex would pop up on Facebook. Rest his soul. Now just months after the 2019 Reno annual meeting, Jerry Bookin-Weiner, Rex’s successor as national chair, has announced he’ll use Facebook (at least two groups) to share thoughts and parry questions. That’s great. On Saturday, he posted to the USATF Masters group and the…

International March 31, 2020

Possible WMA world meets if virus vanishes: 2023 Spokane indoors and 2024 Daegu outdoors

Margit Jungmann of Germany, the president of World Masters Athletics, used to do the heptathlon. That’s helpful in her current gig — juggling two dozen jobs. The most important? Protecting lives. Like doctors, nurses and other heroes, Margit and her fellow council members will be making decisions in the coming months on the fate of our health — and sport. Will she permit cities to move forward on world and regional championships amid The Beast, COVID-19? It’s now accepted science that the earlier we adopt strict social-distancing and other steps, the better we have a chance of escaping the worst…

Rio still plans to host the Pan-American Masters Games (open to the world) in September. Buena suerte.

International March 25, 2020

Pan-American Masters Games in Rio unfazed by virus news, still on track for September

Masters athletes with a taste for danger are in luck! They can still compete on a world stage this year — at the Pan-American Masters Games in Rio de Janeiro. The track meet is Sept. 4-13 at the University of the Air Force in Rio (Universidade da Força Aérea). And the price for joining “between 10 and 20 thousand sportspeople” in “24 sports! 49 disciplines! 25 venues!”? “The registration fee is US$ 205, for foreigners. Each registration gives the participant the right to take part in two sports and five competitions in each one of them,” says the site, which…

Mary Roman was a throws specialist who competed at worlds and was a frequent Rob Jerome photo subject.

Obituaries March 24, 2020

COVID-19 claims Mary Roman, 84, who deserved to win throws medals into her 100s

In 2003, Mary Roman suffered a heart attack. Just a speed bump in life. As a high-schooler, she had polio — before the vaccine. (Riding horses strengthened her legs.) A masters athlete since 1991 — after seeing her late husband, Granville, compete in Senior Olympic swimming — she tried the half-marathon, sprints and jumps but made throws her specialty. She set countless American records. At 84, Mary was entered at Baton Rouge. Coronavirus canceled that indoor nationals, and today it also wiped out the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Toronto world meet, where Mary would have excelled. But in the deepest…