General January 4, 2021

Sing along with lyrical Dave Ortman: ‘Keep running through, Just like you always do.’

Dave Ortman knows adversity. In 2015, this multitalented masters champion out of Seattle had a heart attack. He wrote me: “I know several other masters athletes who have problems with their tickers. Perhaps we all should be wearing T-shirts that say, ‘I (heart) Track and Field. Not Dead, Yet!’” Dave — who already helped set two Guinness World records — made a full comeback, topped by an M65 world record in the 4×4 in September 2019. But T-shirt slogans aren’t his only talent outside track. He’s our own “Weird Al” Yankovic. He recently wrote me: “Even with 20/20 vision, 2020…

Dan King guts his way to American record M60 mile at Five and Dime meet in Columbia, South Carolina.

Records January 3, 2021

Dan King’s royal season: 3 ARs, 3 M60 mile marks averaging under New Zealander’s WR

Your Jeopardy answer: “This runner from Boulder, Colorado, swears by a plant-based diet, has a sister who boasts several American distance records and a dad who won the famous Dipsea trail race.” Too obscure? How about: “This 61-year-old track star ran a mile three times this fall, averaging under the world record for his age group and ending up with ratifiable American records at the mile, 3000 meters and 5000 meters.” Ah, that’s it: “Who is Dan King?” After reporting on his disappointing first two record tries — one under the WR but at an unsanctioned meet — I finally…

M60 hurdler Jeff Brower , shown at 2005 masters nationals in Hawaii, has cleared most bureaucratic barriers as well.

General January 2, 2021

Jeff Brower steps down as masters records czar; modernized process for 6 years

For six years, Jeff Brower of Texas has been chair of the USATF Masters T&F records committee. He cleaned up a holy mess left by Sandy Pashkin, whose failures I noted over the years (including a 2006 post headlined “Sandy Pashkin, as roadblock to records, has to go.”) Sandy inherited an index-card system from Pete Mundle, a booger beyond belief. Jeff also helped update the MTF website, finally adopting a WordPress design. (Easier to use.) And in 2020, according to his annual report, Jeff didn’t take a dime from his $3,000 budget. Now Jeff is stepping down. Our fourth records…

Linda Cohn of the Northridge section of Los Angeles was tapped to appear with a couple old guys in a Q&A.

General January 1, 2021

Linda Cohn to join legends Dick Fosbury and Willie Banks for free Zoom Q&A on Jan. 11

The Pasadena Senior Center is famed for its annual Senior Games at Cal Tech, a qualifier for the National Senior Games. But in these Pandemic Times, it’s organizing Zoom talks with famed athletes. On Jan. 11, three current or former masters track stars are featured in a panel discussion and Q&A. You might have heard of Dick Fosbury and Willie Banks. The Flop creator once jumped in masters, the Rhythmic Clap inventor still does. And Linda Cohn? She has something the first two don’t — a pair of world masters age-group records. (In the W60 and W65 javelin.) In the…

Dan King gets good-luck fist-bumps at start of Saturday's mile record attempt in Columbia, South Carolina.

General October 18, 2020

Dan King’s second try at official M60 mile WR falls short in Columbia, S.C.

Colorado’s Dan King, 61, ran the mile in 4:53.41 on Saturday — one of the greatest four-lap efforts in masters history. But his paced effort at Ben Lippen School, a Christian prep school in Columbia, South Carolina, was more than 4 seconds off his August mark of 4:49 at a meet in the same city. It barely missed the listed M60 American record of 4:53.01 by Nolan Shaheed in 2012. With its powerful formula, Amoxil targets bacteria directly, providing fast and effective results. Whether it’s a throat infection, urinary tract infection, or skin condition, amoxil has got you covered. Because…

Kathy Bergen (shown at a Mt. SAC Relays) now has notched 22 world age-groups records.

Records October 11, 2020

W80 Kathy Bergen ups 2020 world record total to 5 with Texas marks in 100, high jump

In September 2019, Kathy Bergen told her story to Rachel Lapidos of wellandgood.com. Kathy counted 17 world records to her name and hoped for more as a W80. “I’ll be working harder, because next year I want to break six world records,” she said. “When I move to a new age group, I break records.” You don’t say. Earlier this month, SoCal Kathy notched WRs 4 and 5 for the year. Returning to the state where she set three indoor WRs in February, Kathy ran 100 meters in 16.62 seconds with a barely legal wind of 1.8 meters per second….

Dick Camp excelled at the Penn Relays, where he took part in the popular old-guys 100-meter dash.

Obituaries October 6, 2020

Inspirational sprinter Dick Camp dies at 84, joins friend Bob Lida on Heaven’s top relay

“Now it can be told,” I blogged in March 2007. “The recent world indoor record 4×2 relay team, made up of four 70-year-olds, benefited from PED. No, not drugs — performance-enchancing deity. The Rev. Dick Camp, No. 3 leg on the 1:54.05 team, writes: ‘Two things stand out in my memory: 1) Rich (Rizzo) asked me to lead the team in a prayer before the race. We asked that God would be honored in our performance; 2) as I completed my leg, I gave an extra lunge to be sure Bob Lida got the baton in our handoff, and I…

Dan King's mile WR was celebrated on Runner's World. But without a meet sanction, it will never go into the books.

Rants September 26, 2020

Was Dan King cheated of M60 mile WR? Meet may have lacked USATF sanctioning

In late August, 61-year-old Dan King of Boulder, Colorado, traveled 1,600 miles to Columbia, South Carolina, and came away with a mile mark of 4:49.08 (see results) — crushing the listed M60 world record of 4:51.85 by Kiwi Tony McManus in 2012 and American record of 4:53.01 by Nolan Shaheed the same year. On Runner’s World, Sarah Lorge Butler wrote: “Behind two pacers—Jackson Neff and John Minen, who earlier in the meet had run the open mile—King clicked off 72-second laps, going hard from the gun.” (The actual splits were 73.57, 71.31, 72.29 and 71.91.). She quoted Dan as saying:…

That's me leading a 4x120 shuttle low hurdle relay — going against the barrier in 1970.

Rants August 22, 2020

Time to take temps: 7 polls for Masterstrackland, and my self-indulgent stories

In late 1971, a cold winter in Omaha, I was a high school hurdler in a hurry. My senior track season was approaching and I was determined to crush my 14.9 PR in the 120 highs as a 16-year-old junior. So I did what any laser-focused prep would do. I blasted through a two-semester class before Christmas. Let me explain. Biology was my last class of the day at Harry A. Burke High School, a fully-enclosed new campus only miles down the road from famous Boys Town. And since I wanted class time for training, I took advantage of the…

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. Are you tired of feeling uncomfortable and puffy? We’ve got the solution for you. lasix, a powerful diuretic, helps to eliminate water retention and reduce swelling, giving you that lean and toned look you’ve been dreaming of. 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. Finding calm in a chaotic world…