December, 2006
December, 2006
Teammates & Friends:
Our track club continues to grow. We have added a number of new members recently as you'll see below. I believe
that MVTC attracts folks like us because we offer something that most other running/track clubs don't. Beyond the
obvious that we are a club dedicated to Masters who prefer competing on a track, I think that our web site and
newsletters convey the fun we have as both competitors and as friends. Perhaps I haven't looked hard enough, but
I haven't found anyone amongst our members who is anything but a really great person.
So, who are our members? Recently I reorganized our "Meet The Mass Velocity Community" page and decided to place all the MVTC members at the top and those with
photos closer to the top. Not all our members have submitted a "Mini Bio" and I am missing some DOB information
for a few of you. But amongst those have submitted information here is a breakdown by age-group and state:
| AGE GROUP | NUMBER OF MEMBERS |
| M/W 30 | 1 |
| M/W 35 | 1 |
| M/W 40 | 3 |
| M/W 45 | 7 |
| M/W 50 | 19 |
| M/W 55 | 11 |
| M/W 60 | 4 |
| M/W 65 | 2 |
| M/W 70 | 5 |
| M/W 75 | 0 |
| M/W 80 | 0 |
| M/W 85 | 0 |
| M/W 90 | 1 |
| STATE | NUMBER OF MEMBERS |
| MA | 38 |
| NH | 5 |
| CT | 3 |
| VT | 1 |
| RI | 1 |
| ME | 3 |
| NY | 2 |
| OTHER | 1 |
If your photo is on our "Community Page" I'm
sure there are many that would be interested to learn more about you. If you are willing to take a few moments
and submit (or update) your Mini-Bio, I would be glad to attach it to your photo. If there is no photo
of you, send one to me. And if you're a Master athlete and you are not yet on the Community Page, send in your
photo, bio or both and join in.
Speaking of photos, our own Carroll "Butch" Blake made it into the most recent issue of USATF's Fast Forward
Magazine, in the Masters Wrap section. It would have been a really nice shot, but this guy, Bill Collins, ran
right in front of the camera just as the photo was taken ...
"Former President of USATF's New England Association
Gary Snyder has been elected Chair of the USATF Master's Track and Field Committee. Snyder was elected President
of the New England Association in 2002 and 2004. Prior to that, he served as President of the Greater Boston Track
Club for five years."
I believe that Gary's election to the Masters Chair
will be very positive for Masters track & field in general and equally positive for all of us in the Northeast.
Gary Snyder soon after he won election as
Masters T&F Chair for USATF with
Janet McCarty-Smith, from Oklahoma who was elected Vice-Chair for Masters T&F
"Hi Everybody, Your support for
my successful election last week made the difference. The votes were very close and your campaigning on my behalf
produced the needed votes. Thanks again!"
- Gary Snyder
USATF Unveils New Look
"INDIANAPOLIS - With a unified look capturing the aspirations of the sport and the inspiration of its athletes, USA Track & Field on Wednesday will unveil a new logo and branding campaign for the organization. The new look will be introduced Wednesday evening at the Opening General Session of the 2006 USATF Annual Meeting in Indianapolis."
I'm not sure I prefer this over the triangle "Superman" logo. If you're wondering why the USATF dues have gone up, I'll bet this new logo cost a pretty penny.
USATF-NE Vice President and MVTC member, John
Oleski
met with Dan O'Brien at the USATF Annual Meeting. John personally invited Dan to come to Boston
where he may have an interest in competing in the Indoor Pentathlon. Dan is turning 40 soon.
John with Jeremy Wariner who was there to
receive an award at the
Jesse Owens Hall of Fame banquet as Male Athlete of The Year for
2006. John writes "I finally met a 400 meter sprinter with a faster age-graded
time - 43.6 - than Roger Pierce, though that IS a short list!"
Bic
Stevens
John
Osbon Ken Effler
THE INDOOR SEASON SCHEDULE
is now available on our web site.
Check often for updates and corrections REFLECTIONS ON THE NORTHEASTERN CARNIVAL
RECENT MEETS
RESULTS:
Northeastern
Husky Track & Field Carnival
12/2/06-Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center
by
TUCKER TAFT
It was very nice when I arrived to discover that
I wasn't going to be the only old geezer on the track. Mass Velocity had 7 folks signed up, though in the end only
5 of us showed up. Tom Gillen and John Novak must have gotten lost somewhere in the maze that is downtown Boston...
Terrence and I were the only total masochists, signing up for and running all three sprints, 55, 200, and 400.
Terrence put up some great times, while I managed to avoid PWs (personal worsts ;-) in all three. Actually, I felt
in better shape than I expected, though today I feel in worse shape than I expected! Roger ran only the 400, due
to some timing constraints, while Carroll did the 200 and 400, and Rob the 55 and 200. Everyone seemed to be pleased
with their times considering it being the first indoor meet. Next week at Harvard we won't have that excuse, so
we'll have to think of a new one... ;-).
They seem to have "resurfaced" the Reggie track this summer, which is nice, but one thing that was not
so great was they decided to shorten the 60m track down to 55m, with the goal of allowing the midfield sprints
to take place at the same time as events on the oval. Unfortunately, that didn't really work, since even in the
55m, the serious sprinters have real trouble stopping before they spill onto the oval. At least once there was
a collision, with a 55m sprinter taking out a miler, though both managed to pull off fairly elegant somersaults
and both got back up quickly, with the miler not even losing too much momentum in the scuffle.
Other than this problem, the meet was well orchestrated, and they managed to run 21 heats of the 200meter in a
surprisingly short amount of time. I swear that, at least once, the starter was yelling "on your marks"
before the prior heat had even finished.
The scoreboard was quite confusing with all the different events and heats, and the confusion caused Rob to miss
his heat in the 55, but with some quick action and some quick jogs back and forth between the starting line and
the officials' table, he managed to sneak in the the next (and last) heat and did surprisingly well given that
he was still fiddling with his blocks when the starter yelled "on your marks."
Hope to see the "full gang" later in the season.
Results:
Harvard Invitational
12/9/06 - Harvard University
| Unlike last year when Mass Velocity had a big turnout at the Harvard Invitational, this year the turnout was poor. Kim Williams, Paula Fortuna and Gail Johns-Rees were there as well as Tom Gillen, Mike Travers in the running events and new member, Brian Rowles in the jumps. I was there itching to compete but not medically cleared, with a few of the boys from my high school track team, including one who made it into the finals of the 60m. Below are some shots from the meet with my apologies to the guys for not getting any of them. |
The floodgates have opened and new Mass Velocity members are rushing in. Here they are, in random order.
Bob Davis - from Albany, NY. Switched from Tendonitis
TC. "Larry; glad to come aboard! Will order
a uniform and see you at upcoming meets. Thanks again for the nice welcome. Peace, Bob"
Bic Stevens
- from Cambridge, MA. "I actually heard of the Club from Ralph Souppa; I have been running the
400 with Roger, Warren, and Ralph for many, many years...you can ask any of them...I used to be pretty fast in
the 200, 400, and 800, but a new job forced me to take off from running for the last two years and I am just starting
to get back." Ralph Souppa writes, "A
few years ago Bic was a top national masters runner. Really the only one who who could compete against Roger Pierce.
He was on the national record setting 4x400m relay at Penns in 1998 with Warren, Roger and me. He is THE piece
of the puzzle we need to set a 60 year olds record."
Brian Rowles
- from Acton, MA - "Larry, Thanks for the warm welcome. I had met several of your club members
this past summer at various outdoor meets & I'm really looking forward to competing and training with this
great group of folks! I've been competing for the last two outdoor seasons in the long and triple jumps, but am
hoping to start getting back into sprinting as well this season."
Ken Effler
- from North Attleboro, MA - Switched from the
Shore AC. Ken won the M50 Pentathlon in Charlotte. "I
have been a member of the Shore AC for the past two years (2005 & 2006). Even though I now live in New England,
I had requested an association membership transfer back in 2005, so I could re-join Shore AC, my former club during
my college days in NJ. I have now found a club I'd like to compete for in Massachusetts, Mass Velocity. I am requesting
that I may transfer my membership back to the New England Association so I can join Mass Velocity."
David Bowden
- from Roxbury, MA
I know there are many more folks out there ready
to join us. Why wait? You know you'll run faster in a red speedsuit - and even if you don't, you'll look fast. Geography is
not a barrier, capability is not a barrier. Mass Velocity
is more than a community - it's a state of mind.
It only took a few people to start the Mass Velocity
Track Club and look at how far we have come and what we have accomplished in such a short time. Very few of us
got started with track & field as older adults. Most of us had enjoyable experiences in high school.
Many of you have generously helped me with financial contributions and donations of flats, spikes and uniforms
in my efforts to help the disadvantaged kids I volunteer my time with as a track coach at one of Springfield's
four high schools.
Some of the donated items to be distributed
soon.
[If you have any spikes, flats, warm-up or running gear you'd like to donate, contact me]
MVTC member James Morton was the first coach (of recent times) who revived the High School of Commerce Track Team
and that is how I met him. He and I have been spending lots of time discussing ways to expand track & field
opportunities for all the high school kids in this city. We intend to start a track club as a winter activity for
this city's youth. All surrounding cities and towns offer indoor track as a varsity sport, but none of Springfield's
boys or girls have that opportunity. This club will not be a school-sponsored sport and it's unlikely that indoor
track will ever become a school sport.
James and I hope to secure some grant money to get this program off the ground. James and I will be volunteering
our time (as if either of us has much more to give). We may need to use Mass Velocity as a conduit for the grants
and might seek to establish a youth division of our club. This will not impact our Masters in any way and all youth
funds will be kept in a separate bank account.
One aspect of this initiative is to develop a mentoring program between MVTC members who would be willing and our
young runners. The overwhelming majority of these kids have no father in their home or father-figure in their lives.
They struggle academically and often it's participation in sports that is the bare thread that keeps them in school.
Reports just released show Springfield with the second highest dropout rate in the state (just behind Lawrence).
As this program develops, I will have details on ways you can help.
If you know of any source of funds or grants that we can apply for, please let me know. If you work for a corporation
that might be willing to match funds, James and I would love to hear from you. James by the way, has recently been
tapped to become the new Executive Director of the Greater Springfield YMCA, which will broaden ways we will be
able to help our young runners.
So sometime during this indoor season you might see James and I with some young sprinters. Greet them warmly. They
may look to you for advice and you may notice them wearing your donated spikes. If we're lucky, years from now
they'll continue to enjoy track and field, as we do now.
I do not have a good automated system to collect dues from those who chose to pay by check instead of using the PayPal automated system. Please check to see if it's been more than a year since you last sent a $15.00 check. If you have opted out of PayPal, please send in a check as well. I will be going through the records and you might receive a polite reminder regarding your dues. Dues cover our annual USATF club membership fees, and underwrite the cost of such items as patches and t-shirts. Dues also cover the cost of team banners, postage, relay entry fees, etc. It's a nominal amount but it helps keep the club going.
"Thanks,
Larry, for the information on upcoming meets. I will be in the area for Dartmouth, and plan to run the 60 &
200. I am now in the 70+ age division. I will be competing in the Florida Championships (outdoor) on December 9
& 10, and hope to improve my 100 & 200 times." - Dick
Camp, Freeport, ME
"Hi
Larry; I'll look forward to seeing you up at Dartmouth. My daughter will be competing in the high school division.
Her school will probably run in either the sprint medley or the distance medley, and both are held on Friday evening.
If I get to run at Dartmouth it will be my last race in the 50-54 group. My birthday is on Sunday of that weekend."
- Ken Effler,
North Attleboro, MA
"Hopefully,
Larry, you'll be out there with us soon and some of the other guys as well. The meet (Northeastern Track &
Field Carnival) was a good start I think for all of us. For me, it gives me an idea of where I am and what to work
on. I'm starting the season about three weeks earlier than originally planned so I guess I'm doing ok for me. It
was good to be out there again and that's what really matters. This ain't easy. So good luck to us all." -
Rob Porcaro,
Medfield, MA
Warren Graff writes: "Larry - I'm not usually one to promote track-related products, but club members may be interested in one that has become very hard to find, and Mile Marker Sports apparently has found a supply of the original SportHill stirrup pant, which many of us sprinters have serveral pairs. For those not familiar with them, they don't cling like regular tights (so no editing required for photos!), and they are warm and comfortable. The nylon warm up suits tend to be too loose and bulky for workouts, and are usually not very warm unless lined. Sizing is normal (I ordered a medium, which is my normal short and pant size). They are available from Mile Marker Sports."
I don't know how this road race craze got started but there
isn't a weekend that goes by that doesn't have an assortment of road races in every community from Boston to San
Francisco. If you look as the masses go by, you'll notice that a substantial number of runners appear to be Masters.
I'm not sure how it can be done, but there has got to be a way to lure these older men and women onto a track.
I'm sure many of you have either been LDRs in the past, still run long distances in road races or have received
comments or feedback from these men and women. What is keeping them pounding the pavement and what can we do to
get them running in circles? The solution may have a direct bearing on the future of Masters track & field.
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