March, 2006

Friends & Fellow Sprinters:

Membership in Mass Velocity continues to increase. Elizabeth Riordan (W55) has joined and been put in touch with Paula & Gail so she can join their practices at Lexington HS. Ed Faison (M30) writes "I'm inspired by your group and looking forward to being a member." We have also added John Saxelby (M50) who is also a US Masters Rowing Champion, Thomas Ranuga (M65), who I understand is in the elite class and Terrence Haynes (M40) who won the USATF-NE Indoor Master's 200 in a 24.81!

In the Yahoo Masters T&F Board, Steve Vaitones of USATF - New England wrote "Mass Velocity came about because there were no sprint based clubs in the area beyond the Greater Boston TC (which had a minimal number of masters). Led by Larry Libow, the club took a year or so to go from an informal group to a competitive club which now has almost all of the top sprinters in New England."

He was responding to this posting from Jim Broun: "I was browsing track club websites this weekend and found a great perspective on the Masters experience written by Warren Graff, sprinter/hurdler. The website is www.massvelocity.org and the article is in the Feb. 2006 newsletter. I wish I could find a sprinter friendly club in my area as all the local clubs are all about distance and marathons. This is a really well put together website for a club that is sprint oriented with some great articles in the past newsletters also. Check it out!"

Thank you Jim and Steve for those kind words. All of us at Mass Velocity Track Club are working to make this the best Masters track club in the country. Jim indicated a possible interest in helping to expand Mass Velocity into the Florida area. Jim wrote "Hope to see you and talk at Indoor Nationals or before and I will keep up by visiting the Mass Velocity website."

In this month's Newsletter you'll

- Be introduced to our new False Starts feature,
- See the latest Masters Track & Field Rankings,
- Be reminded about the Indoor Nationals
- Learn one runner's method to his madness
- Find out why I'm insulted by a cartoon,
- Learn about our Penn Relays update including our new Yahoo Group,
- See who's been climbing buildings in the Big Apple
- Get the Masters update on the 2006 Summer Bay State Games
- Learn to beware of "The Curse!"
- See the latest in Mass Velocity apparel
- Take the Newsletter instant poll

Read on and enjoy!

---

Sprinter Jon Drummond, refused to leave the track
and held up competition for almost an hour after he
was disqualified in the 100m, when he false-started.

Jon Drummond's antics are a perfect introduction to the new False Starts section (under News/Updates) of the Mass Velocity web site. In False Starts you'll find all sorts of stories submitted by members and friends of humorous or interesting incidents during any period of their track careers. For example, you'll find these recent submissions:

"It was my seventh year as Assistant Girls Track Coach at West High School in Manchester, New Hampshire. Construction of our new high school track was nearly complete. The smooth asphalt black top on the 400 meter oval awaited the final thick application of the cushioned polyurethane surface..."


"A number of years ago when we were running for the New England Sprint Force Team in a 4 x 400 Masters Relay and Neil Steinberg took the second handoff. In a tightly contested first leg we were even with the other team and Neil was very hyped as he took the pass in lane 2..so hyped in fact that as he..."


"... and the entire track exploded in cheers and gave me a standing ovation. My high school coach still talks about that day..."


"Before the meet is over, I cross the finish line. Like one of those old guys who finish the marathon after nearly everyone has gone home and the banners are half-detached, flapping in the breeze, kicking empty plastic drinking cups across the road. My coach is looking at his stopwatch -- or is it his shoes? He comes up to me and I turn to him, still gasping, still blue. Still incoherent..."

---

Warren Graff sent me the link to the latest Masters Indoor Rankings and said "MVTC members made a strong showing, and some don't even included the latest or best marks (like Charlie Kelly's 400 or Lee Hess's 200). Too bad they don't indicate club or affiliation."

---

Don't Forget:


Mar 24-26
2006 USA Masters Indoor
Track & Field Championships
Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center - Boston, Mass.
Entry Deadlines:
On-time: on or before 3/12/06 at 11:59 p.m. PT
Late: on or before 3/17/06 at 11:59 p.m. PT

Update your mark(s) and affiliation before the close of entries

---

Are We Crazy
or
Why Do We Travel So Far To Run Just A Few Seconds?

I posed this question in the last Newsletter and my friend Jon Tetherly was kind enough to offer his opinion. Jon and his wife Kay are often not recognized by our group of sprinters because they frequently are at meets competing in middle-distance events. Jon writes:

You ask an interesting question: Why do we travel so far to compete for such a short time? My wife once asked me, "Why did we travel for 3 1/2 hours to New Jersey so you could run for 2 1/2 minutes? I replied, "Aren't you glad I'm not a 100 meter sprinter?"

The short answer is, of course, we have to. There just aren't that many handy local track meets for masters because there aren't that many of us who, in our later years, stay in shape and compete with all that's in us. We have to celebrate what we do.

The longer answer is, however, that I don't consider that I'm competing for 2 1/2 minutes. If I don't arrive at the track at least one hour before the 800 begins, I figure I'm late. We have to register, or post-register, or whatever you call it. Then I do my stretches. I find the yoga sun salute to be relaxing, to begin to get rid of the pre-race jitters. Then I jog around about 15 minutes - or try to - with my mouth closed, to prepare my lungs. About 20 minutes before I figure I have to run, I change from running shoes to track spikes and do up to 10 75-meter sprints to warm up the fast-twitch muscles. Then I try to stay warm before the race. Without all this preparation, I would be running cold, tight, and stressed out big time.

Another answer is: If you aren't spending enough time competing, why don't you run more races? I know people who do that. Some who are at the top of their division, or whoever it is they believe they're competing against, and don't intend to set any records that day, could do that. Others who see a track meet as a way to run a 5K on the installment plan do that also. But as someone who's neither great or just coming to a track meet to chill with their friends, but instead, someone in the middle, I want to always do my best. So I rarely double or triple. I succumbed to that temptation, with help of some friends, in Idaho, and didn't have very impressive times.

Thanks, Larry, for your question.
Jonathan Tetherly

Jon, having just run three meets in three days (MAC at the the Armory on Friday night, New Jersey on Saturday and at Albany for the Adirondack Championships on Sunday) makes him well qualified to discuss this madness. Thank you Jon.

If anyone else would like to answer the question "Why Do We Travel So Far To Run Just A Few Seconds?" I will gladly share it with our community.

---

I'm Insulted!

My daughter-in-law found this cartoon and sent it to me. She thought it was funny because she says the guy looks like me, is named Larry and is doing something she thinks I'd do. Frankly, I'm insulted. Sure the guy named Larry has a resemblance but she should know by now that I'd never - repeat never - do something as stupid as ---- run a 400m race!

---

To the best of my knowledge, the following people have expressed interest in competing on a Mass Velocity relay team at Penn. If you want to be added to the list please let me know ASAP.

To facilitate discussion topics (like Penn) and to take instant polls, Mass Velocity has set up a Yahoo Group. Click on this Link to join the group. Although Penn relay team selections is our first and primary topic, we will use the group for a variety of other uses.

One Step At A Time

Haven't seen John Saxelby lately? Well he's been climbing buildings in the Big Apple. In February he competed in the Empire State Building Run and came in 3rd (50 to 59) with a time of 15:09! Congratulations John! Next time any of us do some stadium stairs for practice, we won't complain (as much).

---

Masters Update

I have been working very slowly and cautiously with Gary Brown from the Bay State Games regarding the Masters track events and slowly I have been making progress. Keep in mind that the Bay State Games has only recently added Masters events to their track and field games.

There are three issues that I have been trying to work out with Brown. The first is why they have a Masters 100m and a Masters 400m but no Masters 200m event. In advocating for the 200, I indicated that the 200 is a cross-over event for both long and short sprinters. I suggested that if he had sprinters there for the 100 and the 400, he would certainly have sprinters for the 200 which should address his concerns about whether any Masters would be interested in a 200m event.

The second issue is the order of events. Regardless of their decision on adding a Masters 200m event, they have the Masters 100 immediately following the Masters 400. One year I almost had a chance to beat Roger in the 100 because he had just finished the 400 (in the summer heat), walked back to 100m starting line and then stumbled out of the blocks and fell as the gun went off. Instead of letting us continue the race, the starter called us back and re-started the race. Of course, by then (feigning injury and old age) Roger had time to recover sufficiently to kick my behind. So I've been after a re-ordering of the Masters events.

Finally, my biggest peeve with the Bay State Games is that all Masters are lumped into a 40+ age-group. Brown insists that there aren't enough Masters to warrant a 5-year breakout. I argue that keeping the Masters definition as 40+ helps keep older runners away, thus making his argument self-fulfilling. Additionally, I have suggested that since they are using a computer for seeding and electronic timing, that it would be a very simple matter for the computer to determine winners by age-group, regardless of how many Masters heats they run.

Gary Brown, the Director of Operations has responded "If you remember, we spoke last year regarding the Masters division in the Bay State Games. You indicated you wanted to add the 200m, but since our schedule was already printed we could not accommodate this request. We will be adding the 200m for the 2006 Summer Games as we want to give all athletes the best experience possible. I will also talk to our State Chairmen regarding adjusting the schedule for the Masters event sprints.

It is up to each individual state to determine their sports/division for their Games. We added a masters division a few years ago to accommodate the growing number of athletes in this age group. At this point, we do not have enough athletes to create additional masters divisions by 5 or 10 year categories. Hopefully if the program continues to grow this can be done in the future. Thanks again for all your support."

So, as you can see, we have made some headway. I will continue to advocate for appropriate age grouping. The National Congress of State Games has a national State Games of America track & field meet every two years - and they break out Masters into our usual 5-year age groups. As it now stands here in Massachusetts, most Masters will not be able to qualify for the State Games of America because only the top 3 from each state qualify. Other surrounding states don't have that problem. For now 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

---

Beware The Curse!

Mike Needham sent me an e-mail recently, indicating he was switching clubs from Mass Velocity to the GBTC. Said Mike, "It was not an easy decision. Running 400 workouts by yourself on the South Shore has become more and more difficult."

Within just a few days at the BU St. Valentine Invitational, Mike fell at the finish of the 400m and broke his collar bone and wrote to say "... to all those who may leave Mass Velocity to join another running club, be forewarned - there may be a curse."

I've offered to lift the curse if he comes back.

Haven't visited the Mass Velocity store at CafePress lately?
We have a new logo and a number of new and re-designed apparel items
that not only show your support for team but help us raise money.
Check It Out - Click Here To Visit

The Mass Velocity Newsletter is an open-access publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. Users may freely copy, distribute, and display its contents, but must give credit to the original publication source and author.