April, 2006

Friends & Fellow Sprinters:

March flew past us like Roger's first 100m of a 400m final. We had MVTC people running at the Armory in NYC and in New Jersey early in the month along with Mass Velocity being represented at the Adirondack Championships in Albany. Mid-month Roger headed out to Linz, Austria for the World Masters Indoor Championships. Towards the latter part of March we had lots of Mass Velocity sprinters suffering through the Connecticut Championships and even a few traveling north that same Sunday to compete at an all-comers at Smith College.

Finally, we all gathered together in Boston for the 2006 Masters Indoor Championships and made a statement to the Masters track & field community that the Mass Velocity Track Club was for real. I've said it already, but even with many of our members not being credited for their MVTC affiliation, and taking team "Ad-Hoc" out of the picture, Mass Velocity was 4th amongst 80 clubs competing at the Indoor Nationals! For a team that didn't exist one year ago, that's an incredible statement.

Anniversary Thanks

It's hard to point to the exact start of Mass Velocity. Perhaps it's when I dreamed up the name and put up a web site? Perhaps it's when I applied to USATF-NE for official club status? Perhaps it's when the first people joined the club? I think I'm going to call late March of every year as an anniversay date since many of those thing ocurred at about that time.

Therefore, I have some thanks to give on this, the first anniversary of Mass Velocity. Despite trashing my reputation with those recently distributed "spy photos" of me race walking against the women, I have to thank Bob Marchetti with helping me discover the world of great people in Masters track. If Bob releases those nude sunbathing shots of me, I'm recinding my thanks.

You may all think that I do everything myself but without the advice and assistance from Tucker Taft and Bob Segal, I wouldn't be nearly as effective. And Tucker and his family deserve a special thanks for putting me up at their lovely home during the Nationals weekend.

Speaking of advice, Warren Graff has a wealth of knowledge and insight regarding all aspects of the events and people I am just learning to deal with and he willingly and generously shares it with me. Thank you Warren.

I chased Roger Pierce for some time to get him to join Mass Velocity (and he's not easy to catch!) Since becoming a member of the club, Roger has become the International Mass Velocity Goodwill Ambassador. Wherever he goes (and that's a lot of places) he's is always talking up the club, and looking for new members. What better person to represent us on the national and international level than Roger? Thank you Roger.

You will read later in this newsletter a perspective of the Indoor Nationals from Charlie Kelley. I want to thank Charlie for his willingness to frequently contribute and for his well-written articles. We need more people like Charlie (including his running ability), so please send me something.

Maybe it was only those of us in Mass Velocity who noticed quick-change artist Less Hess during the Nationals. One moment he was an official, the next a competitor. He excelled at both and on behalf of all of us in Mass Velocity, I want to thank Lee for the wonderful and well-run meet. As we all know, a great meet is no accident. It takes a good deal of planning and hard work and Lee, you are the Man!

Mary Harada writes "Great results for a new club - the club is providing a great resource
for all you fast twitch folks!" Something must be twicthing in Mary's legs because she set a new World Record in the W70 Mile at the Indoor Nationals. I single out Mary for thanks because, even though she's not a sprinter and even though she runs for the Liberty AC, she's always on the lookout for anything that will help our club. I think of her an a honorary member. Mary, let me know when you're ready to put on a red MVTC speedsuit.

Which brings me to our lady sprinters. Gail Johns-Rees, Paula Fortuna and Laura Barre are at almost all the meets and frequently don't hang with us guys. They are a wonderful asset to Mass Velocity and did us proud at the Indoor Nationals. Paula writes "We women are proud to be part of such a great Masters Sprint Club!" And Gail writes "Had a great time at the Nationals. That was my fourth time there, and the fastest 200M I’ve ever done indoors, so that was great. But what made the experience so special was the camaraderie and support from you and the rest of the team. Sprinting has been a lonely sport for me at times. I thank you for creating this fantastic track club which has enabled athletes like myself to connect with others who share this passion." Thank you ladies for encouraging all of us.

And finally, my thanks to each and every one of you who have made Mass Velocity the great track club it is - and will become.

---

During March we added the following people as club members:

John Oleski, M55, Belmont, MA "I'd like to join Mass Velocity now to make sure my points count toward the team totals at the National Masters."
Tom Cunningham, M55, Danvers, MA "I am back on the mend from my injuries and will be running at the Indoor Nationals in Boston. Hope to see you there."
Daniel Maloney, M45, East Walpole, MA "I was looking through the results of some previous masters meets and saw MV athletes continually popping up in the sprint results, so I Googled MV and here I am."
James Morton, M50, Springfield, MA "Thanks for information, support and follow through. I will follow your suggestion and become a member."
Jim Schoffman, M50, Fridley, MN "I learned about Mass Velocity from Ken Stone's blog's last year. I'm on the email list that goes out. As usual it took me a while to sign up as a dues-paying member. There aren't many Master sprinters in Minnesota and starting a club named MINN VELOCITY wasn't an option. I do plan on going to Charlotte in August."
Vincent Kotowski

I strongly encourage all Mass Velocity members to fill out the mini-bio so we all can get to know each other better. Friends of Mass Velocity are also encouraged to fill one out. If we don't have a photo of you, please send one to me. Membership is now at 41 and growing.

---

We get visitors to the Mass Velocity Web Site from all over the United States
and the world. We now have a guest book our visitors can sign.

---

Starting with this Newsletter, we'll be wishing a "happy birthday"
to all those people whose birthday is coming up. In April it's:

	Bob Segal		Dave Westover
	Carroll Blake		Charlie Kelley
	John Polevy		Dan Maloney
	Ralph Souppa

---

Here are some photos from Roger's adventures at the
World Masters Indoor Championships at Linz, Austria:

M60 200M final, won by Steve Robbins, USA; Roger Pierce 4th

---

Here is the M60 USA gold medal 4 x 200 relay team from
the WMA Indoor meet in Linz Austria; they also broke the World Indoor record.
Time 1:44.99, or roughly 26.2 per man - not bad for 60 year old's.


1st leg pass, Paul Edens (M65) to Roger - can you believe that guy is 65!!!
The M60 team was down one relay person so they asked Paul Edens to step down and run with them since there was not enough M65's for a team


2nd leg pass, Roger to Sam Hall


Steve Robbins, racing to the finsh and the win


Left to right is Steve Robbins, Sam Hall, Roger, and Paul Edens.
They are singing the national anthem at the medal ceremony
because the audio was out and couldn't play the taped version.

Congratulations Roger - and all the guys!

---

Hopefully by now, you've had a chance to look at the photos that have already been posted on the Mass Velocity site. (If not - CLICK HERE). Here now are some perspectives.

National Masters Championships
by Charlie Kelley

Larry’s red runners took the Reggie Lewis center by storm in this 06 version of the National Masters indoor Championships. After three days and 109 events, Mass Velocity stood up for an astounding fourth place (54 points) in the male club competition and twenty sixth place (10 points) in the women’s club competition.

The event was orchestrated with the logistical perfection we have come to appreciate from Steve Vaitones and the USATF organization.

As a competitor, I was humbled by the incredible displays of sheer ability of many of the athletes. Displays of acceleration, power and form that appeared at times surrealistic. As a video on high speed, a special effect or dream-like notion of a perfection. In stark contrast to the ego maniacal, poorly behaved sports icons so prevalent in our society, these performers of extraordinary feats displayed personas of softly spoken humility, and were quick to support and mentor.

One could not help but feel part of a larger community. As one well-known 400 meter senior sprint aficionado, from the metro NY area professed with relaxed ease, “ It’s all good. “

As a red shirted freshmen student to the pursuit of masters 400 meter running, this season capping trial was an invaluable lesson in perspective. One cannot with prescience fathom the outcome of such a competition. Pouring over lists derived from flawed rankings and dubious entry times serves no practical purpose.

The existence of many intangibles and variables both direct and indirect makes this a redundant exercise. ‘There are times and there are competitions, the two are distinctly different”, rings true. Seasons in California, Mass, Minnesota, …mean very different things. We are so fortunate, here in Boston, to be able to train at Reggie, have access to clubs like Mass Velocity, to compete with rhythm at competitive events throughout the season, on world class tracks…Imagine for a moment that you live in East … and you train by yourself, on the road and have maybe one competition in a season before you come to a place like Boston …

I could not help but notice how relaxed and simple the more elite runners in this mix of age-advanced athletes approached their competitions. Much to my surprise I witnessed a fairly colloquial group: walking, jogging, napping, hanging out, doing a few strides… and then blowing the competition away. Keep it simple, that seems to be a reoccurring theme.

Mass Velocity has served to enrich our collective experience as athletes within a larger community. Providing us with a vehicle in which to share these hugely rewarding competitive experiences. The heartfelt support and mentorship, the team camaraderie, the group exaltation at the moment of perceived excellence, has all been evident throughout the season and at its culmination. It is truly a privilege to be part of such a dynamic community of master’s athletes. Congratulations to all !

Reflections on the 2006 Indoor Nationals
by Larry Libow

As I headed West on the Mass Pike on Sunday afternoon towards the conclusion of the Indoor Nationals I started thinking about what appeared to be a disappointing meet for me. We all participate in a sport where success or failure is calculated down to a hundredth of a second. Based on the empirical evidence of the fully automatic timing system, I was upset with my performances. I was truly expecting to run personal bests in both the 60m and 200m and I wasn't close - not by a long shot.

However as my trip home gave me more time to reflect, I began to realize that times are not always the determining factor of a good or bad meet and by the time I reached home it was crystal clear that this was the best meet I have ever competed in and one of the best weekends in my life.

I am relatively new to Masters Track & Field. I had been to some local all-comers meets over the past ten years but never realized there was an entire world of Masters competition. Shortly after I turned 50 I headed out to the Massachusetts Senior Games where I competed in a 100m event (with no preparation and was sore for weeks afterwards) and that's where I met Bob Marchetti. He introduced me to Masters Track & Field and about 9 months later I entered the 2003 Indoor Nationals in Boston.

I figured I'd probably meet the same sort of guys I had run against locally. Boy, was I in for a surprise! But beyond quickly learning that the Nationals are not for mere mortals, besides Bob, I knew no one and felt quite alone and totally out of place.

Flash three years forward. I'm still just a man walking amongst the gods but this time it was much different. Many people I don't know apparently know me. Wherever I go, someone's shouting out a hello to me. There are Mass Velocity uniforms and Mass Velocity people all over the place. Strangers tell me how much they like the web site, or the club name or the new logo and members all tell me how much they enjoy being with Mass Velocity.

Out on the floor, Mass Velocity International Goodwill Ambassador, Roger Pierce, introduces me to guys like Peter Crombie and other great runners. I actually introduce myself to Bill Collins and he knows about Mass Velocity, loves the web site and gives me his e-mail address so he can become part of our on-line community.

I had planned on coming to the Nationals, regardless of my running ability or ability to run. The Sunday before Nationals many of you saw me at the USATF-Connecticut meet at Yale. I ran in the 60m heat and final and would have run the 200m except I left that amazingly awful meet (that's another story) so I could compete in the meet at Smith College later that same day. At Smith I ran the best 55m of my Masters career only to do something to my already sore knee as I crossed the finish line.

So, with the Nationals only 6 days away I'm using a cane to painfully limp around. My ability to run the 60m event on Saturday morning is nothing short of amazing considering I stopped using the cane on Wednesday and wasn't able to jog until Friday. I fully expected to re-injure my knee even worse but somehow I ran the 60m on Saturday and the 200m on Sunday. They were some of my worst times but I enjoyed that meet more than any other.

Your friendship and concern was overwhelming. I didn't score a point for the team but I actually felt like I was a part of it - that we were all a big part of the team's success. Next year, with a larger team and everyone getting their affiliation in order, I expect Mass Velocity to be one of the top three clubs. Can't wait!

Next conquest for Mass Velocity: The Penn Relays. We have had an amazing response from so many people wishing to compete for Mass Velocity at Penn that it became awfully difficult to make decisions about relay team members. I worked hard to be fair to everyone. Our application for 6 teams and 5 individual 100s is on it's way to the Penn Masters officials who will decide who gets invited. As soon as I hear I will let everyone know. Here are the teams we submitted:

40+
4x400m
1) Dave Neumann
2) Terrence Haynes
3) Charlie Kelley
4) Carroll Blake

50+

4x100m	4x100m
A-Relay 1) Greg McBride 2) Lee Hess 3) Carroll Blake 4) Jeff Elliot A) Ralph Souppa	B-Relay 1) Dave Westover 2) Tucker Taft 3) Tom Cunningham 4) Charlie Kelly A) James Morton
4x400m	4x400m
A-Relay 1) Carroll Blake 2) James Morton 3) Greg McBride 4) Charlie Kelly A) Lee Hess	B-Relay 1) Tucker Taft 2) Tom Cunningham 3) Ralph Souppa 4) Jeff Elliot A) Dave Westover

60+
4x100m
1) Roger Pierce
2) Warren Graff
3) Sam Hall
4) Matt Pruitt
A) Larry Barnum

4x400m
1) Roger Pierce
2) Warren Graff
3) Matt Pruitt
4) Larry Barnum
A) Sam Hall

That's it for this Newsletter. As always, you can expect mid-month missives. I would love to get some new submissions for our "False Starts" section or any other aspect of Masters track and field you'd like to share with nearly 80 people on our e-mailing list and hundreds of visitors to the site every month. Please send photos - of yourself (if you have a "photo unavailable" next to your name - of any track meet, and send in your Mini-Bios.

Year Two of Mass Velocity will be very exciting as our club grows and to paraphrase, "there's no I in club!" Stay healthy and I'll see you out on the track.

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.