May, 2006

Friends & Fellow Sprinters:

The big story in this month's Newsletter is Mass Velocity at the Penn Relays. As you'll read below, those who went had a great experience. I think that much like 2005 Penn was a watermark moment as the official debut for our club, this year's Penn will be seen as the time when we realized that we have actually created great track club.

Some statistics - there are now 85 names on our e-mailing list. We have 44 actual members of the Mass Velocity Track Club. And you folks are not the only ones visiting our web site. Over the past four months we have had an average of 1071 visits per month, of which 516 are unique visitors!

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During April we added the following people as club members:

Brady Mayer, M50, Hudson, MA "Thank you for your warm welcome. I heard about Mass Velocity while I was at the Indoor Nationals at Reggie Lewis."

Kevin Gleason, M40, Holland, MA "Do you train with anyone? I would like to find some club members to train with." *More on this later in the Newsletter

Rob Porcaro, M50, Medfield, MA "I've enjoyed reading the reports of the Mass Velocity guys. I am extremely impressed with what you guys are doing, in fact I'm in awe. Still sounds like fun. So at long last I've put in my membership for Mass Velocity, which I really should have done a long time ago. (The run with GBTC distracted me for a while.)"

Want to know what the times you now run would be if you were running in your prime? Try the Age-Grading Calculator for Masters using tables compiled by WAVA (World Association of Veteran Athletes). "The tables also provide each individual with a percentage value for an event, allowing them to judge their performance against the standard for their age both now, and keep track of their progress over time."

USATF MIT Mini-Meets - Held on three consecutive Wednesdays, May 17, 24, 31 starting at 6:30pm (Caution - link is to 2005 flyer)

Boston High Performance Series - Sun 5/23, Sat 5/27, Sat 6/3, Sat 6/10

Additional meets are posted on the web site at http://www.massvelocity.org/meet-out.htm

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MASS VELOCITY TEAMS

Event: 4 x 400, men 40
David Neumann , 46, Greenwich, RI
Terrence Haynes , 44, Amherst, MA
Charlie Kelly , 52, Woburn, MA
Carroll Blake , 56, Boston, MA

Event: 4 x 100, men 50 / A-Relay
Greg McBride , 51, Brocton, MA
Lee Hess , 57 New Boston, NH
Carroll Blake , 56, Boston, MA
Jeff Elliot , 50, Parkland, FL

Event: 4 x 100, men 50 / B-Relay
David Westover , 56, Keene, NH
Tucker Taft , 53, Lexington, MA
Tom Cunningham , 58, Middleton, MA
Charlie Kelly , 52, Woburn, MA

Event: 4 x 400, men 50 / A-Relay
Carroll Blake , 56, Boston, MA
James Morton , 51, Springfield, MA
Greg McBride , 51, Brocton, MA
Charlie Kelly , 52, Woburn, MA

Event: 4 x 400, men 50 / B-Relay
Tucker Taft , 53, Lexington, MA
Tom Cunningham , 58, Middleton, MA
Ralph Souppa , 59, Swampscott, MA
Jeff Elliot , 50, Parkland, FL

Event: 4 x 100, men 60
Roger Pierce, 61,  Essex, Mass.
Warren Graff, 60,  Merrimac, Mass
Sam Hall, 61,  Kannapolis, North Carolina
Mike Milove, 60,  New York

2006 RESULTS

#120 - Masters Mixed 4x100 - 50 and older
Friday 12:17 PM

Pl Time ID Affiliation/Runners
1 46.29 A Houston Elite
2 46.89 D Sprint Force America
3 48.35 C Can-Am Masters
4 49.15 G Central Park TC
5 49.81 H Mass Velocity
6 50.53 I Mass Velocity
7 50.70 E Tendonitis Athletic Club
DNF B Maryland Masters

#121 - Masters Mixed 4x100 - 60 and older
Friday 12:19 PM

Pl Time ID Affiliation/Runners
1 51.26 D Mass Velocity
2 51.30 A Maryland Masters
3 53.39 C Garden State AC

#145 - Masters Men 100m dash - 45 and older
Friday 2:55 PM

Pl Time ID Name Affiliation
1 11.42 5 Derek Holloway Maryland Masters
2 11.50 3 Tony Fulton unattached
3 11.53 1 Allan Tissenbaum Houston Elite
4 11.72 4 Eugene Vickers Maryland Masters
5 11.80 8 James Chinn Speedwest TC
6 11.90 9 Tony DiSalvo Philadelphia Masters
7 12.40 6 David Neumann - Mass Velocity
8 12.52 10 Phil Bujanski Shore AC
9 13.39 11 Malcolm Burks Newburgh Elite

#146 - Masters Men 100m dash - 50 and older
Friday 2:57 PM

Pl Time ID Name Affiliation
1 11.39 1 Oscar Peyton Maryland Masters
2 11.73 2 Kerry Smith Can-Am Masters
3 11.94 4 Tom Jones Maryland Masters
4 12.35 7 Greg Pizza Speedwest TC
5 12.43 12 John Brooks AURA International
6 12.49 8 Warren Braswell Team Ohio TC
7 12.59 9 Cochise McBride - Mass Velocity
8 13.65 3 Neville Hodge Maryland Masters
DNF 6 Herb Lynch Maryland Masters

#147 - Masters Men 100m dash - 55 and older
Friday 2:59 PM

Note: Bill Collins (11.50) establishes a new World Masters Record in the 55+ age division. The previous mark, 11.57, was set by Ron Taylor of Great Britain in 1991.

Pl Time ID Name Affiliation
1 11.50 1 Bill Collins Houston Elite
2 12.59 2 Alston Brown Central Park TC
3 12.96 6 Jerry Scriver unattached
4 12.97 3 Lloyd Hathcock Team Ohio TC
5 13.04 5 Mike Daniels Team Ohio TC
6 13.06 8 Lee Hess - Mass Velocity

#148 - Masters Men 100m dash - 60 and older
Friday 3:01 PM

Pl Time ID Name Affiliation
1 12.70 4 Ron Johnson AURA International
2 12.73 1 Robert Koontz Maryland Masters
3 12.79 2 Roger Pierce - Mass Velocity
4 12.98 6 Clarence Ray Team Ohio TC
5 13.11 7 Tony Powell unattached
6 13.30 13 Waren Graff - Mass Velocity
7 13.65 11 Paul Henry Garden State AC
DNF 9 Farah Shabazz Garden State AC

#149 - Masters Men 100m dash - 65 and older
Friday 3:03 PM

Pl Time ID Name Affiliation
1 13.07 1 Alby Williams Maryland Masters
2 13.38 9 Bobby Whilden Houston Elite
3 13.91 2 Marion Harrison Jr. Atlanta TC
4 13.95 3 Richard Camp - Mass Velocity
5 14.02 15 Dick Ocker
6 14.03 11 Bill Wright Boston TC
7 15.37 5 Irv Heath Florida Speed
8 16.05 6 Kallukkat Thomas Philadelphia Masters
9 19.79 14 Bebsie Thompson Florida AC

#154 - Masters Mixed 4x400 - 50 and older
Friday 4:20 PM

Pl Time ID Affiliation/Runners
1 3:41.66 A Houston Elite
Bill Collins, George Haywood, Horace Grant, Charles Allie
2 3:44.24 C Sprint Force America
Bob Bowen, Archie Glasby, Neil Steinberg, Frank Schirro
3 3:47.44 H Mass Velocity
Greg McBride, James Morton, Charlie Kelly, Carroll Blake
4 3:52.17 D Central Park TC
Tom Hartshorne, John Earle, Trevor King, Alston Brown
5 4:04.86 R Mass Velocity
Tucker Taft, Tom Cunningham, Ralph Souppa, Jeff Elliot
6 4:06.83 I Shore AC
Rick Lapp, Tony Plaster, Harry Nolan, Bill Clifton
7 4:23.48 K Athena TC
Michaeli Smith, Terrri Rath, Julie Hayden, Lorraine Jasper
8 4:36.41 O Garden State AC
Glen Schmehl, Farah Shabazz, Bob Fuhrman, Paul Henry
9 4:39.76 F Pineland Striders
10 4:49.51 M Central Park TC
Joe Bolster, Andrea Ostrowski, Susan Pearsall, Sue Hill
11 4:58.00 N Shore AC
Beth Zebuth, Christine Murphy, Wendy Glassman, Theresa Marciani
12 5:05.87 S Shore AC

#269 - Masters Men 4x400 - 40 and older
Saturday 5:10 PM

Pl Time ID Affiliation/Runners
1 3:26.80 A Allstar Team
Kettrell Berry, McDuffie Allen, Cornell Stephenson, Sall Allah
2 3:27.33 C Allstars
Chris Faulknor, Tim Woods, Ben James, Courtnry Muhammad
3 3:27.46 B Southweast Sprinters
Karl Smith, David Jones, Ken Travis, James Chinn
4 3:32.60 F Maryland Masters
Darnel Smith, Robert Harding, Derek Holloway, George Ridley
5 3:33.37 G Synergy TC
Clinton Aurellien, William Marshall, Howard Lindsay, David Bynoe
6 3:35.46 E 2nd Wind Allstars
Dan Weiss, Alex Young, Jim Reilly, Marc Nesbitt
7 3:39.54 K Shore AC
Pat Dolan, Gerald Pearlberg, Keith Davis, Bob Andrews
8 3:44.97 J Mass Velocity
Terrence Haynes, Charlie Kelly, David Neumann, Carroll Blake
9 3:48.18 I Phila. Athletics Charities
Chuck Shields, Russ Patton, Kevin Forde, Scott Landis
10 3:50.32 H Pineland Striders
John Shea, Jon Malpass, Kevin Doyle, Kelly Pittman

2006 REFLECTIONS

"Ten from Penn"
by
Terrence Haynes

1. "Wow---is the first relay leg stagger abnormally loooooooooooooong?"

2. "So, Springsteen plays in front of a crowd this big at EVERY stadium show?"

3. "Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now...if only I could GET THERE from HERE!"

4. "Justin Gaitlin, and his husky security guard, just walked in front of us in the staging pen!"

5. "MassVelocity has some really NICE fellas and 40-50 4x400m teammates."

6. "Captain David Neumann ran a tight ship--IN A GOOD WAY!"

7. "THANK YOU Mr. Elliot for reserving rooms at The Inn At Penn--we appreciated ours!"

8."This was a track and field experience of a LIFETIME, I believe James O. Morton agrees!"

9. "Thanks to Larry Libow for being our TRUE lead off leg in the entire Penn Relays process!"

10. "The ONLY time I heard more yelling in my lifetime--than that which occurred in the paddock area BEFORE we ran--and AFTERWARDS, was twenty seconds after arriving at U.S. Army basic training at FORT DIX!!!"

"Regarding Penn"
by
Dave Neumann

It's an amazing experience for any track fan, competing or just watching, and worth a special trip. This year's weather was gorgeous for three days. The relay fields were tremendously competitive. Last year we took fourth in the men's 40+ 4x4 (third place when Southwest was DQ'd), and our time was only two seconds better than this year when we took something like 8th.

Thanks to Carroll and Charlie who ran the 4x400 on two consecutive days to allow myself and Terrence to run. Hope we can get an all-40+ relay for next year as well as a 40+ 4x100. Maybe next year we can have an even larger Mass Velocity crowd travel to Penn as competitors and spectators. For now, its back to training.

"Penn Relays 06 - A Sophomore Engagement"
by
Charlie Kelley

The sun blazed on this early spring day in Philly. Forty nine thousand spectators filled the stands in a sea of green, gold and black. This second visit to the Penn relays was full of the grandest of expectations. Our Mass Velocity sprint club mentor had culled together a total of six relay teams (4x100/60yr, 4x400/40 yr., 4x100/50 yr.x2, and 4x400/50yr. X2) and five individual 100-meter entries across the 45,50,55 and 60 age groups. A total of sixteen competitors made their way through the paddock, resplendent in their finely tailored bright red speed suits (13 vets and 3 newbies) compared to the four timid entrants of a year earlier.

The stage was set for a match up between the overachieving freshman sprint club, that had just taken the indoor nationals by storm, and the storied masters sprint clubs that made the Penn Relays the preeminent national sprint competition it was. Could a team that scored a heap of points at the indoor nationals, field relay teams of the quality needed to medal at fabled Penn?

The result was impressive. As a measure of the club's success, if you simply counted the number of times we finished in the upper half in an event, relative to the other competing masters entities, we were in the top 20%.

The 50 yr old set, comprising the bulk of our teams depth with four teams, placed two teams in the top five (third and fifth) in the 4x400.They were beat by a world record breaking Houston Elite team and, the ever game, Sprint Force America quartet. The 50’s 4x100 teams placed a respectable fifth and sixth. Our sole 40 yr relay entry was a bit shy of 40 yr old sprinters and relied on a couple of’ more than 40’ folks to round out the team. This was apparent in the result as they were overmatched and finished a bit south of the middle of the pack, although with a respectable time. Nevertheless a team was fielded and gamely competed. This allowed a couple of guys the very cool experience of running on Saturday in the midst of cameras, tens of thousands of enthusiastic fans, and mostly much faster runners.

It is noteworthy, that all of the teams twenty-four baton passes were successful (and mostly well executed).

The entrants in the 100-meter sprints proved to be the purest of the sprinters, those gifted with the absolute speed required to compete for the medals at the top of the national heap. The qualifying standards to gain entry into this competition are lofty. Mass Velocity proudly fielded a total of six of these talented sprinters across as many age groups. All ran well and two managed to finish in the top three and four in their group.

As is customary, everyone in Jamaica came to Philly for the weekend. The alternating displays of American and Jamaican nationalism were deafening. I found the Jamaican fans to be a jovial and knowledgeable lot. They coaxed each runner along with sound advice and a good measure of volume.

I found the second time around, at the relays, to be more controlled than the first. I knew what to expect, where to go…less the Christian in the arena with the lions. Although, I must admit that when lined up in the paddock area, watching Justin Gaitlin walk by, and glancing at the other runners 10 years younger and seemingly two feet taller, I felt a bit less genetically endowed. On the track I felt a bit like a Volkswagen among Porsches, as the runners in front of me got smaller and farther away. Although in one relay I had the exhilarating experience of actually passing someone and beating him to the finish!

For the most part however I was in a kind of running limbo detached from the runner in front by an impossible distance, perhaps closing a bit, but with no real hope of catching them. Probably fairly evenly matched, but starting at different times. I felt in good form when I was running, fortunate to be out on such a perfectly sunny and mild tempered day. To be free of injury, muscle strains, and host of other possible maladies was a very fortuitous happenstance for an age-challenged sprinter at such a fantastic track event.

I found they’re to be a much-varied energy and chemistry between the members of the different relay teams that I had the pleasure of running with. On the one hand there were runners who exploded with a sense of post competition euphoria, hugging, enthusiastically stoked and very expressive. On the other was the stoic and reserved, perhaps requiring a greater result to cross them over into a more spontaneous expressive release.

I enjoyed very much sharing this larger than life experience that is the Penn relays with all the extraordinary individuals that represented the club this time around. It seems that each time we go out, there are new members sharing in the collective experience. I look forward to many more competitions with this group as we develop as a national class competitor. Congratulations to all on our great successes at the relays!

"Oh Yes!!!!!"
by
Roger Pierce

Greetings everyone. Let me say that it was very gratifying to see all the Mass Velocity folks at the Penn Relays. It was also a very warm feeling to see us all pulling together to make the most of what we had to offer as sprinters to the Masters Track Sprint Community.

We are on the track with the best in the world and they are starting to take notice. That is a warm and fuzzy feeling!!!!

From a competitor's point of view, it is difficult to watch the other age group races in which we are also competing because of the absolute CHAOS in the cattle holding pen. There is a constant roar from all the athletes as they jockey for a place to put their belongings in a totally inadequate space compounded by the fact that most of us are more than a bit concerned that whatever we place on the ground or in community piles (yeah, that makes it safer!!!) has a very good chance of not being there when our race is over and we fight our way back into the dreaded holding area. Have these people who run the Relays ever heard about temporary shelving which could be placed against the sides of the pens allowing us to use up much less space for our earthly track belongings? This could actually lower the near death experience it becomes for many of us!! I guess it just wouldn't be the Penn Relays if we didn't have to go through the cattle sheds.

I want to address the 60 year old 4 x 100 Mass Velocity Team's race. It was not an easy task to gather 4 people ancient enough to qualify for the team. In fact it was not until a few days before the race that we finalized the 4 of us. Warren Graff 60, Sam Hall 61(North Carolina), Mike Milove 60 (New York) and Myself 61. Like the rest of our teams in relays, our passes were more a "please God help us make it right," than anything. We had a few practices on the "grassy knoll" area in the back of the Stadium and voiced the obligatory, "we'll be ok" after we finished. Well, you know what?... We did do OK!!!!

I cannot use enough superlatives for these team mates who never flinched, each of whom ran exceptional legs against a very talented Maryland Masters team which was attempting to repeat their victory of last year. We just wouldn't allow that to happen, no matter how much we like and respect all of them.

Last year Sam Hall and I watched the Maryland team streak to victory from our grandstand seats and I could bearly contain myself. I wanted to be in that race and down on that track so badly I practically had to hold onto my seat to keep from leaping onto the track. The crowd was thoroughly into the race but we had to watch because on that day we were unable to find 2 other 60-year-olds.

This year however, we were there. And from the moment we were run out to our positions for the race, (we did not know what lanes we had until the gun went off ) the adrenaline was screaming through my system. As I watched Warren lead off from my 4th leg position I could see he had blasted out well and was even or better with the extremely fast Maryland lead off runner. Because of the stagger, (we were in lane 8 and Maryland was in lane 4) it was a bit difficult for me to accurately judge where we were but it became very clear that Sam Hall had taken a very good pass from Warren and proceeded to open up a sizable lead of approximately 5-7 meters. I was not surprised because both Warren and I have run on 4 World Championship Relay teams with Sam. What was surprising was the fact that I knew Sam was injured and had struggled for a few weeks to get ready for the relay and had been in doubt as little as 5 days earlier. Like Warren, he is a warrior.

Sam's pass to 3rd leg Mike Milove was very good and Mike gave it everything he had around the final turn. Mike had very short notice for this race and he was not in the condition he would have preferred to be in but he ran a courageous leg against Maryland's legendary, many time World Champion and World Record Holder, the great Larry Colbert. Although Larry is 69 years old, he is still a sprinter to be reckoned with and he managed to bring the baton into the hands of former National 100 & 200m Champion Bob Koontz about 2 meters in front.

I grabbed the stick as early in the passing zone as possible in order to stay close to Koontz and found myself flying off the turn just a slight meter behind with 100m to go. Koontz was tearing up the track and I knew this was going to be a great sprint to the finish. As we hit the straight I managed to make up most of the deficit and now we were even. The crowd had begun hooting and screaming when Maryland had taken the lead. They knew this was going to be a very close one. As Bob and I both pushed as hard as possible in an attempt to break each other, the announcer was yelling that "these men are 60 years old" and that fired up the crowd even more. All I could think of of was to stay in control and try to pull ahead. I had to win!!!!

We were stride for stride all the way past the stands and the crowd was rocking. And then, with 20m to go I felt I had an edge finally..not much but enough if I could hold it for the final 1.5 seconds. As we hit the finish we both leaned. I clenched my fists and felt we had done it but I didn't know for sure. Everyone was screaming and as I hugged Bob he said to me,"who won?" I looked at the Finish Board and it had Mass Velocity first!!!!

What a rush, and what a fantastic relay race between two very good teams. As we walked back, the rest of our team rushed over and I guess you could say they were smiling a bit...ok, a lot! That race, win or lose was what relays are all about. Four sprint team mates putting out maximum effort, relying on each other to compliment each of their strengths and weaknesses. There are fewer better feelings in track than to be involved in races like that 4 x 100. To win makes it even more glorious. I salute my my fellow relay mates.. Warren, Sam, & Mike.. Well Done!

PS - The announcer would sometimes announce Mass Velocity as Massachusetts Velocity. Doesn't have the same ring does it?!!

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Not everyone was privy to the e-mailings going back and forth between the guys who
had gone to Penn so I thought I'd share some excerpts with all of the club members.

"Many thanks to each of you who made me feel extremely comfortable and a part of the team. The comradery was quite impressive and comforting. It was a wonderful experience to run at Penn; I look forward to doing it again next year. In the meantime, I look forward to the growing friendships. Peace." James Morton

"Thanks for the opportunity to run with the team! Nice piece of running." - Charlie Kelley

"I too would like to thank you for including me in the group. It was my first experience at the Penn Relays and one that I shall never forget. Then to come home and see 500 junior high aged student athletes at our own relays on Saturday. What a weekend!!!!" - David Westover

"I am glad Roger talked me into joining this club (he must have know that AURA and Sprint Force were hounding me)." - Cochise McBride

"Thanks everybody for your support and help this weekend. We have become a strong force on and off the track." - Carroll Blake

"We are *all* glad Roger was so persuasive. It is a real thrill being part of a club with such great people and such great competitors. Larry! Thanks for fostering such a great, spirited, sprinting club." - Tucker Taft

"When I decided to join Mass Velocity, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be on the ground floor with the local club. I thoroughly appreciate your heartfelt sentiments which has the effect of making me strive to be better than I was before. I couldn't have asked for a better situation and a better group of teammates. I am committed to this club and hope to be for years to come. My heartfelt thanks to you Charlie and all the members of Mass Velocity." - Cochise McBride

"It was a fun weekend. Thank you for including me." - Jeff Elliot

"I'm still basking in the glow of being part of the winning M60 4x100. Roger came through as he has done so many times in the past, against very intense competition. Roger duked it out with Maryland Masters sprint specialist Bob Koontz and broke him with only 15-20 meters to go. You could hear the crowd doing their usual oooooOOOOOO!!!!! once they saw how close the finish was going to be." - Warren Graff

"What an amazing rush it all was." - Roger Pierce

New Mass Velocity member Kevin Gleason is going to start getting into shape and will be practicing at the new Tantasqua Regional HS track on Tuesday and Thursday nights starting around 6pm. Tantasqua High School is not far from (Sturbridge) Exit 9 on the Mass Pike. He invites anyone interested to join him. Contact Larry for more details.

He apparently has some influence in his community and has received tentative approval for using the high school track for a spring or summer challenge track meet. As a reminder, Mike Fortunato from the Albany area wrote:

"A skulk* of old sprinters gathered for an end-of-season lunch and concocted the following
challenge: that old NY sprinters should meet old NE sprinters in a challenge, sprint relay meet next spring -- and possibly every spring, if all goes well. We think we could muster up an M50 4x1, 4x2, SMR** and possibly a 4x4. We might be able to do the same in the M60 group. We ancient few know too few younger runners, but if interest warrants, we would solicit interest among our M40 junior brethren. We will also call on the very able masters women in our region and though few in number, they might be able to put together a few relay and medley teams, as well."

If there is still interest and we can come up with a date, I'd like to show those NY geezers we're up to the challenge. Can I get a few responses regarding possible dates and if Tantasqua High School is a suitable location?

You may have noticed that this Newsletter was sent to everyone with all e-mail addresses visible. Ordinarily I send the Newsletter to everyone as a BCC copy. You can copy all the addresses in the event you wish to send a mailing to everyone on the list but I ask you to use restraint and please do not pass these addresses onto anyone else.

Rather than sending e-mails back and forth, I encourage all Mass Velocity members and friends to join our Yahoo Group at http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/MassVelocity/messages. Let's try it for a discussion on the following topics:

- Practices at Tantasqua High School
- The NY Challenge track meet

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T-Shirt

I'd like some feedback on whether members would be interested in purchasing a Mass Velocity T-Shirt. It would be red with our "inverse swoosh" logo in white.
Estimated cost is $12.00. To chime in, please take a moment to fill out this form: http://www.massvelocity.org/tshirt.html

I must admit that after seeing the Penn Relay photos of everyone in their red MVTC uniforms and reading all the e-mail and reflections, I sort of felt like father who just realized that his child has grown up. We are a team and we are getting bigger, better and stronger every day. I can't express how proud I am of each and every one of you.

That's it for this Newsletter. As always, you can expect mid-month missives. Stay healthy and, knees willing, 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.