% NATIONAL MASTERS NEWS IS ^ ^ The only national publication devoted exclusively to track &field and long distance running for men and women over age 30 65th Issue January, 1984 $1.50 AT 54, SISTER MARION MAKES OLYMPIC TRIALS; GREENWOOD, CLARKE NAMED TOP T&F ATHLETES Weed, LaVeck Irvine Runs Knifton Also Win Marathon In 1983 Awards Record 2:51:01 from JOAN REISS INDIANAPOLIS, December 1. Jack Greenwood, 57, of Medicine SACRAMENTO, Calif., December Lodge, Kansas, was named the 4. More than 3,000 spectators cheered wildly this crisp autumn morning as outstanding age-40-and-over male Sister Marion Irvine, the 54-year-old track and field athlete of 1983 today by the Masters Track and Field Commit "Flying Nun," became the oldest per son to ever qualify for an Olympic- tee of the Athletics Congress, the na Trials running event. tional governing body for athletics in In one of the finest athletic perfor the United States. Polly Clarke, 73, of Loveland, Col mances of the year, Irvine crossed the finish line of the first California Inter orado, was voted the top female masters performer by the group at the national Marathon in a time of 2:51:01, a bare fifteen seconds under annual TAC convention. the time of 2:51:16 required to qualify TAC National Masters T&F Chair man Jim Weed was named outstanding for the U.S. women's Olympic masters administrator of the year, Marathon Trials in Olympia, while the top 1983 masters walkers Washington, in May. were John Knifton, male, and Bev The remarkable effort took nearh LaVeck, female. nine minutes off Irvine's own women's Greenwood, the savings & loan ex age-50-and-over point-to-point U.S. ecutive, who just missed the 1948 Lon marathon record of 2:59:55. don Olympics with an injury, had one As she crossed the finish line, Irvine of the finest years in over a decade of shouted: "I did it! I did it!" Then she outstanding masters performances. let go with a piercing scream that must Competing in the age 55-59 bracket, have been heard high above the clouds. he won all five of his events (100, 200, Even though Sister Marion is well- 400, 110 hurdles and 400 hurdles) at connected to heavenly powers, many the TAC National Masters Champion felt that even she was cutting things ships in Houston in September. A week close with the narrow I5-second later, he won four world champion margin. ships out of four (100, 200, llOH, "The first 26 miles were fine," she 400H) at the World Veterans Games in said after the race, "but in the last 385 yards, I thought I'd die." Puerto Rico. In the process, he set two world age Irvine went by the 20-mile mark in 2:09 (a 6:27-per-mile pace) and follow 55-59 records: a 17.03 in the 110-meter barriers, and a 59.85 in the in ed with a 41-minute lOK(6:36 pace) for a 6:31 pace for the entire marathon. termediates. His 59.85 is considered, by some, as the finest single individual The certified course began in masters performance of all time—a Folsom, Calif., and finished at the steps record which is likely to stand for Fifty-four-yearold Sister Marion Irvine, a Dominican nun from San Rafael, California, becomes the of the State Capitol building. The in many years, as has his world record oldest person to ever qualify for an Olympic-Trials running event with a U.S. women's 50-and-over augural event was praised by par marathon record of 2:51:01 in Sacramento, California, December 4. 55.7 in the 400-hurdles at age 46 in ticipants and spectators alike, but Photo by Gene Cohn nowhere was the joy greater than when 1972. (No one in the 45-49 division has Sister Marion crossed the line. The come close to that in eleven years.) wire services picked up the story, and a His sprint times of 12.08 (100), 24.4 Mohler and Poppers Faxon Wins post-race photo of Irvine appeared in (200) and 55.7 (400), while not world newspapers all over the country. records, were the fastest in the world in 5K Road Champions National 5K X-C "We've been planning for this race the M55 age group in 1983. Bob Mohler, 42, came up from Lou Faxon, Hampton, Virginia, all year," said Irvine's training compa Greenwood has become something Houston, Texas, to take the TAC Na running in stiff winds and 40° nion, Gene Cohn, who also took the of an inspiration for many masters per tional Masters 5K RoadChampionship temperatures on a muddy course, was exclusive National Masters News photo formers by demonstrating, time and at Little Rock, Ark., on October 22. still able to come up with a 16:55 vic of Irvine crossing the finish line. again, that the body has the capability Mohler's time of 16:14.1 stood up tory in the TAC National Masters 5K While no official worW marathon of retaining speed and technical form against Georgian Ken Winn's second Cross-Country Championships. Con age-records are currently kept, the time even as the aging process takes place. place and first M45 time of 16:21.3, ditions added at least one minute to is the fastest known marathon ever run In his record 400-meter hurdle race (the and fellow TexanTom Mayfield's very performances and caused one com- by a woman over 50. Continued on page 9 Continued on page 15 Continued on page 15 Continued on page4 page 2 National Masters News January, 1984 CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS Letters to Editor 2 Gun Lap i 6 Open Mouth 8 Write On! Speaker's Comer 10 Running with 4 Marco Polo, MD 12 Address letters to: IVatlonal Masters l\ews, P.O. Box 2372, Van IVnys, CA 01404. Profile 14 NRDC 15 Masters Scene 16 WORLD GAMES "You're an ugly, old witch." list records until an event has been con Schedule 18 I missed the World Games because "You're beautiful." "You must be tested for a few years. Moreover, Half Marathon Rankings 20 of a snafu. Your superb issue all but tired you're running so slowly." "Are WA VA has recently changed many of Long Distance Results 21 put me there. Although Miguel Rivera- you training for the Olympics?" its standards. Until the Records Com Track and Field Results 24 Yeve certainly did a good job consider "You're going to die of a heart at mittees are certain ofan event'sstabili FEATURES ing the horrific circumstances, I think tack." ty, they will hold all such records in, America's Marathon 3 you would have been wrong not to "You have beautiful legs." "You abeyance — Ed.) Beverly HiUslOK 3 have enlightened everyone with the have legs like a boy." "I hear you won Masters Meet in Indy 3 complete details of what went wrong. the New York marathon." "Here 40K Race Walk ...4 I am reminded of an incident that comes the amazon." "I'm thinking of Florida lOK 4 happenelKwo days after the '48 Olym taking up nmning, when can we train KUDOS Marine Corps pic in Londofty. While riding on a train together?" "You're crazy." The National Masters News is, I Marathon 4 to Uxbridge, I found a typewritten "I hear you run 20 miles a day." "If think, one of the best things that has Book Review 2 copy of the Olympic Report. It amazed you can't think of anything better to happened to our track and field pro Masters Glossary 13 me that it was done so quickly and I do, I can put you to work." "You gram. I look forward to getting it each Mythkai Dnal Meet 17 was pleased how complete it was in don't look fat to me, so why are you month and when I do, 1 drop whatever List of Clubs 17 listing the things that had gone wrong. running?" "You look like a 14 year I'm doing and sit right down and start • Everything you would want to know old, from the back." reading it. Keep up the great work. about foul-ups was in that report; the All these remarks have come from Dave Brown National Masters lack of transportation, the inadequate men, but three cars have tried to run Whittier, California Officers meals for heavy weight wrestlers, the me down, all driven by women. lack ofjudgment in putting three burly Let's all keep smiling; As usual, I admire your time, devo Athletics Congress shot putters in the same bedroom, etc. Linda Sipprelle tion, and splendid job and contribu As I put down the report, I glanced Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic tion to keeping the Masters program TRACK & FIELD CHAIRMAN: at the cover and was astonished to alive. Jerry Donley realize that it was a 1936 report. Here it Allan Bangs 1715 Alamo Ave. was 12 years later and the same LosAnge/es; CA Colorado Springs CO 80907 mistakes were being made. Nobody WORLD RECORDS 303/635-1234 When listing the "New World and LONG DISTANCE CHAIRMAN: reads reports; everybody reads NMN. American Records" set at the World NATIONAL MASTERS NEWS Bob Boal, 121 W. Sycamore Ave., Next time we'll do better. Thanks. 65th Issue Wake Forest, NC 27587 Veterans Games, NMN failed to list Boo Morcom January, 1984 Wilmot Flat, N.H. those individuals who won the 1(X)and TRACK & FIELD RECORDS: 80-meter hurdles.