By Elliott Denman

PHILADELPHIA - Penn Relays officials weren't as fast as the senior member of the competition cast of the venerable track and field carnival that closed out its 126th year just after 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, at historic Franklin Field.

The official Penn Relays program is 160 pages thick, 80 pages on every team and individual entry, and schedule item, in the three-day 2022 meet; then 80 pages more devoted to the records set in every race on the card, from Harvard's 4x440 yards relay win in 1895, to the array of winners in 2019, when the meet was last held in full fashion, and before the pandemic erased the 2020 meet and the 2021 event was held as a strictly-limited localized event for nearby colleges.

But nowhere did that program list records in the Masters division, those events, individual races and relays, for the stalwart men and women racers age 40 and over, who love running at Penn just as much as all the youngsters.

And that's why, when Lester Wright Senior of Long Branch, representing Shore Athletic Club, crossed the finish line of the men's 80-and-up 100-meter dash in 26.34 seconds about 1:30 p.m. 
on Saturday, one day after his 100th birthday, the fuller magnitude of the achievement was not made clear to all on the premises.

Sure he earned loud rounds of applause from the nation's biggest track meet audience -specially so when his 26.34-second performance earned seventh place over-all in a nine-man field, and the two he beat were mere lads of 86 and 92.  Over-all winner was Bob Williamson of the Potomac Valley Track Club, age 84, in 17.33, but Mr. Wright was within striking distance of two others, age 85 and 84, who ran 24.17 and 26.11.

Not until sometime Sunday did he get verification of the quality of his performance - it was world record! Nothing about it had been announced to the Franklin Field audience.  

One day after his race, by now safely home in Long Branch, he finally was told he had set a world record.

The charts were belatedly consulted.   And they showed that the accepted world 100-meter record by a man age 100 to 104 was 26.95, and had been set by a Californian, Donald Pellmann, at San Diego on Sept. 20, 2015.

Mr. Wright had slashed the world record by all of 0.61 seconds, a very long span of time in track and field terms,

"Amazing, amazing, amazing," said his delighted teammates and lots more.

Well, what's next for Mr. Wright?

"I'd like to take a crack at the (M100) 200 and 400-meter records, too, sometime soon," he said. The M100 200-meter world record is 1:17.59 and was set by South Africa's Philip Rabinowitz in 2004.  The M100 400-meter world record is 3:41.00 and was set by Austria's Erwin Jaskulski in 2003.

Shore AC officials were quick to say they'd try to plan record-attempt races at the 36th annual NJ International Meet/National Club Championships, which they are organizing for July 1-2 at Monmouth University's Joe Compagni Track.

May 2, 2022
By: Harry Nolan 
 
A group of Shore A.C. master’s runners had one of the club’s best years
at the 2022 edition of the famed Penn Relays.  Headed by the men’s 60’s
4 x 400 winning relay and Michael Kish’s outstanding performance in men’s
70’s 100 Meter Dash, the club collected a total of nineteen medals, 15 gold
and 4 silver, along with a number of the famed Penn Relays Wheels over a three
day period.
 
The action began on Thursday, April 28 with the master’s men’s 100 meter
dash series.  Long time club member Michael Kish, running in the 70’s division
had his usual fast start, and out legged all other runners breaking the tape in
13.47.  Michael returned to the track a half an hour later and teamed with
club members Rick Lapp, Dave Gritz and Keith McQuitter in the masters
60’s 4 x 100.  Seven teams toed the line, with the Shore unit just getting nipped by
the Mass Velocity Track M65 team 55.23 to 56.65, but still winning the M60
division for the relay. 
 
On Friday, April 29th, it was the clubs 400 meter runners lining up for a
series of 4 x 400 relays.  The action began with men’s combined 60’s and
70’s race, with the club having one 60’s entry and two 70’s entries.  With
a crowded field of 14 teams, the competition was fierce.  However, lead off
man Bill Hughes moved out quick for the 60’s team and had a slight lead
when handing off to 400-800 star Bob Andrews.  Bob, relying on his many years
of running at Penn increased the lead, and handed off to Scott Linnell.  Known
more as a long distance runner, Scott ran a smart race not losing any ground,
and passed the baton to anchor man Keith McQuitter.  Flying down the backstretch, Keith used his sprint speed to maintain the lead and break
the tape in 4:37.82. 
 
 
Back a few  places, the clubs 70’s “A” team was having its own battle
with both the other 70’s teams, along with some 60’s teams.  Tony
Plaster, one of the nations top 800 meter runners led off for the team,
maintaining good position among a number of younger runners.  Spider
Rossiter took the baton for the second leg, and used his easy stride to
maintain the team’s position and handed off to Harry Nolan for the third
leg.  Nolan, running in his 55th Penn Relays, made up 15 yards on one of
the 60’s teams before handing off to Rick Lapp.  One of the top 400 meter
runners in the country, Rick moved out quickly, picking up one runner
down the backstretch and bringing the team home in 6th place, but
with the team winning the 70’s division race in 5:04.23.  This same team
also won the Millrose Games 70’s 4 x 400 Relay back in January, scoring
double header wins.
 
Also in this race was the Shore A.C. 70’s “B” team consisting of Ivan Black,
Rob O’Rourke, Tom Delisa, and John Kuhi.  Ivan, lined up next to Tony Plaster,
went out fast behind his teammate, and delivered a solid 400 leg.  Distance
men O’Rourke and Delisa showed that the also have some speed, and kept
the team in contention for a medal.  The long time veteran Kuhi brought
the team home, earning a second place in the 70’s team division in 7:07.59.
Having run a Penn for many years, it was a first medal for both Kuhi and
O’Rourke.
 
Next up was the men’s age 50’s race, with the club having one team entry.
Leading off in a quick 400 was Greg Calhoun.  Handing off in third place,
distance runner Chris Rinaldi cruised around the 400 oval battling some top
400 meter runners.  New club members Paul Henry and Pat Keefe distinguished
themselves with two strong legs.  The club landed a solid 6th place in
4:30.07.
 
One other shore area team having a good day was in the women’s 4 x 400
40 and over relay.  The Bella N Motion team out of Manasquan ran head
to head with the Central Park Track Club until anchor leg and team captain
Diane DeOliveira turned on the steam down the backstretch to win the event
in 4:44.35.  Teammates Karen Carlton, Kim Nielson and Yulady Saluti stayed
with the leaders throughout the race.
 
On Saturday, April 30th, it was the special 100 meter dash for men 85 and
over.  The club lone entry was Mr. Lester Wright Sr., who had turned 100
years old the day before his race.  Running against seven other gentlemen
ages 82 to 85, Mr. Wright held his own, clocking a very respectable 26.34,
finishing to cheers of the entire stand of spectators.  That time is now a
pending world record for the 100 and over division.
 
After a generally cold and windy April, the sun did come out with warmer
weather for most of the days of the Penn Relay events.  But as most of the
teams runners agreed, good or bad weather, it was great to be back at
the relays after a two year absence.

On Sunday, May 1, 2022 Monmouth University honored Coach Joe's 24 years of dedication and success as their Director of Track & Field and Cross Country/Head Coach. The program was under his leadership from 1995 - 2019 and during that time Coach Joe was named NEC and MAAC Conference Coach of the Year 58 times and NCAA Regional Coach of the Year 8 times. Read his full resume of career highlights, which now sits on statue right outside the entrance into Monmouth University's Kessler Stadium. Congratulations to Coach Joe for the countless lives he has influenced and continues to do so! 

By Marc Bloom
For most runners, serious training is based on hard physiological principles, time-tested theory, sacred understanding of stress and recovery and treasured concepts from the sages passed down through the ages. We runners take pride in tossing around fancy terms like “lactate threshold” and typically monitor our efforts in percentage of “max.” There’s nothing wrong with that, but when I set about training for the recent USA Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships at the New York Armory, I chose a different approach.
I used the “Blossom” Training System. You’ve heard of Lydiard, Cerutty, Bowerman, Daniels — the namesakes of various methodology runners and coaches have come to rely on. But, Blossom? Blossom was my nickname on the high school track and cross-country team in early 1960s Brooklyn. Y’know… Bloom… Blossom.
Like any shrewd coach, ours, at Sheepshead Bay High School, had nicknames for us. One guy was called “Goose” because of his long neck. Another, our best distance runner, was called, “The Animal.” He did crazy things like run on his own on weekends. Another boy, whose first name was “Lane,” was anointed “Boulevard.”
Team members took pride in their monikers. Not me. Blossom seemed too delicate for my taste. And when the coach, while I competed at the Armory, would call to me, “C’mon, Bloom… Blossom!” and I never would, this letdown became my calling card.
In a way, Blossom doomed my high school career, and the memory of that has never been far from my psyche in a lifetime of adult running. While proud of running into my 70s, I’ve never really measured up to racing goals I set for myself. When the 2022 masters event was awarded to my old stomping grounds — the illustrious Armory in the Washington Heights section of upper Manhattan — I decided to take a crack, perhaps one final crack at 75, at making up for my own ignominious version of a misspent youth.
Since all the many training approaches I’d tried in 50 years of running had not produced the results I wanted, I decided to look for something new. But I realized there was nothing new based on science, especially for someone of my age. My training adventure would have to come from a different, more creative realm — the realm of art.
When you think about it, even the most science-driven training has some element of art to it. But what does that mean, “art” in training? I considered it as a free-flowing, no rules, perhaps audacious attempt to push the envelope, without regard to what I was “supposed” to do, but what felt more intuitive, right for that moment. If you’re going to throw out the rulebook, 75 seemed like a good age to start. 
The Blossom Training System would be counter-intuitive above all else.
The more I thought more about it, I wondered if the high-level training that we often hear about has become a tad too programmed and could use more contrariness in the striving for success. Perhaps all the fuzzy math and inflated importance of what I would consider flawed laboratory studies have detracted from what might be considered faithful old school: go with your gut.
I went with my gut. I had valuable personal antecedent for my new creation: experience working with teenagers, where “art” more than anything plays a critical role. As a young man, when I got out of college, I did some teaching in a New York middle-school. I knew my subject, English and creative writing, but the first semester the kids buried me. I flunked classroom management. I was like Sidney Poitier starting out with a class of roughnecks in “To Sir, With Love.”
With youngsters, you can throw out your resume. Poitier’s character realized that, revamped his approach and succeeded. I would too, and this artistic sensibility would serve me well in my later high school coaching years. It seemed that whenever I confronted a challenging task, a tapestry of “rich and royal hue,” as Carole King sang it, would play some role in a positive outcome.
USATF MASTERS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ON-DEMAND VIDEOS (+PLUS subscription required)
My event at nationals would be the 3,000 meters, 15 laps around the Armory’s banked, 200-meter track. At 75, I would race in the 75-79 age-group. Gentlemen runners would come in from all over the country. No matter how fit I might get, I knew I could not take anything for granted. I’d run one USA masters indoor meet about a decade earlier, in Landover, Maryland, competing in the 3,000 and mile on successive days, earning a bronze medal in the former.
But that was Maryland. I wanted the Armory. The Armory was Broadway: indeed, it was situated one block from Broadway, on 168th Street, about six miles north of the Theatre District. After all these years, I craved my pound of flesh.
In high school I ran the 440 yards — the “quarter” — and mile relays. I never came close to winning anything. My experience at the Armory was one of fear, getting my stuff stolen, dropped batons, vomiting after races and late nights. Oftentimes, I felt I should have taken friends’ advice and joined the school bowling team instead. In junior leagues at the local alleys, I shot several big scores, collecting one trophy after another.
My take at the Armory: zilch.
I decided that Blossom would have to be an all-or-nothing approach. Simply put, I would run as hard as I could as often as I could, convention — and age — be damned. My greatest asset was consistency. I never missed time for injury and had built a huge base to work off. For 10 weeks — January, February and half of March leading into the March 18 race — I would adhere to pretty much the same menu of strenuous workouts I’d dished out to those I’d coached who were young enough to be my grandchildren: short and long repeats, tempo runs, hills, an occasional long run and various combinations to get the greatest bang for my buck every time out. I live in Princeton. N.J. and would use the University facilities as always: the outdoor track, turf fields, nearby dirt trails, a treadmill at my gym and hilly roads through and near campus. 
My only plan was: what could I accomplish today, and how fast could I recover for the next hard one. All workouts would be preceded by a 20-25 minute warm-up with stretching and 5 x 100 striders, and end with a 10-15 minute cool-down, stretching and striders. My attempt to test the limits of a 75-year-old runner steeped in holding onto the avidity of youth, went like this:
Tempo Workouts:
-- 3 miles on the track in 23 minutes, 7:40 mile pace, plus 4 x 40-second sprints on a turf field.
-- 15 laps of an approximate 350-meter turf field, average 1:45 per lap, about 26 minutes, a little more than 5k.
-- 5-miler on hilly road course in 38:30.
-- Continuous circuits of l lap each of track and two turf fields for 45 minutes, 8:15 to 8:30 mile pace.
Repetition Workouts:
-- 10 x 300 meters on the track with 90-second jog recovery, average 73 seconds; jog 5 minutes; then 2k on the track in 9:30.
-- 3 sets of l, 2, 3 and 4 laps around 350-meter turf field, 90-second recovery between runs, 3-minute recovery between sets, from 1:30 to 1:45 per lap, total 30 laps, a little more than a 10k.
-- 2k on dirt trail in 9 minutes, 2-minute recovery; 2 x 1k in 4:20 each with 90-second recovery.
Hill Workouts:
-- 10 x approximate 2-minute road hill, jog back down for recovery, times from 1:55 to 1:45.
-- At nearby park, 10 x steep 40-second grass hill, jog down; 5 x steep 80-second grass hill, jog down; 4 x moderate 60-second road hill, jog back to start.
Treadmill Workouts:
-- 5 x 30 seconds in 6:40 to 6:20 pace with 90-second recovery; jog 5 minutes; 10 minutes from 7:08 to 6:44 pace; jog 5 minutes; 5 x 45 seconds in 6:20 to 6:10 pace with 75-second recovery.
-- 5 x 30 seconds in 6:40 to 6:20 pace with 90-second recovery; jog 5 minutes; 4 x 3:30 with 2:30 recovery like this: 1st rep: 7:08 to 6:58; 2nd rep: 7:03 to 6:53; 3rd rep: 6:58 to 6:49; 4th rep: 6:53 to 6:44; jog 5 minutes; 3 x 2 minutes at 6:40, 6:35, 6:30, with equal recovery; jog a few minutes; 4 x 1 minute from 6:30 to 6:18 with 90-second recovery.
LSD Workouts:
-- Conversational pace for 80 to 90 minutes, done once a month.
Recovery Workouts:
-- On the one or two days’ break between workouts, I did: 1 hour lap swimming/pool running; or 1 hour jog; or weight training, mostly upper body, plus box jumps and jumping rope.
Last Workout One Week Prior to Race:
-- Ladder on the track: 200, 300, 400, 600, 800, 600, 400, 300, 200, 2 x 100, total 4k.
Times: 47, 75, 1:40, 2:37, 3:34, 2:35, 1:39, 73, 46, 21, 20.
I felt good, strong… complete. My recuperative powers had shone through. At 75, I had defied conventional wisdom with operatic thunder and survived.
Bring on the Armory!
Race day was a Friday, opening day of the three-day championships, being held at the Armory for the first time. Warming up on the sidewalks, weaving through employees on lunch break from the massive New York-Presbyterian hospital complex across the street and resident Dominicans doing their weekend shopping for tostones and pollo guisado, I felt jitters. I told myself, you’re 75, who cares? But I’ve always been my own toughest critic; I feared harsh judgement if I didn’t run well. Plus: look at all that work I’d put in.
Inside, on the warm-up straightaway below track level for sprinters, I practiced deep breathing and used visualization after doing my final striders. I told myself, go out slow, you’ve got 15 laps, don’t be rash. Start with a controlled first 1,000 meters, then try and race with unrelenting gusto like the high school kids had done the week before.
The prior weekend, the New Balance high school nationals at the Armory were a blizzard of dazzling performances, led by the incomparable runners from Newbury Park High School in southern California. The Panthers boasted four runners — two sets of brothers — whose individual PRs averaged close to a 4-minute mile. Their 4xMile relay team shattered the all-time high school record by 32 seconds in 16:29.31.
I could take a bit of proprietary pride in that. Soon after high school, in the mid-1960s, I started covering Armory meets for The New York Times and other newspapers while compiling stats and records and publishing annual performers’ lists, elevating the sport’s profile. In the late ‘80s, my Times Op-Ed column on a seemingly intractable dispute at the Armory, where meets then shared space with a city homeless population, caught the eye of Dr. Norb Sander, the 1974 New York City Marathon winner and athletes’ advocate. Sander sprang into action and went on to create the new Armory — the world-famous track palace that exists today. A journalism award of mine hangs in the media room a few feet from the state-of-the-art Mondo track.
But none of that mattered as I stepped to the start and took my last sips of water. Officials combined the 70-74, 75-79 and 80-84 groups. There were nine men in the field. Each five-year age-group would be scored separately. The overall winner was a foregone conclusion: Nolan Shaheed, 72, of California, who has set at least 18 American and world age records from the 800 to the 3,000. Shaheed’s records included world 60-64 marks in the 800, 2:05.56, and 1500, 4:24.00. He’s 5-foot-9 and 125 pounds and eats like a bird. I’m 5-9 and 145 pounds and never refuse seconds.
Shaheed is also renowned in his profession as a trumpet player who has worked with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Count Basie, Marvin Gaye to Stevie Wonder to Ray Charles. The man is one cool cat, and at the crack of the gun he shot out to let you know who was boss. Two other 70 guys trailed him. In masters racing, you wear not only your race number on the front of your jersey but the number of your age-group on the back so opponents can identify you.
A pair of 75 runners darted out ahead of me. I knew them both. One told me before the race that he was not in shape and “training for outdoors.” He did look a little heavy. The other was over 6 feet, reed thin and a national-class runner in his salad days. He and I both ran for Shore Athletic Club of New Jersey.
Based on my training, I thought I could run 7-minute pace if I had to; but this was no time trial, I had to race people. Small field, runners long in the tooth and short of stride, grooving to Motown in their retirement communities — is that an “oh please” I hear from the Tik Tok crowd? Don’t knock it — we’re no less hungry or guileful or “serious” than you young colts, only slower. And we’ve gone some ways at “defeating” age, or at least aging, so that when your time comes you’ll know it can be done. None of us sits on the couch for very long.
As I passed my out-of-shape rival after a lap, he graciously called out, “Go, Marc,” and I hastened to gradually pull up to my club-mate in another lap, sitting behind a man who had six inches on me as though I were drafting from the wind. I told myself, sit tight, move after 1k. 
I brushed by him at that precise point, after five laps. He offered little resistance and I pulled away feeling inspired and boundless with all those solid workouts in my system, one after another, a deserved accrual like that of a chef who’s been in the kitchen all day and is poised to plate.
My '75' comrades fell further back and, realizing I could win, started to enjoy myself. Racing at the Armory and enjoying it: that’s what I wanted all along. No fear, no stolen gear, no vomiting. I decided to maintain pace, preserve the victory if I could, and coast untroubled to the finish. Oh, the joy, the bliss… so this is how winning feels! 
I crossed the line in 14:04.99 to triumph by 53 seconds, defeating my three opponents plus two from the 70 group, and become national 75-79 champion. My three-month odyssey was over. I didn’t drop the baton.
After jogging it off, I embraced Shaheen, the 70-74 winner, in 12:24.40, while putting out little more than a training effort, and we shared some laughs and talked about the music legends he’d known. Comparing notes on the late Sam Cooke whom we both cherished, I thought of Cooke’s most enduring tune, “A Change is Gonna Come.”
I walked out of the Armory and into the Heights clutching my USA national champion patch and feeling a rare glow. Friday night had arrived and Latin music could be heard from the street corners of Broadway. It had been a warm late-winter day, spring was in the air and the stirrings of life were about to blossom. 

Marc Bloom is a talented writer and teammate of The Shore Athletic Club. His article was originally published on RunnerSpace.
Link to the original article here

By SAM ALLEN

Last month, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to compete with the greatest racewalkers in the world. Representing the USA, I competed in the 20km distance at the 2022 Racewalking Team World Championships in Muscat, Oman. Coming into the race, I knew that Team USA would be towards the back of the field. Most of the front runners have personal bests nearly 10 minutes faster than my personal best. Seeing as I was the top seeded American in the 20km race, I was very unlikely that any of us would be contending with the lead pack. With all this being said, I didn’t let the challenge deter me, and I planned to race smart and focus on a race that I could be proud of.

The Racewalking World Team Championships were just a month after the Team USA trials for the event where I shaved 7 minutes off my personal best to cement my place on Team USA with a time of 1:30:43. The Team USA trials gave me a lot of confidence in my fitness. My training had been going really well up to the race. I knew that getting the team standard of 1:34:00 was going to be easy for me, but I didn’t expect to walk sub-1:31:00. I felt very comfortable during the first half of the race and was pacing well with a large group of walkers. Around 12km, I made my move, dropping a 4:22 kilometer split and left the pack. I never looked back from that point on because I was focused on catching Tokyo Olympian Nick Christie whose pace stalled after lapping me. With only a mile to go, I had unlapped myself and was 40 seconds behind Nick and closing fast. In the end, I came up just short, finishing 10 seconds behind Nick, but I’ll also add that Nick just came off a few 35km performance the weeks prior. My coach, 20km Olympian Tim Seaman, and I were extremely happy with my performance and knew that this was just the beginning on a great season.

I couldn’t wait to race for Team USA in Oman. My training leading up to the Racewalking World Team Championships was very good. I was feeling good and had solid, consistent training weeks. A few central New York snowstorms threw some chaos into the training regime, but it was nothing I wasn’t used to while studying at Cornell University.

Racing yet another snowstorm, the day finally came for my flight out to Muscat. Upon landing in Muscat, the first thing that struck us was the beauty and hospitality of the country. The country is an oasis in a desert with trees and greenery in an otherwise barren landscape. Our hotel was right on the racecourse, so we were able to see the course the night we arrived. To our surprise, the course had a large hill, enough so that our bus had to shift to the lowest gear to get up it. Racewalking courses rarely have any elevation change and to have a hill that is 30 meters high meant that it would play a huge factor into the race.

Raceday came and I was ready. Unfortunately, the originally four-man strong team for the 20km was reduced down to just two due to flight troubles and injuries, so we were not able to field a full team. With the combination of hot conditions, 30 degrees Celsius, and a large hill that we had to traverse 10 times, our race times would be very slow. Learning from the other races before mine, it seemed like our times would be five to six minutes slower than on a flat course. My teammate, Jordan Crawford, and I planned to go out slow and come back faster in the second half of the race. I put on my USA uniform and was ready to go. 

65 athletes were in my race which was the largest and most important race I have ever been in. The gun sounded and we were off. Immediately, Jordan and I fell to the back of the field, but it was allpart of our plan. Slowly but surely, athletes started succumbing to the tough race conditions and we started pasting athletes. After the 12th km, I decided to push a littler hard and break away from Jordan and a Canadian athlete of similar ability. I surged up the hill and got away from them. However, my surge took a lot of energy out of me, and the lead I had gained on Jordan slowly started to decrease. In the end, I just held off Jordan and we finished 47th and 48th with a time of 1:39:07.

All the showcase athletes had finished and were probably in the showers by the time we had finished, but we were happy with our performances. This was Jordan and I’s first senior national team, and definitely not our last! I will be back and racing competitively with the greatest athletes in the world.

Overall, the World Team Racewalking Championships was a fantastic experience. I traveled halfway across the world to represent the USA and compete against the best athletes in the world. Maybe more important than the physical race was the great people and athletes I met. Even though they are the best athletes in the world, everyone was so friendly and humble to talk to. We all want to see each other progress and become better athletes. It goes to show how strong and great the racewalking community is. This race was my first taste of international competition, and it won’t be my last! 
.
.
​.
A letter from Elliott Denman:

(All of Sam's Shore AC teammates share his pride in qualifying for his very first USA international team and performing so tremendously well in this biggest race of his life..  Just turning 20 on  May 2 and completing his sophomore year at Cornell University, Sam has a world of promise and many even greater things ahead in his racewalking future !!  He was a member of the track and cross country teams at Kingsway High School but has found his true niche in the sport as a racewalker. !!   Rising through the racewalking ranks, too,
is his younger brother, Ryan, already a star in the National Junior ranks and the national scholastic racewalking champion.  

Shore AC teammate Michael Mannozzi was also a member of the USA team in Oman, placing 51st in the 35-kilometer event.  However, SAC's Erin Taylor-Talcott had difficulties in the tough condtions and DNFed in the women's 35K event and A.J. Gruttadauro slated to compete in the men's 20k had travel problems.)  (Elliott Denman)

Left to right - Leslie Nowicki, Susan Stirrat, Alexandra Marzulla, Suzanne La Burt and Alysia Puma.

​Read the full story and see results

Read more about the Syracuse Half Marathon and the Spring Distance Classic 15K. Thank you to all our members who dedicated the weekend to compete for the Shore Athletic Club. Your dedication is appreciated and your success is very exciting!! Way to kickoff 2022! 

NEW YORK - Three days and hundreds of events in every age bracket from 25-29 to infinity.
 
    Yes, the USA Track and Field Masters Indoor National Championships, staged Friday-Saturday-Sunday, March 18-19-20, at The New Balance Armory Track and Field Center, had something for everybody.
 
    And an array of Shore Athletic Club member-athletes took full advantage of the meet coming - well, just about - to their backyard by racking up lots of medals, championship patches and national team points.  All while having a great time enjoying the sport they love and competing against friendly rivals assembled from all over the nation, and a pack of international athletes, as well.
 
     Just ask Shore AC teammates "Neni" Lewis, Ana Irrizarry, Sherry Brosnahan, Rick Lapp, Dr. Ivan Black, Michael Kish, John McDonald, George Alexandris, Pat Toland, Barry Blake, Marc Bloom and William (Bill) Forlenza, for starters.
 
    They're all National Masters champions now!  And for  Neni, Sherry, Rick, Ivan, Michael, Pat and Barry, they are repeat National Masters champions in their assorted categories.
 
   Joining them as National Masters scorers were SAC teammates were Dave Friedman, Ira Wolfe, Tony Plaster, Carl Huff, and Spider Rossiter. 
 
      Yes, and even a fellow named Elliott Denman.
 
     Joining in the three-day fray, as well, were John Kuhi, Matt Wallack and Herbie Medina.
 
     All told, they registered  115 points on the men's side (to rank 6th in the nation) and  75 on the women's side (11th in the nation) for a total of 190 points to rank 8th over-all in America. There were 73 scoring men's teams in the meet and 39 in the women's. Friendly rivals from Potomac Valley, SoCal and Greater Philadelphia ranked 1-2-3 on the combined scoring charts.  Top six scored in each event (on an 8-6-4-3-2-1 basis.)  
   (Note: All this scoring may be subject to review.
 
   National Masters Hall of Famer/Shore AC Hall of Famer "Neni" Lewis, now competing in the W60 bracket, again was brilliant, taking home golds in the shot put (9.60 meters), weight throw (16.16) and super weight (10.52.)   All this coming off some injuries and health concerns.
 
     Brilliant in her Shore AC debut was Ana Irizarry in the W40 category.  Her 9.02 win in the 60 hurdles set an American record and she added a win in the high jump (1.40), 2nds in the shot put (12.60) plus a 3rd in the 60 (8.08) and a fourth in the 200 (26.83)  Way to go, Ana !!
 
    After a few years on the inactive/sabbatical list, past National 40K racewalking champion and US Masters record-breaker Sherry Brosnahan made a brilliant return to the Shore AC lineup.  Competing in W70, Sherry took gold medals in the 1-mile (11:14.63) and 3000-meter (22:53.96) racewalks, then was 6th in the shot put (4.52.)
 
     Rick Lapp, as ever, was busy all over the Armory.  He won the M70 long jump (4.09) and triple jump (8.48), ran 2nd in the 60 hurdles (11.0), 5th in the 400 (1:10.26) and 7th in the 200 (31.86.)

       Michael Kish was again brilliant in the M70 sprints, racing to double golds in the 60 (8.41) and 200 (28.07), after a 27.85 prelim,
 
       John MacDonald was crowned as the speediest M85 200 man in the nation, with a decisive 42.08 victory.
 
      Dr. Ivan Black and Dave Friedman were hugely busy, as well.   For beginners, they battled it out in the M70 pentathlon, and Ivan won all five individual events for a winning score of 2,521 points, as Dave snared second at 953.   Ivan then focused on his individual events and won the M70 high jump at 1.25, was second in the long jump (3.60) and triple jump (8.34) and 4th in the 60 hurdles (13.12.) Dave added a 2nd in the M70 HJ at 1.00. 
 
       Finding new energy, Lapp, Black and Friedman joined Spider Rossiter in a pair of relays, placing second in the M70 4x200 (2:25.15) and 4x800 (14:19.07.) Spider clocked a 1:12.08 in the M70 800, too.
 
    Pat Toland, a brilliant football player and an NFL candidate at one point, continued celebrating his weight-event talents, with a win in the M55 shot put (13.94) and 2nds in the weight throw (16.83) and super weight (8.02.)
 
      Famed track and field journalist and coach Marc Bloom marked his new status in the M75 division by winning the 3,000 meters in 14:04.99.   Barry Blake won the M65 3000 racewalk (22:16.73) a day after placing 2nd in the 1-mile walk (11:31.74.)   Of course, these are relative sprints to him – Barry is a past Masters 50K (31.1.-mile) champion,
 
     The Masters movement now stresses inclusivity and thus action lists full events in the M/W 25-29 and 30-34 brackets. George Alexandris, who'd been the NCAA Division III LJ champion for Montclair State with a 26-plus leap, and now coaches at Fair Lawn HS, continues proving his fitness and thus won the M25 LJ at 6.64 and ran 3rd in the 60 (7.21.)

    Yet another Shore AC winner was William (Bill) Forlenza in the M65 shot put at 12.46. But for some unknown reason, he wasn't listed for the club in official scoring results.
 
    Another former Montclair State luminary, Ira Wolfe tossed an 8.41 for 4th in the M75 shot put.   Tony Plaster raced 2:52.73 for 5th in the M70 800 and 1:05.50 for 6th in the 400.  Carl Huff, once the Rutgers pole vault record-setter and now a top coach and official in the event, soared to 2.60 meters for 5th in the  M65 PV.
 
      Matt Wallack sped a 1:02.97 400 for 8th in the M55 400 and a 28.45 for 13th in the 200. Shore AC lifetime trustee John Kuhi – who has been a key member of the “new” SAC since its very beginning, and ran the 800 leg on the club’s first major triumph of “the new era,” in the DMR at the 1966 National Relay Championships, continues staying right wth it, and was 7th in the M75 800 (4:43.84.)  
 
       Herb Medina made his Shore AC debut in the M65 60, and placed 12th in 11.23.
 
      Shore AC surely would have scored lots more points and collected more medals if veteran stars Harry Nolan and Panse Geer, both entered but on the injured list, had been able to compete.
 
       Furthermore, our team score would surely have risen if teammate Hugh Sweeny had been able to get his USATF registration status for the club amended on time.  Former Princeton star Sweeny, once one of the nation's top marathoners and a high place-winner at New York, Boston, Atlantic City and other major 26.2-milers, ran 2nd in the M75 800 (3:20.13), mile (7:08.40), and 3000(14.57.84) and 4th in the 400 (1:23.53.)  But he was listed as unattached.
 
    AND THIS late-breaking bulletin:  The silver medal in the M85 shot put went to teammate Elliott Denman.  Said Denman, "my toss (4.13 meters) was extremely modest, but I was there, I gave it my best effort, probably reached a lot of decibels, scored some points, and had a lot of fun in the process. To me that's what it's all about."

---- ELLIOTT DENMAN.