There has been a standing joke forever about “fast” women, but few people outside of the track community realize that among our senior runners are some very “fast” men who grab our attention in another way. They run themselves to American records at meets on college and university tracks from Maine to California.
Masters runners used to be 40 years old and up, but now there are competitive divisions also at 30-34 and 35-39 for younger runners that are held at masters meets. There was a reason it was set at 40, and one of the reasons is that runners like Carlos Lopes of Portugal, who won the 1984 Olympic Marathon at 37, was still doing very well near 40.
Some competitions call the 40-44 and 45-49 divisions as masters, and all divisions from 50-54 and up are considered super masters. There is even a division for 100-104, and the oldest American record holder for a running event is none other than Waldo McBurney, who set the 100-meter record by running 39.97.
You could easily call Waldo McBurney the oldest “fastest” human alive when he set his record in 2003 at age 100. McBurney also set the American record in the shot put on the same day he ran his record-setting 100 meters. McBurney is a perfect example of living your dreams.
Among the super masters from ages 50-74 with American records is Nolan Shadeed, who currently has 5 records in 3 events-the 800 meters (50-54 and 55-59), 1500 meters (55-59) and the 1 mile (50-54 and 55-59). Ray Hatton has 4 records-the 1500 meters (50-54), the 3000 meters (50-54 and 55-59) and the 10,000 meters (50-54).
Both Nolan Shadeed and Ray Hatton may continue to set records as they age and move into older divisions.
Charles Rose has 3 American records and five other runners have 2 records apiece, thus 8 runners claim 14 American records as super masters. Many older runners set records that others have since broken.
When you study these super master records from ages 50-74, you quickly realize that there is not a single American record time that is faster as the record-setters age and move up to a higher division. The effort of these record-setters feels the same, but their advancing age diminishes their record-setting times.
USA Super Master Middle Distance Outdoor Records:
Here are the male American super master (ages 50+) middle distance outdoor records as of June 1, 2008:
800 Meters:
50-54 Division – 1:58:65 by Nolan Shadeed .
55-59 Division – 2:06.83 by Nolan Shadeed
60-64 Division – 2:12.71 by Sidney Howard
65-69 Division – 2:17.20 by Frank Condon
70-74 Division – 2:26.14 by Charles Rose
1500 Meters:
50-54 Division – 4:05.80 by Ray Hatton
55-59 Division – 4:20.76 by Nolan Shadeed
60-64 Division – 4:32.09 by James Sutton
65-69 Division – 4:56.31 by Joe King
70-74 Division – 5:12.40 by Charles Rose
1 Mile:
50-54 Division – 4:25.04 by Nolan Shadeed
55-59 Division – 4:42.70 by Nolan Shadeed
60-64 Division – 4:58.20 by James Sutton
65-69 Division – 5:12.21 by Frank Condon
70-74 Division – 5:37.80 by Charles Rose
3000 Meters:
50-54 Division – 8:53.80 by Ray Hatton
55-59 Division – 9:37.88 by Ray Hatton
60-64 Division – 10:13.80 by Don Gammie
65-69 Division – 10:49.81 by Paul Heitzman
70-74 Division – 11:46.20 by Harold Chapson
5000 Meters:
50-54 Division – 15:41.67 by Mike Heffernan
55-59 Division – 16:27.10 by James O’Neil
60-64 Division – 17:19.00 by Clive Davis
65-69 Division – 18:07.04 by Joe King
70-74 Division – 18:43.61 by Warren Utes
10,000 Meters:
50-54 Division – 32:10.40 by Ray Hatton
55-59 Division – 33:00.66 by Norman Green
60-64 Division – 35:19.80 by Clive Davis
65-69 Division – 38:38.00 by Norman Bright
70-74 Division – 38:23.69 by Warren Utes
3000 Meter Steeplechase:
50-54 Division – 10:10.41 by Leonard Hill
55-59 Division – 10:59.20 by Ken Carman
2,000 Meter Steeplechase:
60-64 Division – 7:37.20 by Robert Barber
65-69 Division – 8:19.63 by Frank Haviland
70-74 Division – 8:39.25 by Gunner Linde
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley
Source by Ed Bagley
