Lloyd Hansen, Chair of the USATF Masters Long Distance Running (MLDR) Executive Committee, shares his update on the MLDR program, including the Masters National Grand Prix championship race series:
We want to thank those who participated and helped with the record-breaking 12k National Masters Championship, especially the New Jersey USATF Association who organized the event. As recorded by Paul Carlin, “A near perfect day for racing dawned on the Jersey Shore for the USATF Masters 12 km Championships. The first Masters LDR Championship in almost two years entertained the highest number of entries ever for a Masters LDR Road Race, 326. The field was large and fast, and three 12 km American Records were broken. Nora Cary, who ran 51:09, broke the Women’s 65-69 record by well over two minutes, and earned the highest age grade score at 97.53%. Ken Youngers clocked 45:05 to lower the Men’s 65-69 record by almost two minutes, earning the highest men’s age grade of 91.62%. Lisa Veneziano broke Joan Samuelson’s 55-59 Women’s record by 14 seconds; her 46:13 earned an age grade of 95.92%”.
“The Overall Women’s Champion was Roberta Groner, the top American woman in the Marathon at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. Groner won by two minutes in 42:14, leading her Shore Athletic Club team to the women’s 40 and up Championship. Maggie Shearer of the Cal Coast Track Club took 2nd in 44:34. In the final mile, Brock Butler pulled away from his teammate, Chris Naimoli, to win the men’s race in 39:52. Butler led a 1-2-3 sweep of the Overall Men’s race for his Greater Philadelphia Track Club to earn the 40 and up team title in the process.”
Women’s Age Division National 12 Km Champions included Roberta Groner (40-44), Karen Dunn (45-49), Perry Shoemaker (50-54), Lisa Veneziano (55-59), Nancy Simmons (60-64), Nora Cary (65-69), Jo Anne Rowland (70-74), Kathleen Davies (75-59), and Heide Moebius (80-84).
Men’s Age Division Champions included Brock Butler (40-44), Christopher Shaw (45-49), Craig Godwin (50-54), Brian Crowley (55-59), Rick Lee (60-64), Ken Youngers (65-69), Don Morrison (70-74), Dave Glass (75-59), Roland Cormier (80-84), and Everett Luoma (90 and up).
Team Championships for the 12 Km included Shore Athletic Club (W40 and up), Shore Athletic Club (W50+), Impala Racing Team (W60+), and Impala Racing Team (W70+), Greater Philadelphia Track Club (M40 and up), Freedom-Garmin Runners (M50+), Shore Athletic Club (M60+), Atlanta Track Club (M70+), and Clifton Roadrunners (M80+).
You can learn more about 12k national championship performances at http://www.runningprof.com/2021/09/overall-age-grading-championships-at.html
On October 17, we return to XC racing with the 5k Masters XC Championship at the historic Franklin Park Course in Boston, MA.
Championships have been contested on this turf for over a hundred years. Fall colors should be vibrant and it’s always a good time to discover the Freedom Trail and other sites around Boston. You can learn more about this event and register at https://usatfmasters.org/grand-prix/2021-5k-xc-champs-mngp.
On December 11, join your fellow masters runners at the largest Masters LDR event of the year — the Club XC Championships in Tallahassee, FL. This World Class course is arguably the best XC course in the US. If you have never run this course, you are really missing something. We will also be hosting the awards ceremony for the 2020/2021 Masters Grand Prix and there will be a celebration that evening for the elite and masters athletes. The host hotel for masters runners is the Hotel Indigo. They have reserved 50 rooms for the USATF group at $149.
Points for the 2020-2021 Masters National Grand Prix can be earned by running the 12k Championship and the 5k XC and there will be a special Grand Prix award ceremony on December 11th in Tallahassee following the Club Cross Championships. We also reduced the maximum races that individuals and teams can score from the normal five to two for the 2020/2021 Grand Prix because of the number of events. In total, there are four events eligible, including the two upcoming races mentioned above.
We have arguably the best schedule of events in our history with 10 Championship Road Race and XC Events in 2022. Please share the following schedule with your running club and friends. You can download a pdf file of the schedule at https://drive.google.com/file/d/13C474VrQJOYGcoNoM7MjgtCaJ08DFZlv/view?usp=sharing
- January 8 USATF XC National Championships San Diego, California
Mission Bay - February 26 USATF Masters 5k Championships Atlanta, Georgia
Publix Atlanta Marathon Weekend - March 20 USATF Masters ½ Marathon Championships Syracuse, New York
Syracuse Half Marathon - April 3 USATF Masters 10 Mile Championships Sacramento, California
SACTOWN 10 - April 24 USATF Masters 10k Championships Dedham, Massachusetts
James Joyce Ramble - Early June USATF Masters 1 Mile Championships Rochester, New York
Rochester Mile - June 29 – XC, 10k, or ½ Marathon Tampere, Finland
July 10 World Masters Athletics Championships - Sept 18 USATF Masters 12k Championships Highlands, New Jersey
By Hook or By Crook 12k - Oct 22 USATF Masters 5k XC Championships Boulder, Colorado
- Dec 10 USATF Club XC Championships San Francisco, California
Our Grand Prix scoring for 2022 will begin at the Club Cross Championships in Tallahassee on December 11, 2021 and conclude with the 5k XC Championships in Boulder, Colorado on October 22,2022. The Grand Prix awards will then be presented at the Club XC Championships in San Francisco on December 10, 2022. Earn individual and club points at each event and score your top 5. You can also learn more about these events by registering for our November 18 Ambassador call.
