Reality Bites for Christmas, New York Times Exposes Plight of the Unemployed

From the New York Times, December 15, 2009 comes this story.

Poll Reveals Trauma of Joblessness in U.S.

By MICHAEL LUO and MEGAN THEE-BRENAN

More than half of the nation’s unemployed workers have borrowed money from friends or relatives since losing their jobs. An equal number have cut back on doctor visits or medical treatments because they are out of work.

Almost half have suffered from depression or anxiety. About 4 in 10 parents have noticed behavioral changes in their children that they attribute to their difficulties in finding work.

Joblessness has wreaked financial and emotional havoc on the lives of many of those out of work, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll of unemployed adults, causing major life changes, mental health issues and trouble maintaining even basic necessities.

The results of the poll, which surveyed 708 unemployed adults from Dec. 5 to Dec. 10 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points, help to lay bare the depth of the trauma experienced by millions across the country who are out of work as the jobless rate hovers at 10 percent and, in particular, as the ranks of the long-term unemployed soar.

Roughly half of the respondents described the recession as a hardship that had caused fundamental changes in their lives. Generally, those who have been out of work longer reported experiencing more acute financial and emotional effects.

Full Story

Be sure to read the comments also.

Appropriate bumper sticker:

Illuminations of Christmas

Floating Christmas Trees

Fountain of Lights

Model Train Arrives at the Station

Golden Christmas Tree

Photos by Grant Overstake

Botanica Gardens in Wichita, Kansas.

Sound Body Equals Sound Mind, Study Finds

From Livescience.com comes this great blog post about the importance of fitness and exercise, particularly as we get older. Claire and I have really enjoyed our preseason workouts, written for by our personal trainer, Anna Woods.

There are lots of reasons to stay active. Beyond the obvious physical benefits, we’ve felt for a long time that the rigorous exercise helps keep us sharp mentally and happier emotionally.

Keep it moving, people!

By Charles Q. Choi, Special to LiveScience

posted: 03 December 2009 11:02 am ET

Exercise improves blood flow to the brain and may help build new brain cells, recent studies show.  Image credit: Dreamstime

A new study proves the old Roman saying, “A sound mind in a sound body” — the more fit one’s heart is, the more one’s brain seems to benefit, scientists now find.

Many earlier studies have linked physical exercise with brainpower in humans and animals, but most of the research in people focused on children or older adults. The few studies of young adulthood — when the brain changes rapidly, establishing many traits linked with intelligence — have yielded ambiguous data.To help resolve this conflict, in a massive study, researchers investigated nearly all Swedish men born between 1950 and 1976 who were conscripted at age 18 into military service, which is compulsory in Sweden. The sample of a whopping 1,221,727 men used data on physical fitness and intelligence performance, and included 268,496 full sibling pairs and 3,147 twin pairs, of whom 1,432 were identical.The scientists discovered that cardiovascular fitness was linked with overall intelligence, although the same did not hold true for muscle strength and brainpower. Cardiovascular fitness was also linked with scores on tests of logical, verbal, technical and visuospatial capabilities and even socioeconomic status and educational attainment later in life.”The saying, ‘mens sana in corpore sanum’ — ‘a healthy mind lives in a healthy body’ — is about 2,000 years old,” said researcher Georg Kuhn, a neuroscientist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

Kuhn explained cardiovascular exercise increases blood flow to the brain, supplying it with more oxygen and nutrients. Moreover, during exercise, growth factors are produced that could improve brain structure over time. This not only includes more and stronger connections between nerve cells, but also more neurons and supporting cells. “From animal experiments we know this is the case especially in the hippocampus, a region of the brain that is important for learning and memory,” he said.

It is also possible that smarter people exercise more, Kuhn said. However, their twin data suggests not. When the researchers looked at twins, they found that environment, not genetics, played the biggest role in these links. “The fitter twin is also the more intelligent twin,” he noted.

Past research has suggested that cardiovascular fitness can benefit the minds of older adults. For instance, it can delay or reduce the onset and progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

“The findings can be used to argue for a more balanced school curriculum,” Kuhn said. “It is a better argument for school kids to grasp that they can be more successful in life if they study and exercise, than telling them that, with regular exercise, their chance for Alzheimer’s disease after they are 60 years old will decrease by X percent.”

The scientists detailed their findings online Nov. 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Shot Put Practice, Two-Leg “Jump Start” Technique

It’s time to start working on strategies to improve upon last year’s heights, times, and distances in the 10 decathlon events (100 meters, Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump, 400 meters, 100 meter hurdles, Discus, Pole Vault, Javelin, and 1500 meters).

Looking back on last year’s success, one of my biggest improvements was in the Shot Put. The best part about turning 50 (I’m 52 now) was being able to throw a lighter shot. We throw a 6-kilo (13 pound) shot in the 50-54 age group, but had to throw a 16-pound shot before turning 50. The difference in weight allows me to really use my body and wrist-snap technique in a way that was impossible with the too-heavy 16-pound ball.

Old-School Shot Put Guy

Also, I changed my shot-putting technique after watching a video of a woman shot putter by the name of Adrienne Blewitt (see video below) who, rather than standing on one leg at the back of the ring before she throws, stands well balanced on two feet, then explodes across the ring with both legs at the same time.

This two-leg “jump start” technique added 10 feet to my best 6-kilo throw from a year ago, and, it wasn’t too difficult to learn. In fact, it’s easier to throw the shot with both feet planted firmly at the start than trying to stay balanced with the old glide technique.

I have not been a big fan of the spin shot put technique for decathlon shot putters because the technique is too tricky and takes too much time to master. An athlete gets only three attempts in a decathlon shot put competition. One of the best decathletes in the world in my age group almost no-marked at nationals this past August because he was having trouble staying inside the ring doing the spin technique, fouling on his first and second attempts. He wound up throwing from the front of the ring just to get a fair throw, on his third try. (Our USA Olympic spin-technique shot putters have had similar problems at big meets).

My Hero, Bob Mathias, wore spikes in a dirt shot put ring!

Below is a video taken of me working on my shot put technique last summer using a 12-pound shot. I always use the 12-pound shot in practice because I want to train my body to be as fast as possible, and, with the adrenaline rush that comes in actual competition, when I pick up a 6-kilo shot, it still feels like a 12-pound shot to me. In competition, the speed and timing feel virtually the same.

My focus in the back of the ring is to try to push off (jump-thrust) evenly with both legs, off the balls of my feet, switch-footing my feet to the middle of the ring power position without turning my torso or shoulders, which remain facing backward, keeping the torque as stored energy. Landing in the middle of the ring is my trigger to begin uncoiling my torque and releasing energy into the ball, with my legs, back, and, wrist snap, I move to a “premeditated” strong throwing stance (always on my mind from the time I step into the ring is an image of myself in a strong final throwing stance, tall and upright, reverse C power position).

I would like to start a discussion about techniques in the decathlon events, starting with the Shot Put. Let me know what works for you and maybe we can help each other score better next summer!

Adrienne Blewitt’s Shot Put Technique

Records Fall at “Street Vault” — Tailwind Club Oktoberfest 2009

From Octoberfest Street Vault

College Womens, Catherine Frappier, New building record 13’ 0”

JAMESTOWN, Kan. — While thousands of sports fans watched football in the state of Kansas on Saturday, about 160 lucky spectators traveled to an old cinder block basketball arena in tiny Jamestown, Kan. (Pop. 399)  where they were treated to one of the best exhibitions of pole vaulting in the WORLD — at the Tailwind Club Oktoberfest “Street Vault”.

The event was sponsored by Mark Breault’s Tailwind Pole Vault Club and featured Olympic and National Champion pole vaulters from Bell Athletics . Many records fell throughout the event and Claire and I and everyone who was there to watch felt as if they were watching something truly special.

After the professional’s exhibition, I was able to share a story with Hall of Fame vaulter and coach Earl Bell about my very small but unforgettable role in his World Record jump, at the USATF National Championships, held May 29, 1976, in Wichita, Kan.

I was a young guy working as a pole-catcher at the vaulting pit that day. When the bar reached world-record height of 5.67 meters (18 feet, 7.22  inches), I  was sent to get  the new steel tape (all world records must be measured by a steel tape). We weren’t going to use the tape unless there was a world record, so it was still in the box over at the announcer’s stand. As I ran across the infield at Cessna Stadium, I swear my feet never touched the ground!

Watching Earl make that jump was one of the greatest moments in sports for me, and it was a pleasure to tell that story to him, and to his son, Drew, and the other Bell vaulters on  Saturday.

Claire and I look forward to resuming our workouts with Mark in Jamestown later this winter. With Mark’s help, I look forward to surpassing the All-American standard in the master’s pole vault for my age group, and, Claire plans to learn to vault so she can enter master’s women’s decathlons next year!

Tailwind Club Oktoberfest 2009 Summary

Final numbers: 57 pole vaulters, 160 guests
Mens Open, Jeremy Scott and Daniel Ryland, New building record 17’2”
Womens Open , Jillian Schwartz, New building record 13’8”
College Mens, Eric Stutterfield, New building record 15’6”
College Womens, Catherine Frappier, New building record 13’ 0”
High school girls, Haley Bowers & Alex Pevtsova 10’7”
High school boys, Tyler Jackson 13′1″, Brady Tien 13’0”

Other Highlight jumpers:
Mens Open, Mitch Greely 16’10”, Jason Vogt 16’0”
College Mens, Nate Potacek & Rob Babcock 15’0”
7th grade, Brittany Fischer 9’6”
Biggest Gainer: Laramie Leakey 5’6” to 6’9” (15” PR )
New 2 step (1 left) building record, Drew Bell 12’0”
New Members to the Girls 10’ Club: Katie Howard
New Members to the Boys 14’ Club: Teran Walford, Jay Kilpatrick

Comments from Mark Breault:

The crew from Arkansas brought high profile and high jumps!

The crew from Nebraska were a great addition this year, bringing temporary high anxiety but then high jumps and a lot of fun!

The Tailwind Club jumpers, like always, put on a show of safety , knowledge and skill! Adept at knowing their numbers, runs, poles, hand holds and standards. Vaulting high and having fun!

A great event! Look forward to next year!

From Octoberfest Street Vault

See more photos of Oktoberfest Vault

Read About Prairie Port Street Vault in El Dorado, Kan.

Read More About Street Vaulting

Shouted-Out By Brooks ID Program!

We were happy to see our smiling faces in the  September edition of the Brooks I.D. Program.

Brooks I.D. stands for Inspire Daily. These two simple words guide the principles of the program. Brooks I.D. is made up of over 1,500 members who are active in their running communities and share a passion for the Brooks brand. They are runners who are winners in their own right: Winning their age divisions, accomplishing their personal goals, pushing their own limits, and, by extension, encouraging others to do the same.

We are delighted to participate in this program!

Overstakes Capture 1st, 3rd at USATF National Master’s Combined Events Championships

HILLSBORO, Kan. – Grant and Claire Overstake placed in the medals at the USA Track & Field National Combined Events Championships,  held Aug. 15-16 at  Woolsey Stadium at King’s High School, in Shoreline, Wash., near Seattle.

Claire and Grant, both 52, finished first in the women’s heptathlon and third in the men’s decathlon, respectively.

Grant used first-place performances in the shot put (12.42 meters) and javelin (42.97) to power his third place overall finish against nine competitors. He also finished second in the long jump (4.69) and discus (39.57), third in the pole vault (2.80), fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (21.01 seconds), fifth in the 400-meter run (1:11.82), and was sixth in both the high jump (1.39 meters) and 100 meter dash (14.47 seconds). Securing his place on the medals platform, he coasted home with an 8:29 1,500 meter run.

Unchallenged for the second consecutive year, Claire defended her national heptathlon title. Her results were: 100 short hurdles (17.62), shot put (7.89 meters), javelin throw (19.84), long jump (2.98), high jump (1.06), 200-meter dash (34.75 seconds), and 800-meter run (3:47.38).

It was a triumphal end to a very successful track season, in which Grant and Claire enjoyed good health (mostly) and ranked among the top master’s track & field athletes in Kansas and the the nation, as both met All-American Standards in several individual events.

The focus of the entire season was to peak at the National Combined Events Championships, and it was a blessing to be healed, healthy, and ready to perform at this meet. (Grant was unable to compete last year due to a late-season injury, and so had been training more than two years for this).

Even this season, like most every master’s track  and field athlete, we were dealing with injuries leading up to and during the competition. Grant overcame a pulled muscle in his hip and was unable to train normally for the final two weeks, and Claire was hampered by significant loss of range of motion in her hip and knee. So we felt really blessed to be able to make it to the starting line, and the finish line!

To be able to be part of this great event with all of the outstanding fellow competitors from all over the country was a great honor and made the trip itself worthwhile. And then, to be able to perform at a high level in the actual competition and wind up on the podium with nice trophies to show for our efforts, well, that was a real plus for both of us.

It was great to stand together as a couple on the podium afterward, to have our photo taken. In years to come, that photo and the trophies will always represent great life achievements for us.

We are still basking in the afterglow of this mountain top experience in the Great Northwest!

A huge thanks to Meet Director Daunte Gouge, Athletic Director and Head Track Coach at King’s High School, who worked tirelessly before and after the meet to make it make the meet a top-flight experience for everyone. He is a credit to King’s High School and was an outstanding ambassador and host. Also, we want to thank all of the King’s High School volunteers and the great meet officials from the USATF in the Seattle area, who devoted two days of their life to make it happen for all of us.

Special thanks also to our Team Managers in Washington, Jim and Nancy Brewer and their wonderful daughter, Teddy, who served as our one-person Hydration Team, making sure we had the right drink mixes for the two-day event. Jim and Nancy, Claire’s brother and sister in-law, from Corvallis, Ore.,  met us at the Seattle airport, drove us to the hotel, and got us to the track on time, taking all of our travel worries away. Teddy may have run farther than either one of us, back and forth with drinks, clothing and equipment. Thanks Teddy!

One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the Brooks Sports, Inc. headquarters in Seattle, where we were hosted by Steve DeKoker, self-proclaimed  “Supervisor of fartleks, threshold tempos, and negative splits,” and Director of the Brooks I.D. Program, in which we are privileged to participate.

From Nationals

Brooks I.D. stands for Inspire Daily. These two simple words guide the principles of the program. Brooks I.D. is made up of over 1,500 members who are active in their running communities and share a passion for the Brooks brand. They are runners who are winners in their own right: Winning their age divisions, accomplishing their personal goals, pushing their own limits, and, by extension, encouraging others to do the same.

Steve gave us a grand tour of the Brooks facility and we got to see where they test, design and market their excellent shoes, made especially for track and field participants. They also have an impressive customer service department which is dedicated to help every Brooks customer Run Happy! We felt proud to wear the gold and black Brooks national team uniforms in the meet, and, of course, our Brooks Shoes worked just great!

After the meet, the Brewers helped us hobble happily into the van and drove us down to Corvallis and helped us recuperate, showing us all of the great sites, and serving as gracious and understanding hosts to us, even as we were barely able to walk for the first few days afterward!

From Nationals

The highlight of our time was watching Teddy ride Lilly in her Horse Camp Show!

We also drove down to Eugene to visit the University of Oregon’s fabled Hayward Field, the mecca of Track and Field in the United States.

From Nationals

From Nationals

Still too sore to even take a jog around the track, we walked down the pole vault runway, stood in the shot put ring, and had our picture taken on the most historic track in the nation, if not the world.  It was inspiring!

Afterward, we went over to the office of the U of O Track & Field Team where we found that the coaches were gone to Berlin for the IAAF World Championships. We did have a pleasant conversation with Assistant Athletic Director Michael Reilly, who oversees the integration of the program’s administrative areas within the athletics department and serves as the home event meet director.

In an effort to recruit our grandchildren, he gave us a Track and Field Media Guide.

Michael told us he was just an administrator, but we discovered that he held the vital position of competition director for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field.

As we were entering the massive Oregon athletic department, we noticed an award named for Becky Sisley, who although suffering through a painful injury, competed and won the over 70 heptathlon. The Becky L. Sisley Award is the most prestigious award given by the Oregon Athletic Department for women athletes post graduation.

Becky is a great friend to all master’s athletes and one of the all-time great master’s competitors.

We left Eugene with a few articles of clothing purchased from the Duck Store and a real appreciation for the tradition of Oregon Track and Field. Our visit reminded us of the great legacy of the sport that Claire and Grant were part of as former members of the University of Kansas track team, coached by the great Bob Timmons.

In all, more than 60 people participated in the Combined Events Championships, ranging in age from teenagers to 80 years plus.

Some may wonder what it means to us to compete in master’s track and field, and why all the fuss?

Well, one thing to consider is that there are 40 million or so other 50 somethings in the US, and only nine men from that age group chose to challenge themselves in the most challenging of athletic ordeals, for whatever that’s worth. And that Claire has been the one US woman to compete in the heptathlon for the past two years says something, too. That’s pretty rare company, and we feel humbled and honored to be among those of us at our age who are still able and willing to do what we do. We truly love what we do, but in fact it takes hours of hard work and dedication and, a good deal of self-sacrifice and suffering. But a result like this one makes it all worthwhile!

For Grant, this event was another opportunity to write some new chapters into what he felt had been an incomplete and  unfinished athletic career, dating back to college, when academic and time demands of a journalism major made it impossible to train and compete at the level he thought himself capable.

Claire was delighted that Grant was able to compete this year, and was especially delighted in how well he did in his hurdles, after coaching him this past season. She also appreciated Grant’s encouragement that she could still compete, even though she was not up to speed physically. And the time they spent together training was a joy.

This national competition was as real to us as any athlete at any age, in terms of the dedication and commitment required, and the physical effort and will to win.  In fact, in many ways, for master’s athletes, our struggle is made  more vivid because of the added factor of the aging human body, and therefore the whole experience is more rewarding, personally, because we cherish it so much, and because of the rare company we keep.

We want to congratulate all of the athletes who dared to compete at this event and to wish them fond memories of their endeavors and best of health in the season’s to come. We can’t wait to see you all again and to share in your successes.

As for us, we have a whole team of people to thank for helping us get to the award’s stand.

First, our three adult children, Bethany (Overstake) Dixon (24), Garrison (23), and Jillian (21), who never complained when mom and dad weren’t available to answer the phone when they called because we were gone to the track to work out, or downstairs in the basement gym. They were as excited as could be when we came home from track meets with new medals and personal best performances.

For many years, we traveled to their  practices and games and cheered for them and it’s just great to have them cheering for us now. Thanks also for their deep concern and encouragement when we were hobbled by injuries and doubt. They never once said to us, “You should retire! What you are attempting is too hard! Hang it up!” Instead, they encouraged us to keep on keeping on. As your parents, experiencing how you encouraged us in our quest and spoke faith into our efforts this past year, well, it makes us very proud.

We also want to thank our our “Team Doctor” Dr. Randal Claassen, an avid bicyclist and annual participant in the Ride Across Kansas, for helping us understand our limits and encouraging us to push the limits of Fitness Over 50; our “Team Chiropractor” Dr. William Good; our “Team Massage Therapist” Danaye Dies, who helped get us back on track after late-season injuries; and our “Team Personal Trainer”  Anna Woods, a champion triathlete in her own right and owner of Woods Wellness, who came on board late in the season with great advice and workouts that made all the difference for us down the stretch.

A special thank you to all of the coaches who took time to work with us over the past year, including Fraser Quelch and his amazing TRX Suspension Trainer;  Tabor College Track Coach Dave Kroeker; pole vault guru Mark Breault and the Tailwind Pole Vault Club, and to all of the special master’s athletes who have been such an inspiration, including the champion in this year’s national championships, Ken Ellis and his wife, Joann, who won the women’s decathlon, of Edmond, Okla. They are our great friends in the sport of master’s track and field. We met them by coincidence at the top of the Seattle Space Needle the day before the big meet. We all took it as a good omen, and it was. (PS: if you see Joann and Ken, ask them about the ice bath!)

We also want to thank and congratulate John Mayor, our decathlon cohort from the United Kingdom, who texted Grant  last-minute advice on his  upcoming decathlon even as he was competing in the World Master’s Decathlon Championships, in which he placed third this time around. Looking forward to competing against John next June, when the Brits invade Joplin, Mo. for the 2010 Decathlon-Heptathlon Challenge.

Below are some additional photos of us in competition and the results. Photos of us competing are always shocking to us because when we compete, we feel so young and fully alive, we just can’t figure out who those old people are in those photos.

The experience of transcending our chronological age, of finding the ageless athlete and our  inner child, is one of the wonderful and magical mysteries of master’s track and field.

USA National Masters Combined Events Championships
hosted by King’s High School
Saturday-Sunday, August 15-16, 2009
Woolsey Stadium, King’s High School, Shoreline, WA

Event W50 Heptathlon
================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals
================================================================
  1 Overstake, Claire        W52 Deca MidWest              2843

Event 1 W50 100 Short Hurdles Heptathlon
===============================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Wind H# Points
===============================================================================
  1 Freeman, BJ              W50 Calgary                  14.46  +0.0  2    814
  2 Overstake, Claire        W52 Deca MidWest             17.62  +0.0  2    434






From Nationals




Event 2  W50 High Jump Heptathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Freeman, BJ              W50 Calgary                  1.30m     747
  2 Overstake, Claire        W52 Deca MidWest             1.06m     419






From Nationals




Event 3 W50 Shot Put Heptathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Overstake, Claire        W52 Deca MidWest             7.89m     591

Event 4 W50 200 Meter Dash Heptathlon
============================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Wind Points
============================================================================
  1 Overstake, Claire        W52 Deca MidWest             34.75   1.2    545






From Nationals




Event 5 W50 Long Jump Heptathlon
============================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Wind Points
============================================================================
  1 Overstake, Claire        W52 Deca MidWest             2.98m  +0.0    250


Event 6  W50 Javelin Throw Heptathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Overstake, Claire        W52 Deca MidWest            19.84m     421

Event 7  W50 800 Meter Run Heptathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Overstake, Claire        W52 Deca MidWest           3:47.38     183

Event 11  M50 Decathlon
================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals
================================================================
  1 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached                6458
  2 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's          5468
  3 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest              4823
  4 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached                4729
  5 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached                4235
  6 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters            4075
  7 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached                4058

From Nationals

Winners from left:

Kevin Kruzona, Jack Kern, Jeff Watry, Ken Ellis, Grant Overstake,

Ted Demetrio, and Jan Claesson.

Not shown: Doyle Durkee and Greg Hodson. Champions all!

Event 1  M50 100 Meter Dash Decathlon
===============================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Wind H# Points
===============================================================================
  1 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached               13.14   NWI  2    707
  2 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached               13.53   NWI  2    637
  3 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's         13.91  -0.7  1    573
  4 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached               14.09   NWI  2    543
  5 Durkee, Doyle            M50 Unattached               14.29  -0.7  1    511
  6 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest             14.47  -0.7  1    483
  7 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters           14.76   NWI  2    439
  8 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached               14.79   NWI  2    436
  9 Hodson, Greg             M52 Unattached               15.73   NWI  2    308

Event 2 M50 Long Jump Decathlon
============================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Wind Points
============================================================================
  1 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached               4.87m   0.5    610
  2 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest             4.69m  +0.0    561
  3 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's         4.51m  +0.0    512
  4 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached               4.38m  -0.8    479
  5 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached               4.34m  -0.6    469
  6 Durkee, Doyle            M50 Unattached               4.29m  +0.0    457
  7 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters           4.24m   1.0    445
  8 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached               4.04m  -1.0    394
  9 Hodson, Greg             M52 Unattached               3.23m  +0.0    214

Event 3  M50 Shot Put Decathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest            12.42m     743
  2 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's        10.99m     643
  3 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached              10.91m     637
  4 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached              10.85m     633
  5 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters          10.42m     603
  6 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached              10.13m     583
  7 Durkee, Doyle            M50 Unattached               9.52m     540
  8 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached               8.77m     489
  9 Hodson, Greg             M52 Unattached               6.50m     334

Event 4  M50 High Jump Decathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached               1.63m     794
  2 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's         1.54m     696
  3 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters           1.45m     602
  4 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached               1.42m     569
  4 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached               1.42m     569
  6 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest             1.39m     544
  7 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached               1.27m     426

Event 5  M50 400 Meter Dash Decathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached             1:03.22     594
  2 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's       1:05.93     503
  3 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached             1:09.72     387
  4 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached             1:10.51     364
  5 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest           1:11.82     328
  6 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached             1:14.13     269
  7 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters         1:14.25     266






From Nationals




Event 6 M50 100 Short Hurdles Decathlon
============================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Wind Points
============================================================================
  1 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached               15.97  -2.0    782
  2 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached               18.20  -2.0    549
  3 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's         19.19  -2.0    458
  4 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest             21.01  -2.0    312
  5 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached               21.26  -2.0    295
  6 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters           22.14  -2.0    235
  7 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached               22.54  -2.0    210






From Nationals




Event 7 M50 Discus Throw Decathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached              40.35m     672
  2 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest            39.57m     656
  3 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached              33.15m     527
  4 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached              33.00m     524
  5 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's        31.73m     499
  6 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters          31.69m     498
  7 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached              29.63m     457






From Nationals




Event 8 M50 Pole Vault Decathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached               3.30m     665
  2 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's         3.10m     592
  3 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest             2.80m     493
  4 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached               2.60m     426
  5 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached               2.20m     305
  5 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached               2.20m     305
  7 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters           2.00m     246






From Nationals




Event 9 M50 Javelin Throw Decathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest            42.97m     662
  2 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached              40.38m     613
  3 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters          39.10m     589
  4 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's        37.00m     549
  5 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached              36.34m     537
  6 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached              32.92m     473
  7 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached              25.08m     328

Event 10 M50 1500 Meter Run Decathlon
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Watry, Jeffrey           M54 Midwest Master's       6:16.08     443
  2 Ellis, Ken               M51 Unattached             6:29.74     384
  3 Demetrio, Ted            M53 Unattached             6:32.78     372
  4 Kern, Jack               M50 Unattached             6:48.22     311
  5 Claesson, Jan            M53 Unattached             7:35.88     156
  6 Kruszona, Kevin          M51 Hawaii Masters         7:37.34     152
  7 Overstake, Grant         M52 Deca MidWest           8:29.94      41

From Nationals

Golden Performances at a So-So Sunflower State Games

Despite a flawed meet concept that created a no-win situation for athletes wishing to participate in multiple events and compete for Outstanding Performer of the Meet honors, Claire and I were pleased with our individual performances at the Sunflower State Games, held this past Friday and Saturday in Topeka.

Claire won the hurdles and javelin on Friday, then came back to win the 100 and 200 meter runs on Saturday.

I won the discus on Friday (I think, more about the boggled meet results later), placed first, second or third in the 100 meter hurdles (don’t ask), was second in the pole vault, and won the javelin throw (maybe). On Saturday, I placed third in the 400 meter run (I think).

Fact is, the meet results were bungled so badly, nobody really knows who won what masters age group events. We are glad that there were so many competitors of all ages that they literally couldn’t keep track of us. The number of athletes competing at all age groups made it impossible to complete all of our field events within the time allotted for the meet, set from 3 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. on Friday. As it turned out, I had time for only two discus throws before leaving to run the 100m hurdles, but one of those throws (130 feet) was good enough to win my age group (50-54).

I did have time to make it to the start of the 100m hurdles. I negotiated the 10 barriers for the first time since 1979 (I’ve been practicing on flights of six hurdles so far this season), running a respectable 20.18 seconds. I don’t use blocks and I five-step between the hurdles, and this was a significant victory, to run them cleanly on the first try.

The pole vault was positive also. I jumped 9-6 with a short approach, then tried unsuccessfully to get onto a bigger pole. The event ended with me missing three times at 10 feet, still trying to make adjustments on a new pole from the short approach. I’ve begun training with Mark Breault at the Tailwind Pole Vault Club.

Mark is an expert masters vaulter and instructor, who has more than 100 vaulters in his club, which meets in a restored high school gym in a small town west of Concordia, about two hours north of Hillsboro.

In just two sessions, he has really helped my jumping, changing my plant and giving me a lot of confidence that I can jump much higher, as soon as we move my step to a full approach in these next few weeks. To give you an idea of the quality of the instruction I’ve been getting, Mark just returned from coaching a pole vault camp with former world record holder Earl Bell.

Mark (shown at left) has pole vaulted 13-9 this year! With his continued support, I am eager to progress in this event in the next few weeks!

By the time I was done with the pole vault it was after 6:30 p.m., and, sure enough, they had shut down the javelin and shot put event venues.  I had to find the meet director, to encourage him to allow me to throw (since the discus was still going on after 7 p.m., and the pole vault would continue until at least 8 p.m.)

When we complained about the no-win scenario, the meet director said we should have done a better job of organizing our time, getting around to all of the venues to do our throws within the allotted time. But we explained that the shear numbers of athletes in each of the throwing events would have made that impossible within the time frame, a point that the meet director didn’t seem ready to concede.

Anyway, with the help of two eager volunteers, at least we re-opened the javelin venue. And, after throwing a hasty 130 feet, I called it a day, leaving the shot put undone. ( I think the javelin throw was good enough to win my age group, but the fact that I had thrown at all never made it into the final results.)

Saturday was a marathon track meet, to say the least.

After warming up and waiting for nearly three hours to run, scoring a big five second PR in the 400 meters was a big highlight for me. I coasted to a 70.21 second finish, feeling like I could have run even faster. It was most rewarding to conquer the inner demons that had been nipping at my heels all morning. The “real” 400 meter runners in my age group were very encouraging to The Decathlon Guy before and after the race.

For her performances, Claire had to wait two hours to run the 100 and then another three hours after that to run her 200 meters. That is a looong time to stay loose and limber for anyone, but she did it! Even though she has been nursing a couple of nagging injuries, she performed well and did not re-injure herself.

She is taking good care of herself and we are praying for her healing to continue as we move toward the national multi event championships, coming up next month out in Washington state. We have been training with a personal trainer, Anna Woods, who has been very helpful in assessing our fitness needs and prescribing specific exercises that will help preserve our fitness and strengthen us where needed.

I don’t want to sound ungrateful for all of the work that went into putting on the Sunflower State Games, but…

One of the big frustrations about the SSG is that they have an Outstanding Performer of the Meet award that goes to the person who scores the most individual points. But to have this category as a carrot to encourage us to enter multiple events, then set up a scenario where there isn’t enough time to do the events themselves, was to say the least, frustrating. Add to that the fact that because of the results snafu they weren’t able to tell us who placed first or second in our age-group events anyway, it seems impossible to tell who the Outstanding Performer of the Meet might have been. (Leaving my javelin performance off the result sheet pretty much eliminated my chances, anyway, as it cost me 10 points)

I must say that this was unlike any other SSG we’ve participated in, which is to say, we hope they will get re-organized before next year. But enough said about that. We accomplished what we set out to do in our final tune-up before  nationals. With about 20 days of training left to go, we are focusing on staying healthy, fit, and sharp, technically. We’ve pre-set our training calendar and loaded it with plenty of rest days.

We look forward to the USA National Masters Combined Events Championships to be held August 15-16 in Seattle. We are really looking forward to the competition. There will be some amazing masters athletes participating and just being among them will be a rewarding experience. We want to be prepared to do our best beforehand, then enjoy each event as they unfold, embracing every moment, as a special blessing.

Claire and I feel truly blessed to be able to train together and compete at this level.

Many thanks to all of you who have been so supportive of our efforts!

All-American Peformances at Hot Heartland Open

Despite the hot temperatures, sixteen open and master athletes battled the heat and produced ALL-AMERICAN performances at the inaugural Heartland Open/Masters Outdoor Track & Field Meet at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS on Saturday, June 27th. The following athletes from Missouri and Kansas met or exceeded the All-American mark for their age groups. Many of the athletes will be attending the 2009 USATF Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships on July 9-12 in Oshkosh, WI. Congratulations to the following athletes!

It was a very hot meet and a challenge for us physically and mentally. We learned a lot that will help us as we move forward in the season. Thankfully, we were able to complete the day injury-free.

Claire’s results

100 meters 15.86

200 meters 33.96

Hurdles 16.61

Shot Put 8.15 meters

Highlights: Claire ran the hurdles very well (top time in the nation this year) and threw the shot put far enough to reach the All-America standard!

Her javelin throw ranks third in the nation, and was a big improvement over the last meet.

From MidAmericanMastersOutdoor

Claire finishing the 200 meters at the end of a very hot day.

Grant’s Results

Shot Put 12.59

Discus 39.94

Javelin 45.64

Highlights came in the warm-up for the pole vault, where I made an unofficial jump of over 10 feet, and, in the javelin, where I threw a PR 45.64 meters, first time doing this event this year. This was a victory meet because I overcame a difficult week of nursing an injury, missing three days of training.

From MidAmericanMastersOutdoor

Grant Shot Put

From MidAmericanMastersOutdoor

There were a lot of great performances in difficult conditions:

ATHLETE / AGE Group		EVENT		ALL-AMERICAN PERFORMANCE
Debra Wood / 50-54		400m		77.64
Jane Thompkins / 50-54		1500m		5:57.94
Claire Overstake / 50-54		Shot Put		8.15m, 26′-8″
Kevin Miller / 45-49		800m		2:10.06
Kevin Miller / 45-49		1500m		4:28.95
Rob Harber / 50-54		1500m		4:44.83
Gayle Van Durme / 55-59		1500m		4:53.91
Tim Wigger / 60-64		1500m		5:00.38
Wally Brawner / 70-74		1500m		6:26.41
David Cawell / 50-54		High Jump		1.60m, 5′-3″
Kelly Meares / 55-59		High Jump		1.50m, 4′-11″
Kelly Meares / 55-59		Pole Vault		3.30m, 10′-10″
Berg Heskin / 30-34		Long Jump		6.55m, 21′-6″
Keith Ohehnal / 50-54		Shot Put		13.22m, 43′-4″
Al Salmon / 70-74		Shot Put		11.67m, 38′-3″
Harry McDonald / 60-64		Discus		43.00m, 141′-1″
Ron Anderson / 70-74		Discus		37.46m, 122′-11″
Grant Overstake / 50-54		Javelin		45.64m, 149′-9″”

USATF RANKINGS

Claire

Grant

Next: Sunflower State Games later this month!

Great Start Outdoors at Salina Senior Games

Claire and I enjoyed a very successful meet at the Salina Senior Games, held June 6, in Salina, Kansas, our first outdoor meet of the season. Both of us entered five events (trying to copy a multi-event day) on a very hot day, and, with all of the field events being run at the same time, it was a very demanding morning!

At the end of the morning, we were hot and tired and feeling great about our performances, which exceeded the USATF All-American standards in three events. We don’t live and die by these rankings, but they are fun and rewarding, kind of like getting our test results put on the refrigerator door!

USATF Rankings — Claire

USATF Rankings — Grant

MEET SUMMARY: CLAIRE

Claire threw the javelin and the shot, ran the 100m, 50m and 200m, and she also ran a leg on the fun-run relay!

Javelin

Claire continues to improve in this event, which is new to her. Her throw of 18.95 meters was a PR and ranks third in the nation for her age group this season. More importantly, she is getting more confident that she can score well in this important heptathlon event.

Shot Put

Being small in stature, Claire has been working on her quickness and explosion to compensate. She competed well, throwing 8.53 meters, and this might be the event where she can improve the most in the next few months.

Sprints

Claire ran very well winning the 50, 100 and 200, and posting times of 15.8 in the 100 meters and 32.8 in the 200 meters, which although hand-timed, was well under the 33 second All-American standard for the event.

MEET SUMMARY: GRANT

As for me, I threw the shot, discus, ran the 100m, 400m and pole vaulted.

Shot Put

I had been throwing the 12 pounder close to 45 feet and was hoping to throw 43 feet or so with the 6K, so the 44-8 throw was a great surprise! As I’d hoped, the extra two pounds were virtually un-noticable (if that’s a word) in actual competition, due to the added jolt of adrenaline. It felt like I was throwing a 12 pound shot.

With the exception of a few warm up tosses with a 16 pounder, I’ve been training almost exclusively with a 12 pound shot this season, which is lighter than the 6K shot used in 50+ competition by about 2 pounds or so. This has really helped me with my speed, coordination and explosion at release.

Mentally, I was as prepared for this throw as any moment in my athletic career. I approached it with an as-if attitude, acting as-if I was ready for the best throw of my adult life, and then relaxing and letting it happen. (In the past, I’ve been too hyped up for this explosive event. But this day, I told myself to slow down!) It was a greatly rewarding moment for me. Meeting the All-American standard was icing on the cake!

Discus

I’ve been trying regain my form in a difficult-to-master event. (I don’t have time to throw the 10,000 throws they say is needed to really be good at this). While I had been throwing over 130 from the back of the ring (full throws) in practice, my first throw in this competition was only 118 or so, which sounded an alarm, and presented an opportunity for me to practice “defensive discus throwing” as if it were a real decathlon (in which we get only three attempts).

In order to make sure I got a good mark, I took my second throw from the front of the ring, reversing-out with great explosion and focus into a 15 mile per hour headwind. The discus flew flat (a good thing) and far (a really good thing!) and kept going (an amazing thing!!) and the mark of 138-8 was both remarkable and astonishing to me. Literally jumped for joy. I will never forget this throw, which exceeded the All-American standard. But I really need to work out whatever is going wrong in the back of the ring, because I should be able to throw 20 percent further from a full spin!

100 meters

Felt my left hamstring tweak at the starting gun, so I backed off a bit. But I was able to maintain my speed, and even though I was blown away by the competition, I was happy with my time of 14.0. The tweak wasn’t too serious but I had to nurse it for the rest of the competition, which included the pole vault and the 400 meters. My time wasn’t too bad, for a decathlon guy. In fact I was pleased with the time and hope to improve on that as we get further along.

Pole Vault

Winded from the 100 meters and nursing a tweaked left (take off) hamstring, the pole vault was a challenge. I hadn’t had a chance to vault much because our school put the standards away. I cleared 9-6 very easily but frittered away my attempts at 10 feet due to chopped steps on the runway. I really look forward to improving this mark. I have borrowed another pole from the college and it worked well. I know I can jump higher on it. This is another event that takes practice and is demanding (sprinting, jumping at takeoff, not to mention the vault itself). I need to find some place to train for this.

400 meters

Determined not to tank or give up on myself no matter how much it hurt helped me run a pretty good time for the first attempt of the season, posting a time of 75 seconds. In my training, I’ve been repeat 300-meter hills on a dirt road outside of town, as well as some other strength endurance workouts. I felt prepared for this race. I finished strong and it was over quickly. Which is to say, I’ve suffered a lot more in workouts, and that’s good. It shows me that I can compete in this event for points, at the end of the first day of a decathlon. A mental and physical victory.

Overall

A great start to the outdoor season as we look forward to competing in the USA National Masters Combined Events Championships in August. The hamstring tweak was a negative, however.

Training

The TRX has been a great fitness tool and the interval workouts on the track prepared me well for the running events. We have adapted a lot of warm ups from Core Performance Training site. I also have been spending quite a bit of time working on the hurdles (the experts say decathletes should train as hurdler, pole vaulter, discus throwers because of the combined benefits of these events, so that’s what my focus has been).

Next Meet: Mid-American Heartland Meet this weekend, June 20, in Overland Park, Kansas.

The past two weeks workouts have been different than usual because I’ve been rehabbing my hamstring, taking it easy and getting well. Many thanks to Dr. William Good, of Good Health Chiropractic for keeping us on the track.

Claire will be sprinting in this meet, but I’ve decided not to “test” my leg at this point, so rather than hurdling for the first time this season, I’m going to throw the shot, discus, add the javelin for the first time, and, maybe, pole vault, depending on how my leg feels after warming up at the meet. I would like to pole vault, if possible, because we don’t get a chance to vault otherwise because all of the pits in our area have been put away for the season.

Hats off to the folks at Heartland Athletic Services for hosting another masters meet!