The History of Masters Track 

In August 1996, one of the busiest people at the USATF National Masters Outdoor T&F Championships in Spokane was a graduate student from Central Washington University. Linda Wallace, an athlete herself, sprinted among elite female masters, gathering information for her milestone master's thesis: "Oral History: Women in Masters Track and Field." The section excerpted here covers the evolution of masters track. It's the best overall look at the history of our niche ever published. Wallace ultimately interviewed 17 elite female athletes, ages 35 to 74. For the minimal cost of reproduction and postage, Wallace is making the entire thesis available on disk or bound photocopy to anyone who is interested. Contact Wallace at 3233 Selby Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90034 or e-mail lmwallace@sbcglobal.net. It is a must-read!

CHAPTER V

BIRTH AND GROWTH OF MASTERS TRACK & FIELD

The birth of masters track & field is credited to David Pain, an attorney and former handball player who began running in his mid-forties. Pain developed a new competitive arena featuring athletes considered past their prime. In 1966, he persuaded meet promoters to include a "masters mile" (for men over age forty) in their track & field competition schedules. The concept of a masters mile proved to be very successful, spreading to track meets across the U.S. As a result, Pain decided to highlight masters competition by organizing full-scale track & field meets just for masters athletes.

Masters Track & Field Established

The first masters national track & field championship was held in 1968, co-sponsored by the San Diego Track Club and City of San Diego Recreation Department with 130 male competitors. Pain, chairman of the event, arbitrarily chose the age of forty as the starting age for masters competitors. He later said, "Since I was forty-five years of age, I assumed and just arbitrarily decided that masters competition for men would start at age forty. It was just a convenient age, it seemed to me, to start masters competition, since I was basically in that group, and I was thinking in terms of creating a program for myself."

 

Three ten-year age-group divisions (40-49, 50-59, and 60-69) accommodated the limited number of entries at the first championship. The schedule of events included many running events (100 yards dash, 220 yards dash, 440 yards run, 880 yards run, one mile run, 2 miles run, 3 miles run, 6 miles run, 440 yards relay, and marathon) and a limited number of field events (long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, and javelin). The program included no women's events.

 

Women members of the San Diego Track Club began to agitate for inclusion in the masters competition. Donna Gookin, Dorothy Stock, and Lish Bache had competed in "family runs" sponsored by the track club and wanted to be included in the new masters events. For the second national championship, Pain added the "women's and girl's" 100 yards dash, 440 yards dash, and one mile run to the 1969 program with the stipulation: "limited to female relatives of U.S. masters entrants."

Pain later said, "I am mortified to see that we did such a sexist thing, but it didn't seem to be   at the time -- so, it's just an example of the conditions that prevailed. Also, there were only a handful of women who competed -- I think maybe we had ten or twelve women competing in the early years." Pain also chose arbitrarily to limit the age for women masters to thirty-five, because he observed that the female competitors were either wives or girlfriends of male competitors and, for the most part, five years younger than their mates.

The program for the third masters nationals in 1970 included no women's events. The following year at the fourth national championship, the program included one event for women, a "special women's mile" with the stipulation: "note: this is an impromptu addition to the program and will be held only if there are at least four entrants." (At about this time, Pain reduced his involvement in the national meets, and Ken Bernard took over as meet director.)

 

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) adopted masters track & field in 1971, becoming its national governing body. The AAU, formed in 1888 to regulate amateur athletic club competitions, claimed jurisdiction over many collegiate sports as well, including track & field by the early 1900s. As a result, the AAU became a dominant force within the U.S. Olympic Committee.

 

In 1978, the U.S. Congress passed the Amateur Sports Act, expanding the authority of the U.S. Olympic Committee, establishing a set of required criteria for sports national governing bodies, developing a procedure for the recognition of national governing bodies, and creating an athlete's bill of rights. The act mandated that a national governing body could only govern in one Olympic sport. As a result, the AAU track & field committee reorganized as Track Athletics Congress (TAC) in 1980, and about ten years later, changed its name to USA Track & Field (USATF). The transition from AAU to TAC gave athletes more control over decisions, such as when and where an athlete could compete. The AAU's sanction of masters track & field helped to bring credibility to the program and also provided nationwide exposure.

At the 1972 masters nationals, the program included three women's events: 400 meters, 1,500 meters, and 5,000 meters. Two age-groups divided the competition: under age 35 and over age 35. (Allowing entries for women under age thirty-five increased participation numbers.) Fourteen women entered events, with many running more than one event. The results later noted each of these as "new events . . . only open to friends and relatives of masters competitors."

 

That same year, Pain organized a U.S. Masters International Track Team comprised of approximately 100 athletes for a European tour (London, Sweden, and Finland) of track & field competitions. However, no women participated on the American team. A highlight of the tour included a competition among Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand masters at the Crystal Palace in London. The Crystal Palace meet included three events for women: discus, 200 meters, and 1,500 meters.

During the European tour, Pain met with representatives of British, Canadian, and Australian masters teams to discuss forming an international masters association in order to institute a world masters championship. The Canadians agreed to host the first international masters championships in 1975. Pain also met an administrator of sport in Goteborg, Sweden who wanted to host a world masters championships, and they agreed on the year 1977 for the second world championship.

 

At this time, no official entity existed for international masters track & field. The loosely formed association of international masters, headed by David Pain, established the initial guidelines for world competition. One of their first decisions mandated biennial world championships.

In 1973, the masters national championship contested in San Diego included three women's events: 200 meters, 1500 meters, and 5,000 meters. Four age-groups divided the competition: under age 29, 30-39, 40-49, and 50+. Twenty-four women entered, some entering more than one event. Later that year, Pain organized another international tour to Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), and this time, a few American women participated.

The 1974 national championship moved to a new location, Gresham, Oregon, and introduced five year age-groups for the first time, allowing athletes of similar ages to compete against each another. Five year age-groups became essential to the future of masters athletics, because differences in ability due to the aging process could be overcome by narrowing the age-group ranges. Athletes would be less likely to drop out of competition, knowing a new age-group loomed just a year or two away, instead of a decade away. Women, however, had no events scheduled for them in this year's national meet.

Women's success in long distance running influenced track & field opportunities for women. At a women's meeting before the 1975 Boston Marathon, Ruth Anderson (the only woman to compete in every world masters championship) "was surprised and a bit shocked to learn how much inequality and prejudice still remained against women's marathoning and other long distance running." Anderson noted that the women discussed and determined a need for a women's long distance AAU committee, separate from the women's track & field committee. (The women's track & field committee had declared the 1500 meters distance too long for female athletes.)

At the AAU convention in 1975, women distance runners achieved their goal, dividing the women's long distance running and track & field committees. All road racing competitions, track events longer than a mile not connected to a specific meet, and cross-country came under the jurisdiction of the newly-formed women's long distance committee.

At the same convention, masters, aged forty and over, became a recognized group for both track & field and long distance running. "It was ruled that all masters, including long-distance running and race-walking for both men and women, would be governed by the Track-and-Field Masters Committee."

A year later, the track & field masters committee divided into two separate committees: masters long distance running, and masters track & field. The division provided women masters with a new long distance national championship, a 10,000 meters cross-country race that took place on November 14, 1976.

Robert Fine, an attorney in New York, became involved in masters track & field on the East Coast through the New York Masters Sports Association a few years before the AAU adopted the masters program in 1971. Masters track & field operated as a subcommittee of AAU men's track & field and appointed Ken Bernard from San Diego as its first chairperson. Fine had many concerns about the direction of masters track & field and decided he would seek the chairperson's position, which he did successfully.

 

He soon realized the only way the masters could gain adequate representation within the AAU was to have their own committee, separate from the track & field committee. The track & field committee chair at the time supported Fine's efforts, which resulted in the formation of a master's committee and Fine's appointment as first national chair.

World Championships Inaugurated

In 1975, the first World Masters Championships took place in Toronto, Canada, just after the first east coast national championship in White Plains, New York. Twenty women participated in the nationals, representing only three percent of all competitors. Entries for the world championships totaled approximately 1,400 athletes: 1,320 men, and 80 women (representing six percent of all competitors).

The world championship program included six events for women: 100 meters, 400 meters, 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 3,000 meters race walk, and marathon, but no field events. A year later, the 1976 masters nationals returned to Gresham, Oregon, and twelve women competed in scheduled events: 100 meters, 200 meters, 800 meters, 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and long jump. The schedule also included a formal "submaster" division for athletes under the age of forty.

 

At about this time, David Pain reduced his involvement in masters track & field to give more attention to his law practice. Helen Pain, his wife at the time, owned a travel agency and had been involved for many years behind the scenes organizing travel arrangements for masters competitors. She is credited with "picking up the torch" and using her contacts in the airlines to promote masters track & field. Her efforts influenced the organizing committee's decision to award the World Masters Championships to Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1981 and Puerto Rico in 1983.

 

Robert Fine, national chair of masters track & field, communicated with masters athletes across the country through a column in the National Masters Newsletter. In the first issue, he asked masters to complete a questionnaire about whether they wanted masters to have two separate committees for track & field and long distance running. "The hallmark of the Masters movement has been the fact that the competitors are also administrators. In no other program in amateur athletics have athletes been so totally involved. Because of this, it is felt that the final decision should be made by the athletes." This would set the tone for the administration of masters track & field for years to come.

Formation of World Association of Veteran Athletes

In the August 1977 issue of the National Masters Newsletter, Fine described the formation of the World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA) that met in Goteborg, Sweden during the second World Masters Championships in 1977. He reported the election of Don Farquharson from Canada as president of the association, and the election of Fine as North American representative to the 11-person World Executive Council.

 

The association members also decided to substitute the word "veteran" in the place of "masters" in the association name (with the U.S. voting against the change) because most European countries use the word "veteran." Another article requested women masters, aged forty and over, to send in their best performance marks in order to compile "Women's Masters Age Records." The notice coaxed, "Since we are just getting started, please do not be shy about your performances."

 

At this time, fewer than thirty women competed nationally and three hundred women internationally, accounting for the presumed modesty about reporting their performances. A formal structure now existed for both for regional and world masters championships, and WAVA mandated age limits for competitors: males, aged forty and above; and females, aged thirty-five and above. This was the only section of the WAVA constitution that differentiated between male and female competitors. The rest of the constitution did not mention women at all.

 

Fine had previously established that there would be no discrimination between men and women in the AAU national masters rules, and no rules limited women from competing in any events. He later said, "It was left out, so sex never reared its ugly head as far as masters is concerned." As the only lawyer on the WAVA council, Fine wrote the first constitution, and following his earlier precedent, the constitution did not mention women at all.

 

It is important to note masters track & field is a volunteer operation run by the athletes for the athletes. Women became involved at all levels of administration, particularly in local clubs where women were either the "prime movers" or club presidents. In addition, women served on masters committees, becoming an integral part of the organization's decision-making process. Irene Obera served as masters women's track & field subcommittee chairperson, Katharine Brieger served as masters women's track & field statistician, Ruth Anderson served as masters long distance vice-chairperson, and Joann Grissom served as masters track & field vice-chairperson. On the international level, Bridget Cushen of England served in WAVA as women's representative.

 

An issue of "professionalism" also needed to be resolved. The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) governed all international track & field competition, and while IAAF did not have direct control over WAVA, WAVA agreed to adhere to IAAF rules. IAAF rule 53 stated that an athlete who competed as a professional, albeit only once, could never compete as an amateur again. If an amateur athlete competed in the same meet with a professional athlete, the amateur became tainted and could no longer compete. This became an issue because some WAVA competitors had once competed as Olympians and later earned money competing as professionals. The president of the IAAF ruled on behalf of WAVA -- rule 53 would not apply to any man over age forty or any woman over age thirty-five.

 

In 1977, the second WAVA championships in Goteborg, Sweden, adopted the new name "World Veterans Games." The total number of participants doubled from the previous world championship to 2,707, and the number of female participants nearly quadrupled to 237. The women masters competed in the greatest variety of events to date: 100 meters, 400 meters, 1,500 meters, 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters race walk, 10,000 meters, cross-country run, marathon, 4 X 100 meters relay, long jump, and discus.

 

On the national level, the issue of "submasters" (age 30-39) needed to be resolved by the AAU. Robert Fine reported, "The submasters are becoming an important part of the masters' meets since they compete in relatively great numbers which results in important financial consideration. . . . I have suggested that the submasters be given age-group championship status . . . with permission being given to have the submasters events integrated into the masters championships."

 

Inclusion of submasters would provide athletic opportunities for athletes immediately after their collegiate or open competitive careers ended, a move viewed as critical to the growth of masters competition. The AAU also quickly resolved a formality about the jurisdiction over the submasters between the open and masters committees, and submasters became an official part of the masters national track & field championships.

 

After its convention in December of 1978, the AAU announced that the masters program had obtained a national sponsor agreement with Occidental Life insurance company. The sponsorship agreement called for expenditures of up to $35,000 per year. The basic plan for the appropriation of funds required that budgetary requests be made from regional councils, meet directors of regional and national championships, and specific programs such as the National Masters Newsletter. As a result of sponsorship, National Masters Newsletter became a monthly publication.

 

In 1979, participation rates for women continued to increase both nationally and internationally. At the national championships at Gresham, Oregon, a total of forty-four women competed, representing eleven percent of the all participants. Later the same year, the third World Veterans Games in Hanover, Germany, experienced an increase in participation rates to a record number of 3,126 entries, representing 42 nations: 2,688 men, and 438 women -- almost double from Goteborg in 1977. The U.S. team comprised the second largest delegation with 226 entrants (Germany: 1,349; Great Britain: 210; and Sweden: 199). The number of events scheduled for women also began to increase, especially field events. At the 1980 nationals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania women competed in five field events: long jump, high jump, shot put, discus, and javelin.

Women Masters Receive Equal Coverage

National Masters Newsletter covered the 1979 Hanover Games and gave complete results for all events. An article about the meet highlighted women's performances, including six new American records: "Irene Obera's 12.62 in the women's 45-49 100 and 61.69 in the 400; Shirley Kinsey's 77'2" in the women's 50-54 Javelin; Ruth Anderson's 20:15.9 in the women's 50-54 5000; Cathy Hargus' 88.86 in the women's 60-64 400 . . . and Ruth Anderson's 2:45.4 in the women's 50-54 800."

 

Women masters received equal attention and detailed coverage in the National Masters Newsletter for the first time. In the same issue, an article reported a controversy about the participation of 60 South African athletes. After an eleventh hour compromise, the athletes gained permission to compete, but only as Rhodesians and not as representatives of South Africa. The ideal of masters competition promoted a spirit of international friendship, though not immune to international politics and the issue of apartheid.

 

In September of 1979, Ruth Anderson, age 50, became the first women ever allowed to enter the prestigious London-to-Brighton road race. "The 54.25-mile race had been an all-male event throughout its 30-year history." Anderson and others waged a mail and telephone campaign to allow her entry into the race. Anderson said, "It was one of my all-time goals, one of my dream races. . . . They told me the Women's Committee wouldn't allow ladies to enter. But I talked to all of them, and finally they all signed letters saying it was okay with them."

 

Her efforts enabled other women to gain entry . On race day, four other women joined her along with one hundred and thirty-five male competitors. An article covered this event in detail in the November 1979 issue of National Masters Newsletter, along with another article about Joyce Smith of Great Britain, 41, who won the Avon Women's International Marathon over a world-class field of open women competitors. Smith's winning time also broke the existing women's over-40 world marathon record with a time of 2:36:27. "By defeating the best women marathoners in the world, Smith gave added proof that athletic abilities can continue at top level well into the forties." Smith had formerly competed in the 1972 Olympics and won a British national cross-country champion title.

 

Coverage of the 1981 World Veterans Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, reported fewer total participants than previous Games in Germany and Sweden, but the number of female competitors represented seventeen percent of the total entries, the largest percentage to date. Reasons cited for the smaller total participation included distance and cost of travel. Athletes from forty-four nations competed, approximately 2,400 entries: 2,000 men and 400 women. Women's age-group records were rewritten with thirty-six world records and seven American records.

 

In addition, a renewed controversy regarding the participation of South African athletes in the World Games resulted in daily demonstrations and protests at the stadium by a local group, overshadowing performances of the athletes during the week of competition.

 

During the next two years, masters track & field showed uneven growth in participation, though the number of women's entries continued to rise. In the November 1983 issue, National Masters News reported the Houston national championship as the largest masters meet ever held in the U.S. with a total of 782 entries: 652 men, and 130 women. Later that summer, the 1983 World Veterans Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico reported the lowest total participation number (1,935) since the first World Games in Toronto. However, women's participation numbers continued to improve. Coverage of the meet noted, "Of the 1935 contestants, 19 percent were women, a new high for a World Games, and well above the 14% in the 1979 Games in Germany, and the 8% in most U.S. meets."

 

The controversy surrounding the entry of South African athletes continued to affect the world championship competition, suggesting one reason for the low participation numbers. The WAVA Constitution stated, "No competitor shall be barred from competition due to race, religion, ethnic background or national origin."

 

Despite this, and the intent of the meet directors for the World Games to allow everyone to compete, local public officials always demanded that the South Africans be excluded. Eight days before the start of the Games, the governor of Puerto Rico threatened to lock the stadium and withdraw all government funds, unless the South Africans were barred from competition. "The World Games Committee considered canceling the Games, but then told the South Africans to stay home. Among those staying home were 14 black South Africans, which caused some question as to just what the point was." In spite of the controversy, the World Games proceeded successfully, with forty new world records and fifteen new American records established.

 

Two years later, the 1985 World Veterans Games in Rome, Italy drew the largest number of international masters to date: 4,330 athletes, representing forty-eight nations (3,659 men and 671 women). The numerous international competitors set many new world age-group records: twenty by men, and twenty-two by women. Official reports recognized these Games as well-organized and without the controversy and problems that marred previous Games.

 

Although the WAVA constitution recognized women's participation as equal to men's, adding new events for women to a national or world championship program became the decision of meet directors and/or rules committees for that particular meet. At the 1987 World Veterans Games in Melbourne, Australia, women masters wanted to compete in the hammer throw. Robert Fine remembered the controversy within WAVA about adding women's events such as the hammer throw, hurdles, triple jump, and pole vault. He insisted the women be treated the same as the men. As a compromise, meet directors included the hammer throw event for women as an exhibition. Fine remembered, on the day of competition about fifty women showed up and "it blew everyone's mind," making it clear that "women can do anything men can do."

 

A total of 4,817 athletes, representing 51 nations competed in Melbourne, surpassing the previous record number at the World Games in Rome. The participation rates of women continued to increase substantially. Reports noted, "While the number of male entrants (3747) has increased two percent from Rome (3659), the number of women participants has jumped an amazing 59 percent -- from 671 to 1070." Women represented twenty-two percent of the total participants. Despite less than ideal weather conditions, ranging from torrential rain and biting cold to oppressive heat and gale-force winds, athletes set ninety-two world records and reported the Melbourne Games as the best to date.

 

In 1989, the national championships in San Diego, California, and the World Veterans Games in Eugene, Oregon, posted record numbers of participants. The nationals recorded 1,450 athletes entered: 1,170 men, and 280 women (nineteen percent of the total). The World Games showed a record number of 4,951 athletes, representing 58 nations: 3,708 men and 1,243 women. The number of women represented a record high of twenty-five percent. Outstanding athletic performances resulted in 124 world records: 50 by men, and 74 by women. In addition, "for the first time ever, women officially competed in the pole vault and steeplechase."

 

A few variations still existed between the men's and women's event programs, but nearly all events now included men and women of all age-groups. National Masters News covered the World Games in great detail, with "a special 24-page supplement of stories, results, photos, records, profiles and all the action that took place at the Games."

 

The results section included the highlights of performances in each age-group for both men and women. Outstanding performances by American women included: Philippa Raschker (40-44) won six individual gold medals (100 meters, 12.57; 200 meters, 24.84; 400 meters, 58.07; long jump, 18' 1"; triple jump 37' 3"; and pole vault 8' 3/4"), one bronze (80 meter hurdles) and a gold and a bronze anchoring the 4 X 100 meter and 4 X 400 meter relays -- her total of seven gold and two bronze medals was the most by any athlete in the Games; Irene Obera (55-59) won three individual gold medals (100 meters, 13.93; 200 meters, 28.48; and 400 meters, 66.99) setting world records in the 200 meters and 400 meters, and a gold medal on the 4 X 400 meter relay, a silver on the 4 X 100 meter relay for a total of four golds and one silver; and Pat Dixon (70-74) won four individual gold medals (5,000 meters, 24:52.83; 10,000 meters, 50:28,33; 10 kilometer road race, 50:29.7; and cross-country, 55:54) setting world records in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.

 

Two years later, the 1991 World Veterans Games in Turku, Finland reported 5,030 participants, representing 53 nations: 3,827 men and 1,203 women. The competitors established 102 world records: 39 by men, and 64 by women. The percentage of women competing dropped slightly from the Games in Oregon, but their performances and numerous records reflected a substantial improvement in the skill of women masters.

 

A record number of 12,102 masters (9,845 men, and 2,257 women) representing 78 nations competed in the 1993 World Veterans Games in Miyazaki, Japan. (The number of participants more than doubled due to the entry of many Japanese citizens.) Phillippa Raschker, now 46, displayed phenomenal athletic ability, winning ten medals -- seven gold, two silver, and one bronze -- more than any other competitor in any World Games. She set a new world record in the women's 45-49 pole vault with a leap of 10' 3; won the triple jump (34' 5_Ó), 80 meter hurdles (12.75), heptathlon (5,861 points), 100 meters (12.90), 200 meters (26.58), and 400 meters (60.04); earned two silver medals in the high jump (5' 1") and long jump (17' 3"); and anchored the USA 4 x 400 meter relay team to a bronze medal.

 

Evelyn Ashford, former Olympic gold medalist, competed in her first masters championship and won the 200 meters in the 35-39 age-group. She later said, "I don't know much about the vets, but I'd like to learn more.'" The participation of former Olympians and world-class competitors in masters track & field brought more attention and credibility to record performances.

In 1995, the World Veterans Games in Buffalo, New York, included 5,591 masters athletes representing 79 nations: 4,078 men, and 1,513 women. Women competitors comprised twenty-seven percent of the total participants -- an all time high. Philippa Raschker, voted most outstanding performer of the meet, won the women's 45-49 long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, 100 meters, 200 meters, 80 meter hurdles, and heptathlon.

 

She also competed in the 400 meters, which became one of the highlights of the championships, and perhaps the best women's masters race of all time. Mary Libal won the race in world record time of 56.82, Raschker placed second in 57.60 (also under the previous world record of 57.8), Barbara Blurton of Britain placed third in 57.91, DeeDee Grafius placed fourth in 57.94, and Annie Knipping from Belgium placed fifth in 59.06. Libal's mark would have won the women's 35-39 and 40-44 divisions, and Grafius' mark would have won the women's 40-44 and placed second in the women's 35-39. These performances showed a depth of competition rarely seen in women's masters competition, and demonstrated the improving skill of women masters athletes.

 

(Raschker also broke new ground a few months earlier, competing against athletes half her age at the USA National Track & Field Championships, she placed third in the pole vault. The third place finish gained her an invitation to compete on the USA National Team in a dual meet in Great Britain against the world's best open competitors.)

 

In the twenty-eight years since masters track & field began, women's participation rates have increased steadily, growing from the first three national championships that recorded no women competitors, to the most recent national championship in 1996 that included 260 women competitors, representing twenty-eight percent of all participants -- the highest percentage to date. (A demographic survey of masters athletes from data obtained at the 1994 and 1995 national masters track & field championships reported: 31.5% of participants female; average age 53.7 years -- men and women combined; and 81% college graduates -- men and women combined.)