Our championship season
The biggest event on our New England
racewalking calendar, the National One-Hour and
Two-Hour Championships, will be held on Sunday,
Oct. 1, at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute
track in Worcester, MA. This is our 12th
consecutive year of hosting this major event,
which customarily draws top walkers from around
the country as well as local walkers of all
abilities.
As always, we urge all club members to attend
this high-spirited event, as competitors,
volunteers, or both. Assistance will be needed
with entry forms, registration, food, judging,
lap-counting and many other aspects of the race.
Please contact Justin Kuo at 617-731-9889 in you
can help.
An entry form is included in this issue.
Alternatively, you can sign up over the Internet
by going to
http://www.racewalk.com/12hour/hour00.htm
And clicking on the on-line registration
link.
The on-line service will cost you and
additional 84 cents, but the convenience and
paperwork reduction may be well worth it. (And
you would also be able to maintain your
newsletter in pristine condition.)
For further information, contact the New
England Track and Field office at
617-566-7600.
More races for everyone
Our fall schedule also includes these major
events:
Regional 10K, Oct. 8
The Connecticut Racewalkers will hold their
10-kilometer championship at at 10 a.m. Sunday,
Oct. 8, at Connecticut College in New London.
This, like the one-hour/two-hour races the week
before, is a New England Walkers Grand Prix
event. We are hoping for a strong NEW turnout to
make this a truly regionwide race. For further
information, call 860-669-4258.
WAVA 5K, Oct. 15
The Sherwood Foundation is hosting the World
Association of Veteran Athletes 5-kilometer
championship for the North and Central American
and Caribbean regions at 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 15,
in Providence, RI. For further information,
contact the foundation at 401-943-1123 or visit
the foundation Web site at
http://www.sherwoodfoundation.org
Our grand finale, Nov. 5
The traditional end of our outdoor season, the
New England Walkers 10K race, potluck lunch and
club meeting, will be held at noon Sunday, Nov.
5, at the home of club president Tom Knatt at 83
Riverside Drive in West Concord, MA. Racers and
non-racers alike are urged to attend. The food is
splendid (please bring a dish, hot or cold, to
share) and the club meeting will give us an
important start on planning our 2001 season. The
more club members we hear from the better as we
lay out a framework for next year. For further
information, call Tom at 978-369-7912.
A call for volunteers
Club members are needed to work as marshals
for the Tufts 10-kilometer road race in Boston on
Sunday, Oct. 8. Volunteers help earn money for
the club and will have their membership extended
through 2001. To volunteer or to learn more, call
Justin Kuo at 617-731-9889.
Gallant effort
Joanne Dow of Manchester, NH, came as close as
one can get to gaining a spot on the USA Olympic
team. Joanne finished fourth in the 20K trials in
Sacramento in July in 1:36:17; the top three
finishers won a trip to Sydney. Given the stiff
competition and the fact that Joanne was coming
back from knee surgery over the winter, it was a
performance to be proud of.
Race results
Danehy Park developmental 5K -
Cambridge, MA., August 13.
| Men |
| 1. |
Bill Harriman, Tewsbury MA |
27:44 |
| 2. |
Bob Ullman, Merrimack NH |
28:23 |
| 3. |
Dick Ruquist, Concord MA |
30:25 |
| 4. |
Justin Kuo, Brookline MA |
33:50 |
| 5. |
Bill O'Leary, Westwood MA |
36:55 |
| Women |
| 1. |
Marcia Gutshe, Newton MA |
27:21 |
| 2. |
Holly Wenninger, Malden MA |
33:05 |
| 3. |
Pat Godfrey, Winthrop MA |
34:19 |
| 4. |
Joanne Harriman, Tewsbury MA |
35:06 |
| 5. |
Deede Row, North Reading MA |
38:46 |
| 6. |
Carol Kuo, Brookline MA |
43:05 |
| 7. |
Priscilla Frappier, Waltham MA |
43:05 |
Judges: Charlie Mansbach and Justin Kuo (again
performing his amazing double duty).
Bay State Games 3K, Worcester State
College, July 22.
| Men |
| 1. |
Steve Vaitones |
15:09.90 |
| 2. |
Thomas Knatt |
16:33.60 |
| 3. |
Bill Harriman |
17:42.70 |
| 4. |
Fred Anderson |
19:53.50 |
| 5. |
Richard Shepardson |
21:26.60 |
| Women |
| 1. |
Joanne Harriman |
19:59.20 |
| 2. |
Jeanne Shepardson |
20:23.40 |
East Region Masters 5K, Springfield
College, Springfield, MA, July 15. A Grand Prix
event as part of the regional outdoor track and
field championships.
| -----------
Women 35 ------------ |
| 1 |
Marcia Gutsche |
38 Cambridge Sports Union |
28:27.15 |
| 2 |
Jean Tenan |
36 Connecticut Race Walkers |
29:31.86 |
| 3 |
Donna Masters |
38 Unattached |
31:05.22 |
| 4 |
Ginger Armstrong |
37 Connecticut Race Walkers |
33:31.93 |
| 5 |
Mary Bernard |
36 Unattached |
38:11.23 |
| -----------
Women 40 ------------ |
| 1 |
Ann Percival |
42 Connecticut Race Walkers |
28:43.23 |
| -----------
Women 50 ------------ |
| 1 |
Meg Savilonis |
50 New England Walkers |
33:43.49 |
| -----------
Women 60 ------------ |
| 1 |
Rachel Beaudet |
64 New England Walkers |
37:23.24 |
| -----------
Women 70 ------------ |
| 1 |
Helen Lavalle |
71 Unattached |
38:10.90 |
| 2 |
Florence Dagata |
73 New England Walkers |
40:43.69 |
| ------------
Men 35 ------------- |
| 1 |
Ken Mattsson |
36 Cambridge Sports Union |
28:53.49 |
| 2 |
Stephen McCullough |
38 Unattached |
29:47.84 |
| 3 |
Bill Masters |
36 Unattached |
36:18.59 |
| ------------
Men 40 ------------- |
| 1 |
Reynaldo Carrazana |
42 Unattached |
24:55.08 |
| ------------
Men 50 ------------- |
| 1 |
Robert Keating |
53 New England Walkers |
24:20.74 |
| 2 |
Brian Savilonis |
50 New England Walkers |
25:52.34 |
| ------------
Men 55 ------------- |
| 1 |
David Baldwin |
57 Maine Race Walkers |
26:22.51 |
| 2 |
Thomas Fitzgerald |
59 Capital Walkers |
39:57.67 |
| ------------
Men 60 ------------- |
| 1 |
Spencer Parrish |
63 Connecticut Race Walkers |
33:51.71 |
| ------------
Men 65 ------------- |
| 1 |
Bob Barrett |
66 Park Racewalkers |
29:12.23 |
| 2 |
Robert Beaudet |
67 New England Walkers |
31:07.65 |
| 3 |
Dean Kavanaugh |
66 Springfield Racewalkers |
33:41.17 |
| 4 |
Chuck Dolecki |
69 Springfield Racewalkers |
35:01.62 |
|
|
| ------------
Men 70 ------------- |
| 1 |
Bill McCann |
70 New England Walkers |
33:57.90 |
| 2 |
Louis Free |
70 Connecticut Race Walkers |
34:22.51 |
| ------------
Men 75 ------------- |
| 1 |
Stuart Corning |
75 New England Walkers |
39:15.00 |
| 2 |
William O'Leary |
76 Unattached |
39:15.10 |
Eastern Regional 5K, July 9, New London
CT. Part of the open regional track meet.
| Women |
| 1 |
Maryanne Torrellas |
USATF Connecticut |
25:25.90 |
| 2 |
Anne Favolise |
USATF Maine |
27:06.20 |
| 3 |
Li Mie Alice Tan |
USATF Metropolitan AC |
27:10.30 |
| 4 |
Gloria Rawls |
Unattached |
28:03.70 |
| 5 |
Nadya Dimitrov |
Unattached |
32:50.10 |
| 6 |
Stephanie Lyness |
Unattached |
34:10.50 |
| Men |
| 1 |
Greg Dawson |
Unattached |
23:46.24 |
| 2 |
Steve Vaitones |
USATF New England |
25:57.90 |
| 3 |
Andy Cable |
Unattached |
27:50.00 |
| 4 |
Steve McCollough |
Unattached |
30:55.10 |
| 5 |
Gus Davis |
USATF Connecticut |
35:17.80 |
| DQ Nick Manuzzi, Dave
Baldwin, Richard Huie |
Danehy Park developmental 5K, July 9,
Cambridge, MA.
| Men |
| 1. |
John Costello, Sherborn MA |
29.28 |
| 2. |
Justin Kuo, Brookline MA |
33:30 |
| 3. |
Richard Ruquist, Concord MA |
33:31 |
| 4. |
Bill O'Leary, Westwood MA |
36:33 |
| 5. |
Dick Stubblbine, Belmont MA |
47:02 |
| Women |
| 1. |
Itzi Garcia, Jamaica Plain MA |
35:37 |
| 2. |
Pat Godfrey, Winthrop MA |
36:11 |
| 3. |
Linda Simmons, Fairhaven MA |
42:08 |
| 4. |
Florence Dagata, Pawtucket RI |
42:27 |
Judge: Ken Mattsson
Dedham five-miler, July 4, Dedham MA.
An unjudged walk held in conjunction with the
traditional holiday running race. A steambath of
a day, the kind of race where one's second mile
can be a full minute slower than the first. About
300 runners out there, but obviously precious few
of us in the walking division. I would have felt
less sheepish about the whole thing if the
enormous plaque they gave me had simply said
"finished ahead of Justin."
| Women |
| 1. |
Sheila Danahey, Mystic CT |
59:13 |
| 2. |
Cindy McGrath, Norwood MA |
1:04:50 |
| Men |
| 1. |
Charles Mansbach, Newton MA |
53:49 |
| 2. |
Justin Kuo, Brookline MA |
57:37 |
| 3. |
David Burke, W Roxbury MA |
1:12:30 |
Grand Prix standings
These results are based on our performances in
designated races, compared with age-graded
tables. The totals so far are based on the New
England Indoor 3K or the National Masters Indoor
3K, the Clamdigger 5-miler, the New England 20K
and the Eastern Masters 5K. The next Grand Prix
event will be the National One-Hour and Two-Hour
in Worcester, MA on Oct. 1. Thanks, as always, to
Brian Savilonis for the calculations.
| Men |
|
Women |
| Bob Keating |
343.2 (4) |
|
Rachel Beaudet |
220.8 (3) |
| Brian Savilonis |
242.7 (3) |
|
Florence Dagata |
214.9 (3) |
| Bob Beaudet |
222.1 (3) |
|
Joanne Harriman |
210.4 (3) |
| Bob Ullman |
218.7 (3) |
|
Marcia Gutsche |
159.8 (2) |
| Bill Harriman |
217.7 (3) |
|
Mary Flanagan |
131.6 (2) |
| Charles Dolecki |
211.6 (3) |
|
Sheila Danahy |
134.1 (2) |
| Charlie Mansbach |
207.5 (3) |
|
Jeanne Shepardson |
77.1 (1) |
| Bill McCann |
150.9 (2) |
|
Meg Savilonis |
69.6 (1) |
| Stan Sosnowski |
150.4 (2) |
|
| Stuart Corning |
139.6 (2) |
|
| Ken Mattsson |
130.5 (2) |
|
| Richard Ruquist |
78.6 (1) |
|
| Tom Knatt |
78.2 (1) |
|
| Rich McElvery |
75.0 (1) |
|
| Louis Candido |
72.9 (1) |
|
| Dean Kavanaugh |
71.8 (1) |
|
| Mike Hoffer |
60 (1) |
|
Knatt is in no hurry to slow down
The following article was
published in the July 27 edition of the Concord
Journal.
By Stephen Tobey
It's been 24 years since Thomas Knatt last
competed in the US Olympic Trials, but the
59-year-old Concord resident is still going
strong.
Knatt placed second in the men's open 3,000
meter walk at the Bay State Games Saturday in 16
minutes, 33.60 seconds. Steve Vaitones placed
first in 15:09.90.
"This is good competition," said Knatt, who
has competed in the Bay States Games several
times. "You get people from all over the state
competing. I'm glad they put race walking back
in."
Knatt has been race walking since 1969, when
he was a runner looking for something different
to do. He won a national title in race walking in
1975 and competed in the Olympic Trials in 1972
and 1976. Knatt continued to run as well as walk
until about 14 years ago, when he sustained a
knee injury in a car accident. Earlier this
month, he placed second in the USA Track and
Field district championships in Dedham.
In race walking, one foot must stay on the
ground at all times, and when the lead foot fits
the ground the knee must stay straight. The
technique looks rather awkward, almost like a
waddle, but it is not as difficult as it
appears.
"It's not that hard, said Knatt, who notes
that the Olympic distances are 20 and 50
kilometers. "It's a technical event, but once you
learn it, it's not that difficult to do. You
don't get as tired as you would running."
It's also less stressful on the body than
running is.
"Generally, we think there aren't as many
injuries," said Knatt.
Knatt usually trains 30 to 45 minutes a day,
which translates into 3 or 4 miles. Sometimes he
goes longer. He also rides a bike and plays table
tennis. He was considering competing in the Bay
State Games table tennis tournament two weeks
ago, but had a conflict with work. Knatt is
self-employed, making and repairing guitars and
violins. He also teaches classes on how to make
and repair those instruments.
Knatt also keeps busy as president of the New
England Walkers, a club of about 100 members that
holds training sessions and races all over New
England, but mostly in Massachusetts, New
Hampshire and Rhode Island.
"I plan to keep at it as long as I can," he
said.
New year's resolutions
In January, we printed club members'
racewalking goals, hopes and fanciful wishes for
2000. So how did your resolutions work out? What
do you hope to achieve in 2001?
We'll publish another roundup in our January
newsletter. Please send your thoughts to Charlie
Mansbach, 25 Larkspur Road, Newton, MA 02468, or
e-mail to mansba@globe.com
or CMnsbch@cs.com.
Deadline is Dec. 24.
Racewalking down memory lane
October 1992-October 1994 -- A rare three-year
stretch with no repeat winners at our One-Hour
and Two-Hour National Championships at the MIT
track in Cambridge.
Ian Whatley takes the two-hour title in 1992,
Deborah Iden is the women's one-hour winner and
Bob Keating is first in the men's one hour. A
year later, Olympian Herm Nelson wins the
two-hour, Pascale Grand the women's race and Joe
Light the men's one-hour. In 1992, another
Olympian, Allen James, has a record-setting
two-hour performance, Olympian Victoria Herazo is
the women's champion and Brian Savilonis is the
men's masters winner.
Phone any time
For up-to-the-minute information on race
schedules, clinics and other events, call the New
England Walkers hotline at: 781-433-7142
Weekly workouts
Ken Mattsson is conducting racewalking sessions
at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Harvard
University track in Cambridge, MA in conjunction
with the Cambridge Sports Union. For information,
call Ken at 617-576-9331.
Hot on the trail
One man's summer
interlude
By Charlie Mansbach
The time is 6:53 a.m. as I leave the gates of
the Umaid Bhawan Palace, and the weather is
royally warm and humid. Looped around my neck is
a hotel map of a 7-kilometer jogging route that I
am about to racewalk. The map lists landmarks but
no water stops, which is just as well. I am in
Jodhpur, on the edge of the Great Indian Desert,
and the water here is something I dare not
drink.
***
Finding a racewalking site in India can be
difficult. I looked without success two days ago
in Ahmedabad, a city of 5.5 million that was our
first stop. Taking to the streets was out of the
question. Traffic was always heavy, and just
walking across an intersection was perilous
enough for me. I did come upon a nice public
park, around which I would not hesitate to
racewalk were it in the United States. But
standards of decorum are different here. People
dress modestly despite the constant swelter, and
the sight of an American in skimpy shorts would
be offensive. Such attire, I have learned, is
acceptable only on the athletic field. Finally,
after 50 minutes of wandering, I found an
appropriate site: a raggedy plot with cricket
players at one end, goats in the middle and two
guys jogging around the perimeter. I would have
changed into my togs and done some laps despite
the bumpy dirt surface, but by then I had too
little time before our overnight train ride to
Jodhpur.
***
I take a final look at my map. At the bottom,
bold block letters say "HOTEL IS NOT
RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY EVENT HAPPENING ON THIS
ROUTE."
But all seems uneventful. During my first
mile, I encounter more animals on the road --
donkeys, sleeping dogs, the first of many cows --
than people. Then I turn left, the street widens
and I find myself in a churning sea of
activity.
Cars, trucks, buses and three-wheeled
rickshaws are streaming down the road, sharing
the space with cyclists, pushcarts and stray
cows, and everyone but the cows is constantly
changing lanes and veering into oncoming traffic.
More people are scurrying about on foot, and the
sides of the road are thick with others attending
variously to public business, private business
and personal hygiene. What am I doing here?
The adults generally ignore me, but the flocks
of children on their way to school seem
entertained by my form. Many call out hello, and
I answer each greeting with a hello of my own.
Suddenly, my terrain changes. Enormous puddles
cover much of the road, and I have no choice but
to go to the middle, where the faster vehicles
operate. Fortunately, the madcap
room-for-everyone driving philosophy works in my
favor. Drivers are unperturbed as they give me
wide berth and swerve into the opposite lane.
I turn left again at the next chowk, or rotary
as we call it back home, and the traffic thins
again. A woman walks toward me, her hand
outstretched. Does she want money? I obviously am
not carrying a wallet. But she does not look as
if she wants me to slap her a low five, either. I
ponder no further and cruise away. Next I pass a
line of soldiers at a military installation (we
are a short jet hop from the ever-tense Pakistani
border), try my best to look harmless, and then
take another left turn back toward my starting
point.
The air is getting warmer; the sun is very
direct here 25 degrees north of the equator. Good
thing I didn't wait till noon. The last stretch
is steep; was it only 10 days and 10 time zones
ago that I was making a similar climb in the
Dedham road race? An insect buzzes past my ear,
and I remind myself that this is the morning I
take my weekly anti-malaria pill.
I reach the palace gates in 39:36. Hardly a
7K; six kilometers might be more like it. I could
hire a rickshaw driver to measure the course, but
chances are we wouldn't have enough language in
common to define the task clearly.
I put in five more minutes in the immediate
vicinity. Then, instead of stopping where I'd
started, I reenter the palace gates and sprint
down the long drive, around the giant circle of
flowers and up to the massive sandstone pillars
at the front steps. Here I stop, feeling half
like the maharajah of racewalking; half silly
American.
The New England Walkers
Send material to:
Charlie Mansbach
25 Larkspur Road
Newton, MA 02468
E-mail address: Mansba@nws.globe.com
or cmnsbch@cs.com
For membership information, contact
Justin
Kuo at 617-731-9889
