October 1 2018. Background
Information. [Skip to Preview below if not interested in background
information including how to register.]
The World
Masters Athletics Association (WMA) organizes World (and regional) Athletics
competitions for Masters Athletes. In the past, they used essentially the IAAF
model where the focus is on Track and Field events inside the stadium and a
Marathon outside of it. There are now more non-stadia events at WMA
Championships. At the 2018 Championships in Malaga Spain, for example, there
were an 8K Cross Country Event and a 10K and Half Marathon Road Race, all
outside the stadium. But, of course, the big non-stadia event, the Marathon,
was not held at Malaga. In fact, after several tires at how to improve the
Marathon experience for the Masters Athletes partaking in it, a decision was
made to try partnering with an existing large Marathon that has already
succeeded in attracting entries from a number of countries.
The first experiment
with this new approach is at the Scotia
Bank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday, October 21, 2018. Athletes were
notified by their governing bodies, USATF for the USA, about the event and how
to register. Most athletes have registered already but the closing date for registration is October 2nd.
If you enter and win your age division, you will be
the 2018 WMA Marathon Champion and will be eligible to set a record using gun
time. You must be a USATF Member and a US Citizen to represent Team USA.
Below is the information distributed by USATF
The special Access
Code for those wishing to run for Team USA in this contest is: WMA2018YYZ
Registration closes October 2, 2018.
Click on the box for ‘International Runners’
and scroll down to the section titled, “World
Masters Athletics Marathon Championships.” Click on the ‘I have an Access Code’
box and enter the code given above. That gets you to the correct registration
section where you enter your individual information. Online registration only.
For questions on registration, contact the organizers at: support@raceroster.com Phone: (1)-855-969-5515 (From North America Only)
Preview. The event was not announced until May;
that is comparatively late for people planning to run a fall Marathon. As a
result, it is a select field; there are only 51 runners entered in the WMA
Championship section of the race as of last Thursday, September 27. As of this past
Friday, only 13 US runners had entered, 8 men and 5 women. It is not too late
to enter but registration closes on Tuesday, October 2, 2018. The runners who
are likely to be in contention for a podium finish for Team USA are highlighted
below. Age Grade scores are noted in brackets when 80% or above. Based on Age
Grading it appears Gene Dykes has
the best shot at a Gold Medal, but Heidy
Lozano and Makie Ohler should have
a shot too. It depends, as always, on who shows up to contest the race.
Kelly Dworak 55-59
Dworak took 2nd in the 2018 USATF Masters Half Marathon
Championships in June in 1:37:00. Although I can find some Half Marathon and 10
Mile results, the Marathon seems to be an exception. The one Marathon I find in
the last few years is her age division win at the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar
Marathon in Albany Georgia this past March in 3:38:13.
Gene Dykes 70-74 Dykes has been setting the Masters LDR
world on fire this year. He had been running well over the past few years; he
ran 3:09 and change at the Boston Marathon in 2014, 2016, and 2017. But it sunk in once he moved to a different
level. Dykes turned 70 right before the
Rotterdam Marathon. On April 8th, he stunned the Masters Running
world by clocking a 2:57:43 [93.43AG%] at that race, the first in the world since
the late legendary Masters Marathoner, Ed Whitlock, to break 3 hours in a
marathon over the age of 70. In doing so, he smashed the American record by over
3 minutes. He has since gone on to win USATF National Age Division
Championships at the 10K, the Half Marathon, the 5K and the 5Km Cross Country
Championships, and has clinched the 2018 Individual Masters Grand Prix
Championship. Interestingly, Dykes is familiar with the course, having run the
race in 2013 before he got serious about running fast and hired a coach. He ran
it, at age 65, in 3:29:26. He expects to run much faster in this year’s
edition. In fact, he may entertain notions of bettering Whitlock’s 2:54:48.3
set on this same course 14 years ago when Whitlock was 73.
Gene Dykes on his way to a 70-74 victory at the 2018 USATF Half Marathon Championships in Ann Arbor [Photo Credit: runphotos.com] |
Alan Evans 55-59
Evans, a Genesee Valley Harriers
stalwart, is well known in the USATF Masters LDR world. Although he prefers
longer races, he often runs for GVH in the Cross Country Championships and in
some of the road races. He just won the 55-59 division at the Masters 5 Km XC
Championships in Buffalo, and had the highest age-grading score in the Men’s
races. His Marathon exploits may be less well known. He won his age division at
Grandma’s Marathon this past June in 2:52:39 [83.08AG%] and in 2017 clocked
2:52:16.
Alan Evans on his way to victory in the 55-59 division at the 2018 USATF 5 Km Cross Country Championship in Buffalo NY [Photo Credit: Andy Martin, Exclamation Services] |
Robert Hendrick 75-79
Hendrick has become better known in the USATF world over the last year and
a half. Content with regularly winning his age division at regional events with
national prominence like the Gate River Run, he did not enter his first National
Championship event until the 2017 15K Championship in Tulsa; he took 3rd
place in the 70-74 division in 1:10:02 just before aging up to a new division.
When he ran in the Cross Country National Championship in February of this
year, he enjoyed his first National Championship in the 75-79 division. He
later added the 8K Championship in 36:00 and the Half Marathon on an off day in
1:54:50. He came home from Spain with the Bronze Medal from the Half Marathon
at this year’s WMA Masters Athletics World Championship. He won his division at
the Space Coast Marathon this past November in 3:30:18 [83.07AG%]
Robert Hendrick 118 on his way to a 75-79 victory at the 2018 USATF Cross Country National Championships in Tallahassee Florida |
Jonathan Lane 45-49 Lane won his age division at the
Buffalo Marathon in 2:56:18 earlier this year and finished 2nd in
the age division at the Mighty Niagara Half Marathon in Youngstown Ohio in
1:26:37.
Heidy Lozano 55-59 Lozano finished 2nd in her 50-54
age division (1st American) this past January at the Chevron Houston
Marathon in 3:07:39 [86.37%AG%]. Now that she has aged up to 55-59, that kind
of time will be even more competitive. Two months before that she won the age
division at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in 3:18:53. Closer to home,
Lozano also took age division honors at the Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon
in Denver in 2016 with a 3:10:41.
Heidy Lozano winning the KP Colfax Marathon in Denver Colorado [Photo Credit-running.competitor.com] |
Makie Ohler 55-59
Last December Ohler took 2nd in the 55-59 age division at the
California International Marathon in 3:20:01. That time may be deceiving though
because the prior year she ran 3:07:41 to take 4th in the 50-54
division [86.35AG%]. She ran 3:17:35 in Boston in 2015.
John Ouweleen 75-79 Ouweleen is a decorated Marathoner.
Known as ‘Johnny O’, Ouweleen has often been on the podium at the Boston
Marathon, most recently in 2015 when he took 3rd in 3:37:59. He won
his age division at the Berlin Marathon last year in 3:39:39 [82.16 AG%]
Casey Strange 50-54
Although currently listed out of Alabama, most of Strange’s results are from
the West Coast. He was the lead runner on the Pamakids 50+ team that took 12th
at the 2015 Club Cross Country Championships in San Francisco. A few months
later he took 5th in his age division at the Los Angeles Marathon in
2:52:31 [80.93AG%]. Two months later he ran 2:58:11 at Boston.
Becky Wittrig 50-54
Last May Wittrig won the 50-54 division at the York Marathon in York, PA in 3:33:17.
Last November she won the 45-49 division at the Harrisburg Marathon in 3:25:55.
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